Mathos stepped in front of Reece. “Mate, there’s no way you’re ready.”
Reece shoved his light brown hair out of his eyes, and Mathos could see that he was sweating just from the effort of standing. His indigo-blue scales flickered at his wrists, but they were dull and faded.
His voice was rough and exhausted when he spoke. “I’ve got to go.”
“Go where? You can hardly stand, for fuck’s sake.”
“Anywhere.” Reece looked out the window for a moment, his shoulders slumped.
“But why?” Mathos demanded. “You’re not making sense.”
Reece turned back, meeting his eyes with a dead look. “It’s my fault that you were all captured. Just as it was my fault that we were found by Grendel.”
“No. None of that was your fault. You found us somewhere to hide when we escaped the palace, and I reckon you saved Val’s life by doing it. That Helaine ran straight to Ballanor is on her, not on you. And this… gods man, how many times must I tell you. Dornar knew exactly where we were going. He heard Alanna saying she wanted to go to the assizes when they were in the cells. You were just unlucky enough to get caught first.”
“Truth,” Jeremiel said clearly into the quiet room.
Reece stared at them in silence, looking between him and Jeremiel, and for a moment Mathos thought he had reached him. But then his jaw set stubbornly, and he turned away.
Mathos stepped closer and gripped his friend’s arm, forcing Reece to look at him. “None of this was your fault. Not one of us blames you.”
He wanted to shake Reece, but he guided him back to the bed instead and helped him to sit. “You’ve been punished enough, don’t you think?”
Reece shook his head roughly and then lifted a hand to his temple as if the movement had hurt. “I don’t want to be here.”
“Why not? We’re all here, and Val and Alanna are getting married tomorrow.”
“They don’t want me.” It was almost a whisper, as if Reece had to force the words out. As if now they were truly getting to the heart of the problem.
Mathos sank onto the corner of the bed, beginning to understand. He nodded to Jeremiel. “Go and get them. Tell Val he’d better be finished with whatever checking he was doing or I’m going to get them myself.”
Rafe snorted from his place against the wall, but Reece immediately tried to stand. Mathos stopped him with a hand on his chest. “You, my friend, are staying here.”
A few minutes of strained silence passed, during which Mathos imagined many creative ways to kick Tristan’s ass for putting him in this position. Finally Val and Alanna, both looking decidedly flushed and rumpled—as well as significantly more relaxed—walked into the room with Jeremiel.
“Right,” Mathos said, looking pointedly at Val and Alanna. “Reece is busy trying to leave, even though he can hardly move. Tell us, please, do you want him at your wedding?”
Val scowled heavily. “Of course we want you here, Reece. And even more than that, we want you to stay and get better.”
“Truth,” Jeremiel observed quietly.
“No, mate.” Reece hunched his shoulders, and Mathos could see that his tarnished scales had reached all the way up to his neck. “You don’t know everything.”
“But I do,” Alanna said in a gentle voice.
Reece winced and looked out the window.
Alanna stepped away from Val. She stopped in front of Reece and took his hands, forcing him to look at her. “I’m not going to tell you that we’ve been best friends. And you already know that I will never tolerate you hurting Val. So, you can trust me that I’m being honest.” She paused, as if looking for the right words, before continuing, “All of us understand how difficult this has been for you, even if we… I… haven’t liked—” She cast a glance back at Val and then focused on Reece again, “—some of the things you’ve said.”
Alanna gave Reece a gentle smile, filled with compassion. “Without the push you gave us, I’d still be sneaking into Val’s tent without him knowing, and he’d still be leaving. So, thank you, Sergeant Reece.”
Reece stared up at her as she continued. “You and I don’t really know each other, and maybe we don’t really like each other, but that’s family right? You’re Val’s family, and he needs you to be there tomorrow. And I want that too, I want to be part of this family. Please stay.”
“Truth,” Jeremiel said in a low voice, and Mathos could have sworn he saw a suspicious gleam in Reece’s eyes.
Bollocks. He had a strong urge to press his palms to his own eyes. What the actual fuck? He didnotdo weepy shit.
He needed some space. Reece needed some space even more.
