And I don’t trust myselfnotto do permanent damage to her right now.
Besides, Maisie needed him.
He bent over Maisie’s inert form, his heart in his throat. This absolutely could not be happening. He refused to accept it.
Inside his head, the griffin howled.
Our mate! Someone has harmed our mate! They will pay!
Yes, they will,Rhys told it in turn.But right now, the only thing that matters is getting Maisie to safety.
“Maisie,” he whispered urgently. He rested his fingertips against the side of her neck – and, after the longest moment of his life, he felt a strong, reassuring pulse.
One heartbeat was followed by another, and then another, in a slow, steady rhythm, and he gripped the side of the gurney as his knees trembled in relief.
Turning his head, he looked in the other direction, to see her chest rising and falling gently. The gentle drift of her breath over his cheek confirmed what he was seeing, and he took a moment to let his head fall forward gently, his forehead touching her ribs, reassured by her warmth and movement.
She is safe,his griffin said in a quiet voice that Rhys hadn’t even known it was capable of.Our mate is safe.
Rhys knew it was true.
She’s just unconscious. But I don’t think she’s hurt.
Clearly, that fucking orderly had given her something to knock her out, and she’d been planning on finishing the job with the wyvern venom.
“But I’m here now,” Rhys whispered to Maisie, as he prepared to sweep her up in his arms. “And I’m getting you out of here.”
“Well, well. This is a touching moment.”
Rhys’s head whipped up to see James leaning against the doorframe, an insufferably smug look on his face. He smiled tauntingly, and Rhys’s blood boiled.
How dare he betray us like this,his griffin hissed.How dare he endanger our mate.
On that, at least, Rhys and the griffin were in complete agreement.
He shifted around the gurney to protect Maisie, who was still out cold – although, thankfully, she was starting to move a little. Rhys could only hope that she would wake up properly soon.
James shifted his stance ever so slightly – it was a barely perceptible movement, but it was enough to have Rhys on the alert.
Sure enough, James sprang forward a moment later, and Rhys shifted into a defensive stance, ready to protect Maisie with his life.
Too late he realized his mistake – James wasn’t aiming for him, or for Maisie.
He was aiming for the syringe full of wyvern venom, which had bounced across to the other side of the room when Rhys had hit the orderly.
Rhys dived for it, but James had the element of surprise and a head start, and he snatched the syringe up from the floor before sidestepping Rhys, holding the syringe aloft in one hand.
“Ah-ah-ah,” he chided, waving the syringe back and forth like he was chastising a naughty child. “I’m disappointed, Rhys. I thought I’d taught you better than this. But I guess this is what happens when you spend too long under the Agency’s thumb. You get soft. Predictable.”
Rhys realized with horror that James was now standing between him and Maisie, syringe raised, its deadly toxin glowing green within, a single drop spilling from the tip.
If wyvern venom was dangerous to shifters, it was positively fatal to humans. One jab with the syringe, and Maisie would be dead within seconds – perhaps even a fraction of a second. There would be no second chances. There was no way Rhys would be able to find the antivenom and administer it fast enough.
It was the only reason why Rhys hesitated now. If it were only his life on the line, he would throw himself at James without a second thought – but he was absolutely unwilling to risk Maisie.
And he knew that James knew it, too.
“Whuh –?” came Maisie’s confused voice, and Rhys’s heart leapt. “What – Rhys? Rhys, is that you?”
