Page 190 of Huntress

“My squad leader is dead,” Callum reported, his back to the centipede. “He died saving one of the recruits.”

The news hit hard. Elsie closed her eyes, wishing it all away. Her attention only broke for a moment, but that’s all the demon needed. With the last of her strength, the centipede lashed out with one scythe-like arm, aiming straight at Callum, who shouldn’t have been there in the first place.

“You stupid fucker, move!” Without thinking, Elsie ran forward, and pushed him out of the way. Her whole body felt the impact, muscles spasming and bones shaking in their frame. It felt as though she’d fallen from a great height, and every inch of her screamed in pain.

Looking down, her mouth fell open in shock. That damned arm had punched a hole through the center of her chest. Her eyes were drawn to the demon’s, and Elsie swore she saw a ghoulish smile play across that blown-apart jaw.

“No!” Saint gasped, rushing forward to yank the insect’s arm out of her chest.

“I didn’t–it–it was an accident!” Callum stuttered, picking himself up off the ground, face ashen white. He took one look at the fury on Saint’s face and took off running without telling anyone about the devastation he’d caused.

“Oh, gods!” Morgan cried a short distance away, unaware of what had just happened. “Elsie, it’s Steve!”

Her head swiveled at the anguish in Morgan’s voice, drums thundering in her ears. The warrior who’d done so much to overcome his weaknesses was crushed under the centipede’s body, the light gone from his eyes.

“No!” She stumbled forward, then fell.

“Mistress! Stop! Stop, you’re going to die,” Saint choked on the words. He sank to the ground with her, hands fumbling in distress. The blood was coming too fast. Even if he carried her, he’d never get Elsie to Marley on time.

“I’m so cold,” she complained, trying to give him a smile. Tears filled her beautiful demon’s eyes, and she felt his panic echoing through the connection they’d never had the chance to finish forging. “It’s going to be okay, Saint. I’ll heal up fast, and then we’re outta here. I’ll take good care of you.”

“Don’t lie to me, you little idiot. You can’t even take care of yourself right now,” he scolded. He shoved her shirt upward, revealing the gaping hole in her middle. “I’m sorry, but I refuse to sit back and let you die.”

Desperate to save her, he poured his demon magic into her body. Elsie couldn’t answer. She’d blacked out.

“MARLEY!” Saint shouted. Both of his hands were pressed against her wound, while he used his magic to form crystals in her blood, temporarily stopping the bleeding. His voice shook with desperation as he sent his first prayer to Elsie’s mother. “Santa Muerte, you bitch, save your daughter!”

Chapter thirty-six

Chapter 36

Elsie woke up in the infirmary. Everything hurt, and she could barely summon the strength to raise a hand to wipe the gunk from her eyes. There was an IV in her arm, and the slow beat of a heart rate monitor faded with all the other fuzzy background noise. She heard hushed voices outside, but they’d put her in a private room, and she was alone.

Bracing herself for the worst, she pulled the white blanket covering her torso down, then wiggled around, pulling the dressing gown out from under her hips to raise it and expose her belly. They’d bandaged her from hip bone to breast, and a distinctly herbal smell rose from the area.

Marley loved incorporating medicinal plants into her healing, claiming it would not only speed up the process but also boost the immune system. Elsie had seen the healer’s work enough times that she didn’t dare question her wisdom.

She wasn’t surprised to find that none of her squad members were present. She didn’t expect them to dote on her after choosing to change squads. Besides, they had their own injuries to tend to. But the absence of one person in particular caused concern.

“Saint?” she called out, expecting him to be lingering nearby. Elsie waited a minute, her chest constricting as a frown formed on her face. He’d shut down his side of their bond. Even if he were sleeping, he’d have stayed by her side. The demon hated being separated from her. “Saint?”

The door swung open, and Marley came inside, a pleased expression on her face. The healer was exhausted, but she’d escaped the battle without any lasting injuries.

“You’re awake,” Marley said with a discomforting amount of relief.

“Was it that bad?” she asked, gently patting the bandages. “I’ve had worse.”

“No, you haven’t. You had a hole in your body so wide I could see the ground through it. That demon injected you with enough venom to kill anyone else in our squad. You’re one tough bitch, Commander,” Marley praised. “The IV is pumping you full of antivenin to counteract it. Inspired by one of Riven’s concoctions.”

Elsie’s brow furrowed as she listened. She’d known it was bad, but she definitely hadn’t realized how seriously she’d been hurt.

“You’ve been in a coma for three days,” Marley said, and Elsie winced. “And you’ve still got at least a week before you’re fully healed. You got lucky. If it weren’t for that mutt of yours, you wouldn’t have survived. Fate came close to calling a few times, I really thought you were going to die.”

“Saint helped me?” Elsie asked, then shook her head at her own thick question. Of course he did. Saint wouldn’t sit back and do nothing when she was hurt. She didn’t remember anything after pushing Callum out of the way, except the cold. She remembered the chill of death seeping into her bones.

“He used his magic to stop the bleeding long enough for me to get there. I didn’t know he could yell like that. He’s always been creepily silent,” Marley joked.

“He spoke to you?” Elsie questioned, though she shouldn’t have been surprised after he’d practically cussed Marley out.