Bokkan glowered at Venna. “You are familiar with tactics such as these. There was no magic involved, and you know it.”
She ignored him, her burning eyes locked on me. “I don’t care what it takes. I will kill you.”
I took another step forward. We were still six feet apart, and there were two large daemons between us. I was also armed now.
“If you come at me again, I won’t fight you with bare hands. I will use whatever weapons I have at my disposal to defend myself.” I glanced at Guldan. “What happened to the imp at the auction, Commander?” I asked.
The commander turned his head slightly toward me, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “The one in the holding cells?”
“Yes.”
“Dead,” he answered with a shrug.
My vision tinged black at the edges when I shifted my gaze to Venna. “I took them down. By myself. I didn’t want to do it, but they kidnapped me and tried to harm me.” I took a deep breathand steadied myself before I continued. “I will do the same to you if I have to.”
I didn’t give her a chance to reply. I had to get somewhere private and sit down before I passed out and undermined the threat I’d just made.
Without another word, I turned around and marched toward the house. The black haze in my peripheral vision grew thicker with every step, and my breath grew shallower, even though I fought to regulate it.
Bokkan walked ahead of me up the short steps to the door before he threw it open. Once inside, I didn’t stop, heading straight for the staircase. If I was going to pass out, I wanted to be somewhere private and safe. Since I couldn’t go home, Bokkan’s bedchamber was the next best thing for now.
I gripped the railing with both hands as I hauled myself upstairs. I wasn’t sure if it was my legs propelling me upward or my arms pulling me, but I managed to make it to the second-floor hallway.
Heavy footsteps echoed behind me as I stumbled down the hall. My head swam and the walls seemed to shudder around me. My legs shook, about to give out, and I was too weak to catch myself as I started to go down.
A strong arm swept up my legs, and another wrapped around my back. I found myself cradled against Bokkan’s chest.
“Shit,” I mumbled as the blackness swallowed my vision completely.
I had no idea if Bokkan replied because I passed out.
Chapter
Thirteen
Bokkan
I had never felt more helpless in my life.
Watching Leda fight Venna was the worst thing I’d ever experienced. I knew I wasn’t supposed to intervene, but I had no doubt I would have if it looked like Venna was going to kill my human.
She was quickly becoming the center of my world.
How could I have become so attached to this small female so quickly? I winced when I looked down at her and saw the torn skin of her forearms. Venna had used her claws on my female, and the wounds were still bleeding. Unsure if humans were prone to infections, I decided my best course of action was to clean and treat the deep cuts. It was better to be cautious than risk further harm to Leda.
Decision made, I carried her to the couch. The fire in the grate was smoldering, so I quickly placed a few extra logs on the pile and stoked it until they caught fire, and the flames began to dance in the hearth. Her pale skin felt so chilled and thin against me. She needed the heat of the fire to bring the warmth back to her flesh.
I hurried into the bathing room and found the wooden box that held my wound supplies. When I carried the box back into the bedchamber, Leda groaned, her head shifting against the back of the sofa.
I squatted down in front of her. “Leda, you are safe and in my room.”
She groaned again, and her eyelids fluttered. After a few moments, her eyes opened. Blurry golden eyes met my gaze.
“What happened?” she mumbled.
“You fainted.”
She snorted and shifted on the couch. “You mean I passed out,” she retorted, her voice still weak.
