I frown. He’s delusional, burning up, stuck beneath a blaring sun.
“Please, Kael.” My voice shakes.
“Alright.”
A rhythmic thudfills my ears. Predictable. Steady.
I stir in Kael’s arms, fighting for every inch. His strength is like steel. I can’t budge at all.
“Don’t,” he grunts, shifting toward me, putting our mouths inches apart, the only thing between us whiskey and heat.
“You have to let me go,” I scold, fighting to fill my chest all the way. “We need water and food. And you need… medicine.”
He doesn’t respond. That’s when I look at his arm again. Red, puffy, still very swollen. But the color isn’t as dark now. And the black networks of veins look fainter, too.
That’s when I hear it. A familiar thud of hooves draws closer. “Someone’s coming.”
He grunts, fighting to lift his head. He can’t.
“Help me sit up,” he grumbles, arm leaving me finally. My skin shivers at the loss of his burning touch, even as my chest happily expands and my aching muscles stretch.
Boots hit the dirt in front of us, a reddish-brown column rising. “What the hell happened here?” a man’s voice cuts through.
“Ash,” I say on a puff of air, face instantly relaxing as I sit up.
But his cerulean gaze is on Kael’s form.
“Town’s in an uproar you didn’t show for work today, Eliza. And when Mags found your horse still saddled during her morning ride, we started fearing the worst.”
“Me, too,” I confess.
“Josephine wouldn’t let me stop till we found you.” Ash grimaces, eyeing Kael. Mouth still bloody, arm a wreck, body limp.
“What happened to him?”
“Rattlesnake.”
The blond cowboy towering over us shifts uneasily, eyes darting between us. “He hurt you?”
“Me?” I shake my head, taken aback by his words. “No, it’shim. He needs help.”
Ash looks away, cursing low under his breath. “Felt the hum different last night. Should’ve known.”
“What?” Kael grunts, eyes struggling open. A brighter shade of Ash’s.
“Come on, old-timer. Got to get you out of here before you cause more trouble.”
I gasp. “You can’t move him. He almost died last night. He?—”
“You don’t understand what he is,” Ash says, low and mean.
Kael tries to lift up on one elbow and fails.
“Should’ve never come here,” Ash growls. He looks at me. “Some folks aren’t made for civilization. You sure he didn’t hurt you?”
I blink hard, fighting for words from my parched mouth.
Ash cuts in, raising a hand. “Where are my manners?” But his gaze is fierce as it burns into Kael. He rifles through his saddlebags, returning with a cantle bag.
