Erin stilled, her eyes flashing up to his.
“And whether the sire isMeviraxor Jaxor’an.”
He thought she’d been…
Her voice shook with sudden anger as she said, “I was more than willing. Jaxor would never…”
“I mean no offense, female,” Privanax said softly, his expression neutral. “You were kept in theMeviraxdungeons for some time. I thought that perhaps—”
“How long?”
“Eight spans, we believe.”
“Eight days,” she whispered in disbelief.
It had seemed longer. Much longer. Eight days and nights had seemed like an eternity. She cleared her throat, feeling it tighten.
“I want to see Jaxor,” she said, looking at Privanax. Her heart gave a dull little thud at the thought of seeing him, like it was trying to flutter back to life and failing.
“I do not think that is best right now, female,” he said, his voice gruff and stern. “You are still recovering.”
“I need to know what happened,” she countered. “I need to know—”
Another wave of dizziness made her close her eyes as the room swayed. Now that the memories were returning, she had so many questions they seemed to want to explode from her mind. And yet, she couldn’t form the words.
“Rest,” Privanax said. A sharp pinch came at her arm and when her eyes snapped open and she looked down, she saw that the doctor had injected her with something. “When you wake next, you will feel better.”
Her mind immediately went fuzzy. She closed her eyes and sleep took her again, the jumble of questions dying on her tongue.
* * *
When she woke,only Crystal was in the room this time.
“Hi,” Erin whispered, reaching out with slow limbs to grasp her hand. Crystal was sitting close to the bed and the blonde squeezed her hand tight.
“We were so worried about you,” Crystal said, leaning forward. “Ever since we heard…”
Erin struggled to sit up. Her muscles were sore and aching. Her whole body seemed to throb.
“How long have I been asleep?”
“It’s been five days since they brought you back to the Golden City.”
She blew out a long breath and nodded. She might’ve been asleep for that long, but she still felt tired and groggy.
“What happened?” Erin asked.
“From what Cruxan tells me—”
Erin shook her head, “I meant what happened after that night, after Jaxor took us from the Golden City. In the forest. Were you able to get back all right with Cruxan?”
“Well, no, not exactly. We had to take a long detour thanks to that asshole of yours,” Crystal said softly. Then she smiled, a small, secretive little smile that made Erin’s heart speed. “But I’m kind of glad we did because well, I’m, um…I’m kind of hitched, I guess.”
“What?” she breathed. “To who?”
Crystal wasmated?
“To Cruxan,” Crystal said, unable to wipe the grin off her face.
