Panic sent my heart racing faster than my feet as I ran back to his side, careful not to touch him as I racked my brain for something, anything to do.
Maybe if I got a running start, I could knock him free of it before the force blew me backward again. I backed up, preparing to bulldoze into his side, when he roared. The whole space shook with the force of it, from the rafters to the boards beneath our feet. Whatever had grabbed him, he was fighting with all his might.
His back arched as his head bowed back, and I saw the turquoise glow of his wolf’s eyes burning bright as a torch in the dim space.
I reared back to sprint his way, but as I took the first running step, a light shot out of his chest, and he collapsed.
“Oh Goddess, oh Goddess, oh Goddess, please—” I raced to his side, skidding to a stop and flipping him onto his back.
Whatever had shoved me away before was gone now that he’d stopped touching the sword.
His chest wassmoking, his black T-shirt marred by a burnt-out ring with singed edges right over his heart. I ripped off my tunic, patting at the spot as if I could put out a magical fire like any other. The heat radiating from his skin made me yank my hands back.
And when the smoke started to clear, I saw it there, emblazoned on his chest in the same color as his wolf’s eyes.
The mark of the guardians.
Valens stirred sometime later, his head in my lap as I held him. “Hi there,” I murmured, brushing my fingertips over his soft brown hair for the millionth time, relieved when those blue-green eyes met mine.
“Hey, beautiful.”
Goddess, hearing his voice again was what was beautiful. “Are you okay? You scared the ever-loving shit out of me.”
The corners of his lips turned up in a sideways smile. “I feel incredible.”
I blinked, surprised by that answer. “Not what I was expecting, but I’m glad. Do you think you can sit up?”
He chuckled, levering himself up off the ground and onto his feet in a fluid motion before I could stop him. “I think I can climb a mountain.” He stretched both arms overhead with a satisfied groan, his brows only furrowing together when he looked around and realized we were still in his grandfather’s attic.
“How long was I out?”
I checked my watch. “Nearly three hours.”
That surprised him. “You didn’t call anyone?”
I shrugged, looking away. I’d panicked at first, yes, but after he passed out, his breaths were steady and even, and the glow on his chest stabilized. He seemed fine, just… asleep. I’d decided to hold him and wait him out.
“My wolf assured me you were okay.”
“Smart wolf,” he practically purred, grinning at me as if none of this had happened. I held up both hands, stopping him before he could cross the distance and scoop me up. I could see it in his eyes, that hungry heat I saw when he wanted to devour me.
“Look down.”
“What?”
I pointed at the hole in his shirt, the shining mark still blazing bright.
“Holy fuck.” His wide eyes met mine.
“The sword branded you.”
He darted over to the trunk, staring down into it with renewed caution. “Yes, it did.” He turned back to me. “I don’t think it meant to knock me out. I think… I think this is how it happens.” He ran his hand reverently over the mark on his chest. “This is how you become a guardian.”
I nodded, having come to the same conclusion. Still, I wasn’t going to bring up the implications of thesecondsword in that trunk. The slightly shorter one with a more feminine hilt.
No, I couldn’t let my mind go there, not right now.
“You’re a guardian.” I smiled on reflex, though I knew it didn’t reach my eyes.
