“I know.” Chastised into submission, Blade sighed. “Sorry. Seriously.”
Mace and Scotty glanced at each other and shrugged. “It’s fine,” Mace said. “I’d have flipped out too.”
Blade doubted that, but it was cool of Mace to try to make Blade feel less stupid.
“Are we done with the drama?” Jon slung his packs over his shoulder. “We need to get to the cabin. We’re wasting precious daylight.”
“Yeah.” Mace hissed as he put his full weight on his left leg. That one had taken the brunt of the crushing spell, and Blade wasn’t sure his attempt to repair it had been enough. “Shit. This hurts.”
Skoll cast Mace a concerned glance. “Does your species heal fast?”
“Faster than most.” Mace limped over to his pack, but Blade hauled it up and added it to his load. Mace gave him a grateful nod. “Feeding helps too. I should be a hundred percent by tonight.”
Mace was full of shit. The damage had been catastrophic. Fatal, if not for Blade. But still, Blade wasn’t a talented, respected physician like his uncle, Eidolon. He wasn’t even as skilled as his cousin, Talon—also a doctor at Underworld General Hospital. No, Blade chose to craft his abilities into weapons instead of tools for healing injuries.
He could shred organs and pop arteries with a mere touch, but putting someone back together was a lot more difficult than taking them apart.
Jon seemed to contemplate what Mace had said as he started up the trail. “Do all Sems need to drink blood to heal?”
“Nah.” Mace fell in with Blade and Scotty, his gait slowing them all down. “My biological dad is part vampire. I inherited his fangs and the occasional need for blood.”
Jon frowned. “Like, an actual vampire? How? Vampires don’t breed, and they only turn humans, not demons.”
“Long, ugly story, dude.” Scotty was still dragging her fingers through her ponytail, as if doing so would contain her curls. Especially now that they’d been tangled in Mace’s fist.
Blade had to tamp down a wave of envy.
“You know his dad?” Jon asked her.
“Everyone knows him.” At his questioning stare, she explained. “Ever heard of the demon named Wraith?”
“Seriously?” Jon wheeled around, managing to keep pace while walking backward. “That guy’s a legend.”
“And he’ll remind you of it every chance he gets,” Blade muttered, but no one could miss the fondness in his tone. His unclewasa legend. The legitimate, saved-the-world kind. He’d been the cool uncle whenBlade and his brothers were growing up. The one they all worshiped—well, everyone except Stryke. Stryke had followed Eidolon around like a puppy since the day he could crawl after him.
Jon and Skoll peppered them with more questions as they headed toward the cabin. They were especially fascinated by Scotty’s family, but who wouldn’t be? The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse were either loved or hated by everyone on the planet. Even before the truth of their existence became known, they were known.
Gradually, their questions grew more personal and blatantly flirty. Blade hoped Scotty saw through their BS interest, but whatever. As much as he didn’t want her hooking up with either of them, most of his concern was for Mace. His gait was off, and he was too pale.
No matter how close the cabin was, it wasn’t close enough.
Chapter 6
The hike to the cabin took longer than expected. Normally, Scotty could appreciate a good hike, but this time, she just wanted to get off the trail. Shit had gotten so weird and awkward after Blade’s sudden appearance while Mace was feeding. And it wasn’t as if they could hurry. Mace’s injuries limited them to a crawl.
Making it all worse, Jon eventually stopped asking questions and started prepping them for tonight’s wendigo hunt.
Wendigos hate water.
Wendigos prefer to eat their victims while they’re still alive.
No, it’s not wendigoes. It’s wendigos. Noe.
Blade shot Mace an I-told-you-so look for asking Jon that particular question.
“What?” Mace asked, waving off Blade’s offer of help to get up an incline, the way he waved off the ghastbat-sized mosquitoes harassing them. “I’m gonna have to write reports. Need to know how to spell wendigos.”
“Let me fucking help you, dammit.” Blade slipped under Mace’s arm and forced the male to lean on him.
