Malice bristles at the notion.
[Promise me, Malice.]Her voice is getting weaker.[I didn’t fight for his freedom only to get him captured and executed by my father. You know what he does to Wolves.]
Malice tries not to think about the Wolf bodies he once saw tacked to the walls of the city—a warning and a display of violence. Who knows what the King did to them prior to the mercy of their death.
“Fine,” he begrudgingly agrees. “But only once you are safe with Vyx and Quinn.”
[Thank you.]Her voice is soft this time, barely echoing in his head. Malice speeds up, driving his wings as fast as they’ll carry the two of them. The walls are already in sight, the white Wolf a blur below him. Aerin falls unconscious again; he feels the shift in her body, no longer holding her head up.
A few torturous minutes later Malice slams to the ground in front of the walls. The Wolf shifts on the fly. Malice hands him the identification card, just in case.
“We go through here, once we are through, head North and try to look as inconspicuous as possible. I’m going to take flight again. Once I get her to help, I’ll circle back to find you,” Malice orders quickly.
Emrys seems like he wants to protest until his eyes catch on Aerin’s torso, where blood is leaking through the packed gauze and wrappings. Instead, the Wolf nods.
“Just get her help,” Emrys says barely louder than a whisper. Malice nods sharply before striding through the wall. He doesn’t look back to see if the Wolf makes it through.
28
AERIN
Aerin’s eyelids feel heavy and grainy, her muscles stiff and when she inhales her abdomen aches tremendously. But the blankets around her are plush and there is a very soft, very warm body next to her on the bed.
She lets her eyes blink open. The last thing she remembers is arguing with Malice, or rather pleading with him, to ensure Emrys’s safety in the city. She smiles when she sees the massive Wolf taking up a large portion of the bed she’s tucked into.
Glancing around, Aerin meets ice blue eyes. Her blood-bond with Malice warms against her ribs. The Dragon-Fae sits in a chair to her right, looking worse for wear, tired, dirty. She wonders how long she’s been unconscious. Movement draws her attention back to the bed, honey brown eyes blink at her and tears prick Aerin’s eyes.
“Em,” she rasps, struggling to sit up. Then, Malice is there, helping prop her up with pillows and handing her a glass of water.
“Don’t move too quickly, you’re still healing,” Malice chastises after she gulps down the water. He moves to take the empty glass away, and Aerin catches his wrist.
“Thank you, Malice.” He freezes, staring at her. Something Aerin can’t read flashes through his eyes before he pulls away.
“I will let the Viper’s know you are awake. The healer should re-evaluate you.” Malice goes to the door and quickly slips out—the bond immediately aching in his absence.
Aerin turns her attention back to the Wolf with honey brown eyes.
“Em,” Aerin whispers again. The giant Wolf stands. He is massive in this form, larger than Elara. His fur is pure white, thick, and healthy. He turns and gently lays closer, his body pressing against Aerin’s long legs, his head laying carefully over her lap.
Leaning over, Aerin kisses his head before burying her hands in his fur and stroking him. She watches as the tension leaves his body, eyes drifting closed as she continues stroking his fur, soothing them both. It doesn’t feel real, having Emrys here, inside the walls of Valtara, just as they daydreamed all those years ago.
Guilt pierces through Aerin again, catching her breath in her throat. She has so many questions for him, so much atonement to do.
Malice leads a small group into the room. Vyx and Quinn enter right behind her brooding Dragon-Fae, followed by another Snake Shifter who carries a medicine bag. Malice stands back, wings close to his body, arms crossed over his chest. The blood-bond writhes in her side, and Aerin rubs at it below the blankets. She makes eye contact with him, unsure of what the feeling is.
Aerin opens her mouth to speak but is cut off by the small Corn Snake Shifter approaching her with a stethoscope.
“Good to see you awake, Rin,” Vyx says, one eyebrow raised. Both Vipers stand at the end of the bed; Quinn chews on her lip while Vyx has her arms crossed. The Corn Snake Shiftermoves the cold stethoscope over Aerin’s heart, then to her back, listening to her lungs.
“How am I? How long was I out?” Aerin asks, the Corn Snake shifts the blankets. Emrys doesn’t appear happy to move, but he lifts his head to make room for the timid Shifter. She eyes the Wolf carefully before pulling up the loose t-shirt Aerin wears. The gash across her torso is still angry looking, red, running from the left of her belly button diagonally across her torso, ending just under her right armpit.
Aerin can still feel the shred of Elara’s claws through her skin. It hurt horribly, but she’d endure a hundred fights if it meant saving Emrys. Emrys stares at her exposed skin, as if forcing himself to bear witness to the pain she suffered. She wishes he wouldn’t feel guilty. Eventually, it will be nothing, not even a scar marring her skin. The Corn Snake lays her hand over the wound, eliciting a low growl from Emrys.
“Hush, Pup, she’s doing her job,” Vyx snarls. Emrys whips around to direct the growl at the Viper before laying his head down in a huff over Aerin’s legs.
The Corn Snake Shifter stands tall, her nose in the air despite her short stature.
“Everything appears to be healing well. You may have a light scar for a few weeks, but beneath the skin everything will be back to functioning as normal in a day to two. Until then take it easy.”
