I winced as she moved my head from side to side. Okay, the pain wasn’tentirelygone.
“I-I don’t remember much,” I confessed.
Shadows. Screams. What the fuck had happened to me?
“You collapsed in the street,” a guard said. “Marcus found you during his round and called your mate. He should be back with Ann any minute now.”
I shook my head, trying to stand up. “No need for Ann, I’m sure it was nothing.”
Lola’s hands went back to my shoulders to push me back to the ground. “You’re not moving from here.”
Our gaze met. Her face was pale, and eyes went from wide and terrified to a confused but determined frown sometime during the two minutes I’ve been back to myself.
“Lola, I’m f—”
“No.” Her head shook a couple more times, eyes tightly shut. “We’re waiting for Ann. She’ll make sure.”
She was straddling one of my legs, her long T-shirt—probably one of Dimitri’s—reaching just above her knees. One of her hands was firm on my shoulder, keeping me seated on the floor, the other distractedly cupping my face, fingers fumbling with the hair behind my ear.
She was worried.Reallyworried.
“Lola…”
Her throat bobbed as her eyes opened and landed on my face.
“I’m okay,” I breathed out, placing a hand on her waist. “I’m here, I’m okay.”
“You’re bleeding out of your nose,” she said.
Was I? I reached for it with my other hand, finding my fingers stained with gold as I looked.
“Must have hit it when I fell,” I concluded. “It’s nothing.”
“Maybe. But Ann will still take a look.”
“It’s really unnece—”
“Please,” Lola said, her eyes watering. “Fainting and nosebleeds aren’t common for Divines, unless they’ve been brutally attacked. Were you?” I sighed, giving one single shake of my head. “Thenplease, let Ann take a look at you. It’ll take a minute, and I can’t—” Her voice broke, the defeated sound shattering my resolve and heart all at once. “Dimitri and Arc are who knows where, I can’t risk losing you too. I’m not—I’m…”
A pair of footsteps closed in on us, their pace hurried. The next second, Marcus' hand was on Lola’s shoulder, pulling her away from me softly.
“Come now, sweetheart,” he said. “Ann will take over. It’s all good, he’ll be fine.”
It took him a few tries before she reluctantly stood up and stepped back to remain at his side, her gaze never leaving me.
“What happened?” Ann said, kneeling on the ground next to me, catching my face between her hands to inspect it.
“I’m not sure,” I answered.Shadows. Screams.“I—Every time I try to remember, there’s like a thick fog in my head.”
She hummed, her eyes studying every inch of my head. “You didn’t just bleed out of your nose,” she said. “There’s dry blood coming out of your ears.”
Lola brought her fingers to her mouth, nibbling at her nails. One of Ann’s palms grabbed my forehead as she closed her eyes. A strange, warm feeling spread out inside my skull before slowly reaching the rest of my body. When had I became so fucking cold?
“It was an attack,” she whispered. “There are no reasons a Divine could end up with so many aneurysms exploding all at once.”
“Aneurysms?” Lola croaked, trying to take a step forward only to be held and pulled back by Marcus before she could get closer. “It’s not possible. Divines and Hellrisers areImmortals. We can’t have—”
“Actually you all can,” Ann interrupted her with a sigh, letting go of my head. “As a matter of fact, lots of Immortals can develop tumors or aneurysms. Some Earthwalkers might even die because of something like this, as our blood isn’t as strong as a Divine’s or Hellriser’s. The only things you guys are immune to are viruses and bacteria.”
