A sound almost caught her attention. The clearing of a throat. She blinked.
Talen released her mouth and looked over at their son. “Not one fucking second.” Then he lowered her gently until her feet found the wooden floor, waiting until she’d regained her balance to loosen his hold around her waist.
Heat flushed into her face. Obviously she’d missed some of the conversation. “Garrett. I made cookies.”
Talen drew her back against him, ducking his head so his mouth was at her ear. “No more climbing on things, my short little mate. Got it?”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m immortal.”
“You’re also not at full balance right now.” His breath was as hot as the rest of him, and she shivered.
Garrett’s eyes narrowed. “What does that mean?”
Cara sighed. It figured she would have no secrets from her observant mate. “I fell off a ladder the other day trimming the ivy on the south part of the house.”
Talen nipped her ear. “After I repeatedly told you not to climb that ladder.”
Garrett frowned. “Mom. You shouldn’t be on a ladder.”
She tried not to laugh. She really did. Her son was the spitting image of his father. “I’m immortal too, you know. There’s no need to worry about me. Or frown at me.”
Garrett’s frown didn’t lighten. “You might be immortal, but you’re still breakable. Your bones break. Please be more careful.” Moving in, he hugged her, his hold so gentle it brought tears to her eyes. He released her and looked down, giving her a glimpse of the boy he’d once been. “I was hoping I could talk you out of cutting off Dessie’s head.” His grin was impish and his body relaxed.
She slapped his arm. “Very funny.” Then she sobered. “I know everything that happened to her wasn’t her fault. Janie called earlier and said they were having a lot of fun going through the old tomes in the private part of the library. Your sister is quite taken with Dessie.” The last thing she wanted in this world was to see her boy hurt.
Though he wasn’t a boy any longer, was he?
She’d had no warning when Janie had mated Zane, and that had turned out better than she could’ve hoped. “Emma wants to conduct her tests around four this afternoon and said to let you know.”
“Good. We need to figure out what the Kurjans did to Dessie and fix it.” He flicked a look at Talen. “Then we need to make them pay.”
Yep. Definitely his father’s son.
His phone buzzed, and he lifted it to his ear. “Kayrs.” His body stiffened. “I’ll be right there.” He shoved it in his jeans’ pocket. “That was Janie. Dessie just collapsed in the library. They’re taking her to the infirmary.” He turned stark white, and fire lit his eyes.
Then he ran for the door.
Chapter Thirty-One
As Dessie slowly came to, she heard a beeping sound. “What is that?” she asked drowsily, forcing her eyelids open to see Garrett sprawled in a chair next to a hospital bed. An IV dripped liquid into her arm, and a plush white blanket covered her to her hips. She was partially sitting up, with thick pillows supporting her. “Garrett?”
He glanced at a monitor above her head. “You passed out in the library.” A thick book bound in faded brown leather was open on his lap. “You were reading this, and then you just keeled over, according to Janie.”
She couldn’t remember the book. Her head ached with the echo of an old storm, and she pressed a hand to her temple. “Let me see it.”
“Hell, no.”
She jolted at the fury in his voice. He was so good at masking his emotions that she hadn’t caught the turmoil beneath the surface. She needed to learn that skill, although now was probably not the time. She tried to remember reading the book and then passing out, but a huge dark hole in her memory prevented it. Why did this keep happening to her? “Is it possible that something in the book shut down my mind?” Just how many triggers did she have?
“Emma thinks so, and we conducted tests to see if you physically reacted the same as with the other stimulus. A scan of your brain showed that the tumor receded slightly in reaction to this possible trigger, but it’s still growing faster than before.” His voice was matter-of-fact, but the energy pouring from him was anything but calm. It heated the room and swelled into every corner. “Since you’re all hooked up now, we thought we’d go ahead with the tests, if you’re up to it.”
That didn’t sound like him. He was usually more cautious with her. Her heart sank, and her limbs began to tingle in warning. In stress. Her adrenaline kicked up several notches, and her breathing rate increased. Stress was going to kill her before the mass in her head did, if she didn’t figure out how to control herself. “The tumor is getting a lot worse, isn’t it.” She made the claim a statement because it was obvious.
“You’ll be fine.” He handed over the spiral notebook she’d used earlier to scribble thoughts and drawings as she deciphered ancient codes. “Ring any bells?”
She scanned her notations, and her memory came rushing back. But not the moment when she’d passed out. The day had been an adventure with Hope as they compared notes and collaborated on deciphering the symbols. It was the most fun she’d had in ages. Well, except for having sex with Garrett. That had been better than all of her recent adventures put together.
“Destiny?” he prodded. “Do you recognize your notes?”
