Chewing her lip, Emma contemplated this angle, nodding slowly as she took a deep breath. “As much as I hate to admit it, I think you’re right. If it weren’t for the canteen, they probably would have carted me off in no time,” Emma admitted.
Elias snarled.
“It also makes sense from a tactical perspective,” Oz said. “You might be able to spray demons with water and push them around with it, but they aren’t going to get hurt like the wraith does when it comes to magic. My guess is the wraith didn’t expect us to find out about the demons for a while longer, and he thought that he could get you before we learned about iron.”
“Lucky for us that we have you on our side, then,” I said with a nod to Oz.
“Damn straight,” he said cheerfully.
Rachel shifted restlessly from foot to foot even as she still pressed against me. Anger and anxiety pulsed through the mating bond. My hand went from the small of her back up to her shoulder, pressing a steadying weight there.
“It’s okay,” I muttered into her ear, thumb stroking along her collarbone. “It’s over now.”
She didn’t answer, but she still pressed against me as if for comfort.
“We’re going to go home,” I told Elias.
Elias nodded, taking in Rachel’s bedraggled appearance. “Take care of her,” he said.
“I will,” I promised, then guided Rachel to one of the waiting cars.
It wasn’t until we got back in the house that either of us spoke.
“Are you okay?” I repeated. When she shrugged, I added, “Thank you, by the way.”
She let out a bitter snort. “For what? It wasn’t as though I did anything other than run.”
“I’m thanking you for running,” I said. “I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if something had happened to you. I’m supposed to look out for you.”
Her jaw tightened, and I watched as her fingers flexed and unflexed. Irritation wafted off her.
“I’m also thanking you for wanting to stay,” I added. “I could sense how badly you wanted to fight. Other women would have just run.”
Her irritation ebbed, though not entirely. She hesitated, running her fingers through her hair as she tried to come up with the words.
“I hated it,” she said, then hesitated as she took a deep breath. “I couldn’t do anything. Emma was at least able to hold them off, but I hated being that helpless.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “Not everyone has to fight. It’s not for everyone.”
She pushed away, scowling, though not at me, at herself. “It’s embarrassing. I can’t shift, I can’t fight, I don’t have any way of protecting myself.” She took a deep breath as she ran her fingers through her hair once again. Her hands were trembling a little. The fact that someone had done something to her that would make her feel that way made me want to tear those demons to shreds all over again. “I hate it.”
Without realizing what I was doing, I had cleared the short distance between us and pulled her into a hug, wrapping my arms tight around her. “I know,” I said. My hands ran through her hair. “I promise, though, that I will always be there to protect you. No matter what.”
She took a deep breath and shook her head, craning her neck to look up at me. “You can’t promise that. You know you can’t.”
I didn’t answer because I knew she was right. I hated that she was right, but I couldn’t be by her side at all times.
“Besides,” she continued, still nestled against me, looking up at me through her eyelashes. “I also want to be able to defend myself for my own sake. I don’t want to have to rely on you or anyone else to come running after me. I want to be able to fight on my own.”
I blinked, not bothering to hide my surprise. I shouldn’t have been surprised, not after seeing how badly she wanted to fight the demons. But it still took me aback, and a rush of admiration rushed through me.
“You’re really not what I expected, you know that?”
“What can I say?” she asked flippantly. “I’m just full of surprises.”
“I would say that’s an understatement.”
She pressed tight against me, her body flush against mine. Pink spread across her cheeks. I held her tighter.
