Being shot sucked. A nap might help. Maybe if I closed my eyes for a few minutes, I’d feel better.
Kenji licked my face, making me grimace. The little shit had probably been licking his butt a few minutes ago.
“Don’t fall asleep, witch. It’s only a flesh wound.”
“I have her.” Zane’s voice startled me before the world disappeared and we arrived in the bedroom at the inn. I heard him say something to Alaric, and then darkness swallowed me whole.
Shouting dragged me back. Something hit the wall and smashed, and I winced. My head throbbed, and when I tried to move, my arm hurt. Had I slipped and fallen on ice?
“I told you to protect her!” Maverick’s angry yell hurt my head. Thunder crashed outside the window, causing the glass to rattle in its frame. A second later, a flash of lightning flared so bright it nearly blinded me.
Something told me Alaric’s storm had escalated.
A furry head nudged my hand. I unglued my eyelids to see Kenji staring at me. For once, there was no snark.
“Why are they shouting at each other?”
“Because they lack emotional intelligence.”
I huffed. Getting a straight answer from my familiar was like expecting a friendly hello from Demelza.
Kenji shuffled up the bed and squeezed his way under my good arm. The arm that didn’t hurt.
“The bear’s mad because the mage didn’t keep you safe, and he’s also mad that the incubus is being a dick. But he’s less mad about that because the incubus blinked you away from an active crime scene.”
“Crime scene?” Stars, did I burn someone to a crisp?
“The human who shot you got zapped by lightning that may or may not have been magical in origin. Her companion too. So now that you’re awake, we need to leave before the cops start questioning us.”
“Someone shot me?”
I sifted through my memories and found nothing but a black hole. The last thing I recalled was eating ice cream at the pizzeria. There was more. I knew it. But for now, the memories were just out of reach. Nebulous, like tendrils of mist floating across the pasture in the hour before dawn.
“Yeah. But the mage removed the bullet and put you to sleep to finish the healing process. Unfortunately, he hadn’t quite finished when the bear returned.”
I pulled Kenji closer, needing comfort and his body heat because I couldn’t stop shivering, despite the thick blanket covering me.
My emotions must have broadcast around the room because Maverick stopped his verbal assault on Alaric and turned to check on me. I peeked at him through my lashes, and his face softened.
“Little mate. How are you feeling?”
When I tried to sit up, my arm ached with phantom pain, even though there was no sign of injury.
“How do you think she’s feeling?” Alaric muttered. “She got shot.”
“Thanks to your negligence!” Maverick’s fingernails lengthened into claws as his shoulders bulged.
Stars. If I didn’t do something, Alaric would lose his shit and the hotel would burn down in a mysterious lightning strike, which would draw even more unwanted attention to us.
“I’m fine,” I said brightly. “Just tired. What time is it anyway?”
“Dawn. We need to leave.” Maverick moved around the bed and sat down next to me. He took my hand in his giant paw and squeezed. “Let’s get you dressed, and then we’ll set off.”
Alaric rolled his eyes. He probably thought Maverick’s need to take care of me was pathetic, but I ignored him and scanned the room. “Where are Zane and Kai?” The bond told me Zane was nearby, but I had no way of telling where Kai was. He’d barely interacted with any of us since we left campus, so it was possible he’d gone his own way. In one more day, we’d reach the coast, and from there he was close to his homeland.
“Kai’s fetching his stuff, and Zane went to get rid of the humans.”
“Are the humans… dead?”
