“Our people are still there, coordinating clean-up with the Corps,” he said, making some kind of hand gesture to his guards.I didn’t know what it meant, but they moved back slightly.“I will have the number later today, but there will be no clan to bury them, no one to claim them—”
“I claim them!”It was a roar that time, one that had the guards suddenly crowding me, orders or no.And being flung across the room by a spell I didn’t bother uttering, because I was having to do everything I could not to tear mybardric’sface off.“They aremine!”
“They are yours,” he agreed evenly.“If you wish to take on that burden.Cyrus will see to it.”
We held each other’s eyes for a beat, and unlike those of the guard in the limo, his did not drop.Neither did mine, but I came back to myself slightly after his words sank in, and it staggered me.And then glanced around the room, wondering what the hell I wasdoing?
“Cyrus, perhaps you could take Lia back to your suite?”Sebastian said.“She is a bit… overwrought… from the events of today.”
“Yes,” Cyrus said, coming forward, sounding a bit breathless.“Yes.Lia.Come, you need to lie down.”
“I—I have things…”
“Later.We’ll get to all of that later.I promise.But come with me now, all right?”
I went with him.He had an arm around me, which was just as well, as the room kept telescoping in and out.I felt weird—dizzy, unsteady on my feet, and just… not myself.Like, what the hell had that been?
Sebastian would have been within his rights tokillme!So would his guards.Was I going nuts?
It felt kind of like I was going nuts.
“I want a healer to see her,” Cyrus said, speaking softly, but not to me.“Arrange it.”
“Yes, of course.”That was Dave, following us out.“We have a number here at the moment, tending to the wounded.Or if you have one of your own who you’d prefer?”
“No.Just… get someone good, all right?”
“Cyrus!”That was Laura, puffing up behind us as we staggered down the hall.“Is Lia alright?Can I help?”
“No, we’re fine.She’s just… tired,” Cyrus said tightly, which was the worst lie I’d ever heard.“She needs to rest.”
“Did the mages spell her with something?Is she unwell—”
“No!She just needs rest!”He scooped me up into his arms, probably because I was weaving all over the hallway.My feet kept trying to trip me up, because I was supposed to have four but only had two.Why did I only have two?
“Here,” Laura said, draping something around me.“You need to buy some caftans.”
“We’ll keep it in mind,” Cyrus said, and then we were back in our suite, and he was shutting the door in her face.
Chapter Thirteen
To my surprise, our rooms were empty.Everyone else was likely downstairs or in their own suits resting.I wasn’t the only one who’d had a hard day.
But I guessed it had been harder than I thought, because I was not okay.“I don’t know why I did that,” I whispered to Cyrus.
“It’s all right—”
“It’s not!If it had been anyone but Sebastian—”
“But it wasn’t.Come here.”
I ended up in the bathtub again, with the big terrycloth robe Laura had draped around me discarded on the floor, wondering why the water Cyrus was running was so red.
“I had a shower when we got back,” I protested.
“Lia.You have… meat… in your hair,” he said quietly.
“Do I?”
