He lowered his head again. Maybe he didn’t feed at all. The horsemen’s horses seemed to be a living extension of the horsemen’s abilities, so it might not be necessary for them to eat. Either way, he wasn’t coming with me as he lowered his head again and closed his eyes.
I forced one foot in front of the other until I reached the door to the outside and pushed it open. When a cold blast of wind and snow hit me in the face, I almost turned back as the icy flakes slid inside my coat and dripped down my neck.
I didn’t know why humans feared Hell; this was far worse than anything from my plane. My growing hunger compelled me to continue as I trudged through the snow.
I kept my head bent against the howling wind, but it did little to keep me protected from the winter. I made my way through the trees and down the hill until I found some wayward wraiths starting to rise from the earth.
I fed and hurried back to the hotel. I sighed when I closed the door against the wind and leaned against it. Outside of our room, the hotel was cold, but it was like a sauna compared to the misery outside.
I brushed back the wet tendrils of hair clinging to my face as I pulled off my coat and jogged back toward my room. Zorn opened his eyes at my approach, but he closed them again without acknowledging my presence.
I returned to the room to find Corson sitting in a chair near the window. I reclaimed the seat I abandoned and rubbed my palms on my pants to warm them before retrieving Wrath’s hands.
Sensing I needed a friend, Corson didn’t rise to leave. Neither of us spoke, but he remained with me as night descended and the storm came to an end.
Chapter Forty-Nine
Bale
A touchon my arm snapped my head up. I’d fallen asleep with my legs draped over the side of the chair, my head resting against the back, and Wrath’s hand clasped in mine. It was how I’d slept all week.
I looked blearily around the dark room for one of the others. The fire had died down to embers, but its dim glow was enough to reveal that no one stood beside me. When my nails bit into my palms, I realized Wrath’s hand wasn’t in mine. I spun so fast in the chair I nearly bashed the top of my head off his chin.
“Easy,” he murmured as he rested his hands on my shoulders.
I shouted with joy, and throwing my arms around him, I launched myself out of the chair and into his arms.
He laughed as he hugged me close. “It’s good to see you too.”
My hands ran over him as I embraced him and tried to reassure myself he was okay. He was real beneath my hands, but despite being unresponsive in bed for a week, he felt solid, strong, and so damn good I nearly wept.
“Are you okay?” I demanded as I pulled away. “Did I hurt you?”
His black eyes twinkled in the dim light of the room, but despite looking and feeling good, the lines around his eyes and mouth told me he wasn’t completely healed. Faint black and purple bruises marred his face, but the bones had reformed. He was sitting up, which meant his spine had also healed, and the puckered mark on his chest was little more than a pink circle now.
He looked so unbelievably amazing, but he’d just taken on two of the horsemen, nearly died, and been in bed for a week; I never should have thrown myself at him.
“I shouldn’t have done that,” I whispered.
“I’m fine,” he assured me. “You didn’t hurt me.”
Before I could respond, he pulled me back into his arms and onto his lap. The joy crashing through me was overwhelming. Before I knew what was happening, tears streaked my face as I draped my arms around his shoulders and sobbed.
“I’m okay.” He ran his hands over my hair and down my back as he tried to soothe me, but the tears wouldn’t cease. “Don’t cry for me, love. I’m fine, and I’m never going to leave you.”
My fingers dug into his back as I cleaved to him. The warmth of his arms around me and the flex of his muscles beneath my hands finally caused my tears to cease as I succeeded in reassuring myself he was alive and well. Long after my tears dried, I remained in his arms, listening to the reassuring beat of his heart.
“How long was I out?” he asked.
“A week.”
His arms constricted around me. “What’s happened since then?”
“Nothing. It’s been extremely quiet. Raphael flew back to the wall to tell Kobal what happened and to bring back more fighters. There have been no signs of any craeton in the area, and there haven’t been any fights. We have gotten about another foot of snow, so we probably won’t be leaving for a while.”
“I’m okay with that.” He rested his chin on my head. “How areyoudoing?”
“Much better now that you’re awake. Zorn will also be happy to see you; he hasn’t left his post in the hall since we moved you in here. I tried to talk him into going out to feed with me, but he wouldn’t budge. Does he feed on wraiths?”
