“I came as fast as I could. What happened?”
Oh fuck, my voice is shaky and my eyes are dangerously watery suddenly. It’s like the relief of seeing him has broken past all my usual defenses and I might start bawling any minute.
“Just a minor brush with death,” he rasps, grinning up at me. His smile drops, though, as my eyes well up with tears.
“Silver. No, sweetheart, I’m fine. See? All in one piece.” He waves an arm in the air, like that proves anything. I stagger closer until I’m resting on the side of the bed since my legs don’t seem to want to hold me up right now. “Nearly got gutted by a zombie, but I’m all good and will be back to sweeping you off your feet in no time.”
“Take it easy, dude. Fab and the nurse said you need to rest,” Zeph grouches. “And you—” He turns his scowling attention to me and stands abruptly from his seat. “—you’re all right?” Hooking a finger through my belt loops, he tugs me closer before scooping me into his lap.
Two thick arms wrap around my waist and he sighs into my hair. “Scared the shit out of me when we couldn’t get in contact with you,” he mutters.
“I’m all right.” I sigh, releasing some of the tension I’ve been holding for hours. “It’s been a hell of a night.” I focus on Roscoe again, leaning forward to link our fingers together before shooting a nod at Seb.
“Where’s Fabian?”
Seb rolls his eyes. “He was here. Made sure Ro was stitched up and not bleeding all over the floor, and then he headed off to do some fire-fighting.”
“Possibly literally,” Zeph mutters against my hair.
“What?”
“It sounds like a bunch of the district is on fire. People have decided that tonight’s distractions were a perfect opportunity to let loose and steal things.”
I blink a few times as that sinks in. It doesn’t feel right for Fabian not to be here. The world is a topsy-turvy place and I’m only just scrambling to my feet and it would be a lot easier if I had all three mages with me.
Dante too.
“And what about everyone else? Where are they?”
“Rook and Hanna are upstairs showering. You should have seen the state of Rook’s hands.” Ro chuckles softly.
“He punched a hole through at least one zombie,” Zeph adds.
“Gross,” Seb says with a quiet laugh.
“Luna and the twins are safely tucked up at home, but Fab said he would fetch them on his way back so that everyone’s in one place.”
Huh. It seems like Fabian’s preemptively read my mind.
Right now, it feels as though outside of this room, there’s a storm brewing and I don’t want to get caught in the middle of it. We’re safe here. For now, at least.
We fall into silence. Clearly, I’m not the only one whose energy levels are at zero. After a few minutes, Roscoe’s hand goes limp in mine as he dozes off and a few minutes after that, Seb’s snoring in his own chair.
“I thought he was dead,” Zeph murmurs into my ear, his arms tightening around me. “Thought for sure he wasn’t going to make it back here without bleeding out.”
My chest aches. Not just for the horror and fear of getting so fucking close to losing Roscoe, of having my life be forever dimmed without his presence. But the thought of Zeph feeling that terror of losing his best friend, someone closer than abrother, makes me want to bundle up his heart and keep him protected.
I twist in his lap until I’m able to wrap my arms around his neck. He then buries his face in the sensitive skin between my shoulder and neck, and I feel him shudder as he fights with his emotions.
Fuck tonight. I don’t think any of us got out of tonight entirely unscathed.
I hold my shit together pretty well, for a while, at least. Zeph keeps me in his lap, holding tight like he’s afraid to let go in case I float away.
If I’m honest, I don’t mind it. His touch anchors me in the moment. I think Roscoe getting hurt scared the absolute shit out of him and I’ll do whatever I can to comfort him.
With everyone else dozing around us, I’m finally able to take a moment and reflect on the absolute exploding dumpster fire that was this night.
About an hour after I make it to Roscoe’s room in the med bay, we’re joined by the rest of my family and Fabian, who looks exhausted. His face has a gray tinge to it, and he’s covered all over with a layer of ash.
