Her sore butt protested movement as she scrambled to her feet and rubbed the back of her skull, but hurt flickered that he hadn’t come after her, considering how single-minded he was about keeping her ass safe.
She pivoted in a full circle, which didn’t help her dizziness or her aching head, and frowned.
Shit!She couldn’t see him anywhere!
He wouldn’t leave her here alone, would he?
“Lore?” she yelled, then her gaze fell on the prone figure some distance away, near a cluster of boulders.
Oh, no, no!“Lore!”
She sprinted to where he lay motionless and skidded to her knees. His eyes were closed, his face ashen. His hair was like a halo of gore against the snow.
Blood seeped from a gash to his brow.Shit!
“Lore?” She brushed back the vivid strands from his face.
No response.
“Lore?” She shook him, dread gushing through her at his unresponsiveness, aware that more angels could appear at any moment.
Her jaw clenched. No, she couldn’t let that happen!
She grasped his hand, drew on her ability, and imagined them back at the abbey.
The next second, they were in the courtyard. She left him there, opened the abbey door, came back, and cupped his face, trying to awaken him again. “Lore, please, please get up.”
Not even a flicker of eyelashes.
Her heartbeat thundered in her ears as she grasped his arm and tried to drag him inside, but Lore was dead weight. She barely moved him an inch. “Lore, honey, c’mon! You have to get up, please!”
And nothing.
Ugh!This isn’t going to work.Out there, they would be sitting ducks!
Teeth gritted, she held his hand again and imagined them in her room, on the bed. And the next instant, they were. He landed on her face down, and her lungs nearly collapsed.
She shoved and pushed, and with everything in her, she managed to wriggle out from under him. Panting for air, she sat at his side.
Did she somehow hurt him? Shehadburned her pillow, so maybe.
Hastily, she lifted his shirt and checked his back for any burn injuries…and nothing. She slid her hand under him and felt his chest and abs, just smooth, warm skin and muscles imprinted on her palm. She exhaled in relief.
At the still seeping cut on his brow, she dashed into the bathroom, dampened a towel, got the first aid box from the cabinet, and rushed back. Gently, she cleansed the wound, likely sustained from hitting a rock?—
The roiling in her skull cranked up, an explosion of colorful stars erupting?—
“No…” She dropped the towel and gripped her hurting head. Voices within grew into a cacophony. Tears gathered.Ow!She tried to shut out the sounds, using all the things she learned as a child to shut out her pain, and some of the rioting eased. The voices receded, giving her a little reprieve…
Did she hit her head too hard when she fell? It had to be, given all the other crap she was going through currently. The buzzing, the heat waves. Man, whatever bloodline she possessed sure sucked.
Inhaling a shuddering breath, she found some antibiotic cream in the first aid box, applied it to the wound on Lore’s forehead, and fixed a Band-Aid large enough to cover his injury. Once done, she gathered everything and returned the items to the bathroom.
Back in the bedroom, she removed Lore’s footwear and dropped it on the floor. Then she sat at his side and smoothed back his hair, her belly knotting.
“What happened to you?” she whispered.
Did some unseen angel knock him out?
