Sam felt like he was falling, his entire body jolting forward before he recognised the familiar burn of silver. His entire body was on fire, from the tips of his toes to his nose, every single inch of skin burned.
With a shout he pulled off the weight on his lap, the fabric softer than he expected before hands tried to pin him down. Sam released his claws, trying to shred anything and anyone who touched him.
“Sam!” a feminine cry, one he recognised in the back of his mind. “Stop, you’re going to hurt yourself!”
Safe.He realised. Her voice was safe. With a groan he settled back, reaching up to wipe the liquid from his eyes. Everything was blurry, each movement agonising as he blinked until he saw the rough outline of a woman.
“Baby girl?”
Alice came closer, more into focus. She had been crying, eyes red and bruised. Sam’s arm shook as he reached for her cheek, blood coating his claws as he stopped at the last second.
“Did I cut you?” Ice sunk in his stomach, his movements too slow to see whether he had hurt her. His nose wasn’t working, the lack of scents alarming. “Alice?”
She lifted her arm, and thin lines of red dripped. “I’m fine, it’s just a scratch.”
“I’m so…” Sam tried to reach for her, his skin glistening metallic beneath the lights.
“You’re sweating silver,” she explained, carefully wiping across his skin with a cloth. “We weren’t sure if you would wake up.” He heard the tears in her voice.
Sam took a second to reply, screaming inside his head at the pain of the soft caress. “Silver?” He didn’t remember, nothing other than death. He should be dead, so why wasn’t he?
“The doctor thinks you were injected with something, so your body’s working it out of your system anyway it can. Your eyes are no longer red, through.”
Sam stiffened at the word doctor, panic rising once more as he tried to focus on the room. He expected white walls and an antiseptic stench, but instead it was natural woods and fine art. The sheets covering his hips were pale, but not exactly white as he tried to swing his legs off the side of the bed.
“What do you think you’re doing?” asked Alice in a chiding tone. “Samion Murphy, you stay in this bed right now!”
His muscles shook, feet barely able to take his weight as he slipped off entirely. Alice hovered, arms out ready but not touching. Her face had curved into a scowl, and Sam realised she had lost weight. “What happened?”
Alice gestured to the bed, and with a reluctant grunt Sam rested back. His legs had stopped shaking, his body bare but slick with the metallic moisture. Grabbing the sheet, he pulled it against himself, trying to wipe some of the metal off his skin. Alice removed the fabric from his hands, lips set in a straight line as she carefully began to wipe.
“Alice?” he asked, voice a harsh rasp as he tried to hide his wince. “What happened? Where’s Axel?”
Alice was silent a few minutes longer, concentrating on removing the metal. The burning slowly subsided, his thoughts no longer as sluggish as he finally lost patience.
“Alice?”
“Axel was taken,” she said, finally explaining what had happened. “Titus too.”
“Taken?”
A shadow, Lucifer appearing in the doorway. “He sold his soul in replacement for yours.” He leaned against the frame, chest bare with bandages wrapped around his shoulder. Smaller wounds sliced up his face, lips split as his red eyes met Sam’s. “Technically the plan went well, you know, except Titus.” A shrug.
“Axel didwhat?” Sam pushed up from the bed, taking a few steps closer to Lucy, his muscles steady. “Why… why would he do that?”
Why would he risk himself for me?
Lucifer exchanged looks with Alice, straightening from his lean. “Why wouldn’t he?”
“We have to get him back.” Sam’s voice broke, a pressure on his chest at the thought of anything happening to him. “We… we…” He couldn’t breathe, his lungs struggling to gain air.
“Give him a minute,” Lucifer said when Alice went to grab him.
Sam crouched, dropping his head low as he concentrated on sucking in oxygen. The pressure hadn’t lessened, a dull ache just above his heart.
“He shouldn’t have done that,” he said, forcing the words out. “He shouldn’t have sacrificed himself for me.” Axel, despite his vices had one of the best hearts Sam had ever known.
“It was a stupid plan,” Lucifer said, brows snapping together. “I told him this and yet here we are. Don’t ever let me get mated.”
