“Graven!” Frankie yells.
We hurry to the room and find Jess thrashing around on the bed. “Oh, God. It hurts!”
Frankie pushes Jess’ hair from her face. “I know, honey, I know.” She’s about to yell again, when Graven rushes to the bed, his face pale, sweat on his brows.
His muscles relax the closer he gets, just like Jess’ do. He places his hand on her knee and a soft sigh leaves her lips. “What’s happening to me?” she asks, her voice no longer laced with pain while he sits next to her on the bed.
“It’s working!” Frankie exclaims, her eyes overflowing with tears.
“What’s working? How did I get here?” Jess pushes herself up against the headboard, then stiffens. “LUCY!! What happened to Lucy?”
We all look at one another, no one wanting to think about the little demon.
“She’s stable…at the moment.” We all turn toward the voice standing in the doorway. Ronin looks like he’s been through hell and back, twice. His shirt is soaked with his sister’s blood, his blonde hair now crimson from all the carnage.
I walk over to him and pull him into a hug. “I’m so sorry, brother.”
He blinks a few times and pulls away, wiping at his glassy eyes. Frankie scoots over and pats the bed, making room for him.
“I came as soon as I heard.” He slides into bed next to Jess, and whatever she was using to hold back her tears finally breaks.
“I’m so sorry,” she cries while he pulls her to his chest. She clings to him, her body shaking with every sob. “I should’ve been faster.”
“Shhh.” Ronin moves a hand down the back of her head. “You were brave, Jess. There are plenty of demons who wouldn’t have stepped outside Graven’s shield to save someone they just met, especially during battle.”
She pulls back, looking at him with watery eyes. “But she’s your sister, and I distracted her. Maybe she would’ve gone invisible if I hadn’t yelled her name.”
“Or maybe she wouldn’t have stopped when she did. Maybe she would’ve taken an extra step, a step that would’ve put the claws directly over her heart. He only missed it by an inch. Maybe you saved her life.”
Even after everything he’s been through with Lucy, he still finds a way to make everyone else feel better. He’s always been like that, it’s who he is. When he finally finds a male who deserves him, I’ll be the first to make sure the bastard knows it.
A bit of hope shines in her eyes as she asks, “Will she pull through this okay?”
“I think so. She'll have a long road ahead of her, but I’ll be with her every step of the way, along with my parents.” He squeezes the bridge of his nose and releases a low chuckle. It’s what he does when he doesn’t want to get emotional in front of anyone. “You know she’s going to think those scars are badass.”
Jess offers him a small smile, but it’s off. I’ll admit, she used to get under my skin. I always thought she was trying to outshine Frankie, which is impossible. Turns out, she was just…happy. But right now, that smile doesn’t fit. I glance at my mate, and neither does hers.
“So,” Ronin’s eyes land on his cousin, whose hand is now resting on Jess’ calf. “Are you going to tell me why your paws are on my girl? Because if you’re trying to get in her pants before she’s had a chance to recover, you and I are gonna have some words.”
Graven shakes his head. “Trust me. If I didn’t have to be this close to Red, I wouldn’t be.” His tone is more playful than it usually is when he talks about Jess.
“Aww, Red? That’s so much better thanhuman.I knew I was growing on you.” Jess yawns and rests her head on Ronin’s lap, quickly dozing off.
We give Ronin an update on the potion, and I tell everyone what I learned from Quenric. “He said there’s a fae healer in the Light Realm who may be able to help. The only problem is, we’ll have to go through the portal to get there because he wasn’t sure what will happen if we try to trace Jess.”
Ronin exhales, looking at Jess, then turning to me. “I want to go with you,” he says, voice low. “But I can’t leave Lucy.”
Frankie nods. “We’ll bring her back,” she says softly.
He smiles, pulling her in. “I know you will.”
Her arms slide around him, holding tight. After a moment, he eases back and stands.
I clasp his shoulder. “Take care of Lucy.”
His voice comes out low and uneven. “Take care of Jess.”
CHAPTER 26
