Malakai sat beside me, his shoulder brushing mine. “She’ll bite you if you wake her.”
“Probably.” I smiled wryly.
The wind picked up, rustling nearby leaves.
We stayed like that a while, listening to the lake lapping against the shore, watching the sky darken. My heartbeat finally slowed enough to feel the tiredness crash in.
Nate’s chest rose and fell steadily, thank the stars, and Ashley’s fingers were curled tightly into his shirt like she’d anchored him there.
Suddenly Nate shifted.
Jaden straightened. “Oh, oh, look who decided to rejoin the group of smartasses.”
Nate shifted again beneath Ashley. It wasn’t dramatic, just a slight adjustment, a small wince as his muscles protested, but it was enough.
The movement jostled Ashley’s cheek against his shoulder.
She made a tiny sound of complaint and mumbled, nowhere near conscious. “Quit… wriggling… stupid…”
That’s when Nate’s eyes cracked open.
Jaden sat upright. “He’s back!”
Ashley was jolted awake by the shout, nearly head-butting Nate in the process. She blinked rapidly, hair a mess, clutching his shirt like a lifeline.
Nate blinked up at her, before inevitably grinning.
“Well,” he rasped. “If this is the afterlife, I’m definitely dying more often.”
Ashley turned scarlet instantly. “I… You… Shut up or I’ll punch you!”
Jaden snorted. “What, you’re going to try to kill him again after all that sobbing? Bold strategy.”
Ashley shoved him away with one hand while desperately trying to look like she hadn’t been nestled against Nate like a worried cat.
“I wasn’t sleeping,” she insisted. “I was just closing my eyes for a second, while checking if you even had a pulse left.”
Nate’s voice was weak but teasing. “Sure, you had time to drool on me as well?”
Ashley gasped. “I did not!”
Malakai laughed, an actual, delighted laugh, and slung an arm over my shoulders, pulling me closer. “Relax, firecracker. He clearly enjoyed it.”
“Don’t call me—” she started, but Nate cut in.
“Shit, that’s a perfect nickname for her,” he said, smiling warmly. “It’s cute.”
Ashley looked like she was seconds from spontaneous combustion.
Faelin hid a giggle behind her hand. Even she couldn’t resist. “Glad to have you back.”
Nate tried to sit up and immediately groaned, clutching his wounded shoulder. Without thinking, Ashley supported his back, muttering threats under her breath.
“Easy,” she said. “Your wound will rip open. And then I’ll rip the rest of you.”
“Aw,” Nate breathed, leaning into her touch. “Shedoescare.”
Before Ashley could swing at him, Lionel and Eve returned from the fog. Lionel’s eyes did their habitual sweep, checking me first, quick and soft, before landing on the newly conscious clown.
