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Kyan
Warmth. Pleasant tingles. A relaxing lethargy.
Sensations creep through my body like someone has injected sparkling wine into my veins.
Not a bad feeling at all.
I lie here, lazily enjoying the warmth, and then memory rushes back in.
The hellhound attack. Topaz!
My eyes pop open and I surge up to sitting, only to find the woman I’m supposed to protect, seated beside me on blood-soaked grass, tears streaking her cheeks.
“Ky! You’re alive!”
She throws herself on top of me, hugging me fiercely, until I release an involuntary—and very non-sexual—groan.
“Oh, my God. I’m so sorry.” She slides back, but I hang onto her. I like the feeling of her body pressed against mine.
But I have to admit...
“It does kinda hurt.”
At the same time as I realize I’m the one who spilled all that blood, not her, Topaz’s muffled voice rises up from between us. “Be careful. You’re injured.”
I hold her a few seconds more, reluctant to release her. She’s the first human woman who has ever made me feel... the way I feel when she’s in my arms.
Eventually, I loosen my hold and she pulls back, laughter and concern and a trace of residual horror still decorating her gaze.
The hellhounds are...gone. How did that happen?
My brows come together as I glance around the now-peaceful landscape, trying to get my head around what happened. I managed to kill one—or at least, to send it back to where it came from—and I was fending off a couple of others when one of them got me, and good.
I glance down and wince at all the blood that has leached out of my gut. Half of it is smeared all over Topaz now, too.
I explore a little with my fingers. The wounds that I know must have been pretty close to being fatal, are almost closed over, and though it hurts when I move, the pain is nowhere near where it should be, for the level of injury I received.
“Did you...heal me?” My voice comes out rough and raw. I clear my throat before I try again. “That’ll be the second time. Seems I owe you, little witch.”
Her smile is tremulous, and her beautiful eyes are almost luminous when she nods. “I think we might be even on that front.”
“You’re not hurt?”
“Not physically. Though I’m pretty drained, magically speaking.”
She looks utterly exhausted, pale and drooping, and I pull her in toward me again, sliding an arm around her waist. She leans her head on my shoulder.
“We need to get away from here,” I say, and she nods.
“I know. They’ll be back, for sure.” She lifts her head to stare into my eyes.
I blink at the wave of emotion that rises up when she does so.
“Are you all right to move, yet?” Her voice is tender, and I almost shake my head, not as an answer to her query, but because I can’t believe a witch—and a human one, at that—is showing someone like me any care at all.
“I’m good. Sore, but okay to get out of here. Thanks to you.”
I can’t help myself. I reach out and wrap a long strand of her hair around my finger. Her cheeks fill with healthy color as she bats me away, but the gesture is half-hearted, and the pink in her face makes her look less fatigued.
“Maybe if you stop diving headfirst into danger at every turn, then I wouldn’t have to keep putting you back together. Ever think about that?” She bends her head, rummaging through that seemingly bottomless bag she carts everywhere.
She withdraws a roll of bandage, but her hands tremble. She’s not as calm and collected as she’d like to pretend.
I reach out, stilling her movement before she attempts to patch me up.
“Don’t do that here. I’m not bleeding anymore, and we should get away first. Drive till we find somewhere random and take cover for the night.”
“Somewhere random?” Her voice wobbles, so I keep my tone gentle.
“Somewhere completely unconnected to you or your cousins. Or my pack.”
She seems to be on the verge of crying.
I trace her jaw, trying to distract her from tears. “Somewhere to hole up for the night. Both of us can rest and recover, and then we can find your cousin in the morning.”
“Okay. That sounds pretty sensible.”
I shoot her a grin, trying for humor. “Don’t sound so surprised.”
She laughs, just a little, but the sound is welcome. It seems she has control of her emotions once again.
We help each other stagger to our feet, and it takes twice as long to get back to the car as it did on the outward journey.
“I’ll drive,” I start, but as pain lashes through my middle and I wince, she raises a brow.
“No way. I’m driving, shifter man.”
Seems I’m maybe not quite as healed as I thought.
“Yeah, okay,” I say, and we climb into the car. We take off back down the driveway and out onto the highway. At this time of the evening, when dusk is falling, there’s a bit more traffic than there was earlier, but not much.
She drives aimlessly, until we pass a small sign advertising a vacancy for a bed-and-breakfast facility.
“This one do?” She slants a quick gaze at me, and I nod.
“Sure. As long as it isn’t owned or run by you or one of your cousins.”
“Nope.”
“All good then.”
She turns in to the unmade road and passes a house with lights blazing at the windows. Further up the road, tucked well out of sight of the house, are four cabins, all dark and silent and overlooking a still, silent pond.
A light mist has fallen over the water. It’s nothing like the demonic fog at Topaz’s house last night, but it sends a ripple of unease through my body.
We need a place to rest and recoup our energy. Neither of us are fit to drive far right now, and I would be next-to-useless in a battle. We need to regain our strength before we can move on.
This place seems as good as any for that purpose.
Clearly, there is no one in residence in any of the cabins at the moment, which is a good start.
“Park the car behind that last cabin, well into the treeline,” I say, and Topaz complies. When she turns off the engine, the silence builds, until she looks down at her blood-soaked shirt and sucks in a quick breath.
“Damn. I don’t even think I have enough magic in reserve to clean this—”
“You won’t need to, at least tonight. I’m very good at break-and-enter, you know.”
Her eyes widen. “But what if they’ve been rented for the night and the guests are simply out for dinner or something?”
“I’ll double check.” I climb out of the car and gingerly shift several fallen branches to camouflage the vehicle, mindful of the pain of my still-healing wounds. Then I wander over to each of the four cabins in turn, sniffing the air for a scent of any recent habitation.
There’s nothing except cleaning product and dust.
I return to Topaz, who waits with a look of trepidation on her face. The trepidation turns to relief as I shake my head.
“No one’s been here for at least a couple of days, and I’d say it’s far too late in the evening for any check-ins.”
I hold out my hand, and after a second’s hesitation, she steps forward to take it. As soon as our skin touches, a zing of energy shoots up my arm. The tiny hitch in her breath confirms that she feels the connection, too.
“You really think we’ll be safe here tonight, Ky?”
I love it when she uses the shortened version of my name. It sounds good, coming from her.
“As long as we’re gone by daybreak, then yes. I do.”
“All right then. I’ve never broken in anywhere before, so this will be a first for me.”
There’s a note in her voice that almost sounds like excitement.
My respect for this woman grows. Topaz is one of the most resilient humans I’ve ever met—magical or otherwise. Even after all we’ve been through in the past twenty-four hours or so, her spirit remains unbroken.
As we climb the small set of steps onto the front porch, I acknowledge that this whole situation with Topaz—the fact that she is beginning to trust me, and the clear evidence of our mutual desire—is also a first for me.
She watches while I work on the door. It only takes a minute or so before I hear the lock click, and the door swings open.
I head in first, checking out the space. It is small, but comfortable. There’s a living area with a kitchenette, and one bedroom with a bathroom leading off it.
I head back to the entrance and gesture for Topaz to come inside. She stands at the threshold, her hands clenched by her side and an unreadable expression on her face.
“It’s safe, Topaz. I promise. There’s even crackers, fruit, and wine on the bench and cheese in the little fridge. We can have a midnight snack later. It’s perfect! Come on in.”
She releases a small laugh, and finally enters the cabin. “Will you protect me if I can’t keep my eyes open?”
She dumps her bag on the sofa and grips the back of one of the sofa chairs. Once again, she seems far too pale.
“Are you okay... hey. Topaz?”
I jump forward and catch her as she tilts sideways, sweeping her up into my arms. I grunt at the ripple of pain in my gut area, but I’m determined not to drop her.
“So sleepy,” she mumbles, tucking her face into my shoulder. “From the magic draining out. I think.”
A wave of longing washes over me as her delicate perfume wafts up into my nostrils. I try to tamp the feeling back down.
Not the time for anything like that.
“Let’s get you to bed, then,” I murmur. I carry her through to the bedroom and lay her gently on the bed. She has enough presence of mind to wriggle around and assist as I work the cover out from beneath her, then she yawns and snuggles in as I remove her boots and lay the cover back over the top of her.
I draw the curtains shut, and then switch on one of the bedside lamps. It casts a gentle golden glow over the room.
“I’ll watch over you,” I say, and she smiles dreamily.
“I know you will.”
Then she’s gone, fast asleep, as I sink into the armchair in the corner of the room and stretch out my legs in front of me.
I have no idea what tomorrow will bring, nor how I will make good on my promise to keep her safe beyond the here and now.
But for tonight at least, I will not let any enemies cross the threshold of this cottage. I will do my utmost to let her rest without fear of monsters keeping both of us awake.
