Faelin sat closer to the water, braiding her ginger hair with delicate precision, Lionel was a few paces off, adjusting the sights on his rifle, while Eve pretended to not watch him do it.
A stiff knot formed in my stomach. I left Malakai behind without another word and dropped to my knees beside Nate.
“Ashley,” I said softly.
She startled like she hadn’t heard me approach.
“He’s fine.”
A too quick and sharp answer as if she was trying to convince herself rather than me. “Well, he’s not worse. Jaden says he stabilized. Probably. He’s… he’s breathing steady.” She blinked several times, then swallowed. “I’m never stabbing a demon again.”
“That was a shapeshifter… And youdidn’tstab the demon,” Jaden chimed in, rolling onto his elbows. “There’s a difference.”
Ashley hurled a rock at his head, which he dodged, mostly by falling over.
I pressed my hand to Nate’s forehead, cool, but not frighteningly so anymore. His hair was damp with sweat, his expression far too peaceful for someone who usually woke everyone with jokes at dawn.
“You’re supposed to be annoying,” I whispered. “This silent thing doesn’t suit you.”
Ashley let out a shaky breath. “He’ll wake up soon. He has to. I owe him—”
“Stop rambling,” I interrupted, squeezing her arm. “You made a mistake; all of us have made plenty of those.”
She looked at me like she didn’t believe a word I said.
Malakai crouched behind me, his presence a familiar warmth.
“He’s strong,” he said with an odd softness few got to hear from him. “He’ll fight his way back.”
Ashley eyed him as if remembering he existed at all, and then mumbled, “Right. If demon-boy says it, then it must be true.”
Malakai scoffed at her. “Half-demon. Don’t downgrade me.”
Faelin glanced over her shoulder, voice barely above a breeze. “Maybe… maybe we could move him somewhere less exposed once he wakes. The forest edges still give me the creeps.”
Ashley shivered violently. “Yeah. No more forests. Ever.”
Lionel stood and slung his rifle over his shoulder. He gave me a quick look, a friendly check-in, as he always did and tilted his head towards the horizon. “We should plan our route before the sun’s fully down.”
Eve immediately stepped to his side like gravity pulled her there. “I’ll help. You always miss the good vantage points without me.”
He almost smiled. Almost.
I turned my attention back to Nate, brushing strands of hair from his cheek. My heartbeat still hadn’t returned to normal, but now it wasn’t because of the lake or Malakai and his maddening smirk, it was fear.
The kind that stayed in your lungs.
“Come back to us, Nate,” I murmured. “We’re not done. None of us are.”
As if sensing the falter inside of me, Malakai placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed, not possessive, or teasing this time. Just steadying.
“We’ll keep watch,” he murmured. “You should go get some rest, firecracker.”
Ashley grumbled something unintelligible about not needing rest as Malakai settled Nate’s jacket more securely around him. But she didn’t move away. She kept sitting there… leaning… until she slowly tipped over onto Nate’s good shoulder. Within minutes, her breathing evened out. Soft, almost timid, snores escaping. She looked smaller like that, peaceful, for once.
Jaden smirked. “Knew she’d pass out; she’s been running on pure guilt without moving an inch since we got here.”
“So she hasn’t eaten anything since we got out of the forest?” I whispered, placing my jacket around Ashley. “I think that’s a record for her.”
