Thirty-Eight
Felix
The world cameinto focus as Felix opened his eyes to a familiar ceiling. He ended up here a lot. He had never bothered being careful when he hunted, mostly, but he’d had fuck all to be careful for. Until now.
The stale, sterile smell burned his nostrils. He blinked rapidly as his eyes adjusted to the dark, the only light coming in through the starlit window.
“Avery?” he croaked out. His throat was unbearably dry as he tried to sit up, a flash of agony going through his chest. He gritted his teeth and sat himself up. The pain threatened to pull him under, making him see stars.Inside.
That wasn’t good. That was, in fact, spectacularly bad.
Instead, he focused on the bond, pulling him like a rope toward her.
He was in the den. And Avery was here too.
Ohfuck.
Using all his strength, he wrenched himself off the bed with considerable effort. But instead of going upright, he flopped onto the floor.Fucking gravity.The cold tiles hit his back, knocking all the breath from his lungs. For a moment, he just laythere. Defeated. In agony. A long, pained groan escaped him like a deflating balloon. What had his life come to?
Avery.
The thought of her alone was enough to have his body preparing to move. She was a witch in enemy territory, and he hadn’t been there to explain, to protect her, to do a single fucking useful thing. The thought of Avery, hismate,in danger made him feral. Adrenaline coursed through him. Using the bed as leverage, he yowled as he brought himself to his feet. If his legs gave out again, he’d crawl the rest of the way on his belly if he had to. The room tilted as he forced himself forward, navigating by pure instinct as he followed the thread that connected him to her.
He shoved his way into the dining room, slamming into the door with his good shoulder. The impact sent a fresh wave of agony through his chest, but he’d endured far worse, and none of it mattered if Avery was in danger.
Ciro stood near the window, the dragon shifter’s head whipping around at the noise. But Felix didn’t care about him right now. Avery sat only mere feet from his friend, and when her gaze locked on his, relief filled her face. Thank fuck. She was alive, she washere.
She ran to him and instantly put her arms around him, squeezing him as hard as the little witch could manage. His body screamed at him, but he didn’t care that it fucking hurt; all he cared about was that she was in his arms. He kissed her forehead and breathed in her scent of cinnamon and honey and home. Ciro’s face was stony as he looked him up and down. Still, Felix could read him like a book. The dragon was undoubtedly wondering what the fuck he was witnessing. Felix didn’t do physical affection, and he certainly didn’t do it with witches.
Warm light flooded the spinning dining room. How long had he been out?
“You always know how to make a dramatic entrance, brother,” Ciro said, turning to face them. “Shouldn’t you be horizontal right now?”
Felix flipped him off with his good hand while still hugging Avery, which made Ciro chuckle. But almost on cue, his legs stumbled forward into her, and only her surprising strength kept him from face-planting into the floor. When had she gotten strong? Felix likey.
He should most definitely be horizontal with the way his head spun. Fucking magic bullets, they were designed to lodge themselves into their target. His injury would heal. The skin had already knitted back. But the poison that flowed through him would sap him of magic for at least a month. Luckily, the bullet had missed anything particularly vital, but it had still done plenty of damage. They were a bitch of a thing to heal, and they still hadn’t found the antidote.
Avery guided him over to a dining chair and gently lowered him into it before taking a seat on the chair beside him. He hated feeling so powerless, but with Avery next to him, it wasn’t all bad. Her hand found his under the table, fingers threading through his, and some of the pain eased in his chest, replaced by a delightful warmth.
An unfamiliar dragon shifter walked into the room. On instinct, Felix rose quickly, his hackles raising as the world tilted violently. He was in no state to fight, but his body primed anyway. His tail whipped across the table, sending a glass clattering to the floor.
“God fucking dammit, Felix, sit down,” Ciro said. “This is Kai, he’s the one who saved you.”
He blinked twice at the dragon, trying to focus despite the world threatening to fall out from under him. The dragon’s skin was bronze with long dark hair plaited down his back. He shared the same golden eyes as all dragons did. Black horns jutted fromhis head, pierced in the same way that Ciro had. Felix didn’t sit. “He’s bonded to an enforcer.”
“I know, dipshit, now sit the fuck down,” Ciro said, running a hand through his hair. “I never thought I’d see the day where the pussy got pussy whipped.”
Felix lunged towards Ciro, but Avery’s hand planted itself firmly on his chest and sent him collapsing back down in his chair. Fuck. This pussywaspussy whipped. And he couldn’t even pretend to mind.
“Felix is right. He’s my sister’s dragon,” Avery explained.
His golden eyes met hers, blazing with fire. “I am no one’s but my own,” he said, snarling.
Avery kept her hand on him; without that anchor, he would’ve gone for the dragon’s throat purely for daring to speak to his witch in that tone
“Sorry. I just meant you’re bonded to her,” Avery said quickly.
Kai’s jaw ground. The muscle jumped in his cheek, tension radiating off him. “I was bonded to her years ago against my will, after I was stolen from my home and shoved into a statue,” he said through gritted teeth.
