But this victory had cost us.
47
EMBERLINE
The three of us landed on a flat rooftop blocks away from the safehouse, wisps of steam rising from Dante’s naked torso, me covered in Gabriel’s blood, all of us ready to drop from exhaustion.
“Make sure the safehouse is clear,” Gabriel gritted out. “My guess is, it’s crawling with soldiers by now.” Dante nodded, then was gone, and I let him go without a word. I was worried about him. No, I was fucking terrified for him, but falling apart right now did us no good.
“You need a healer.” I looked Gabriel over, though it was hard to see where the blood was coming from since he’d taken so much damage.
“I’ll hold for a bit longer. Just… let me lie down, will you?”
I carefully lowered Gabriel to the roof. He winced, favoring one side, arm locked around his blood-soaked shirt.
“Chances are, Giovanni knows about the safehouse and has been waiting for us to reveal ourselves. I’m sorry, Ember.” His face softened. “That leaves you with the clothes on your back once again.”
“I still have my boots.” I smiled, trying to look on the bright side. “Andmy favorite knife.”
“You deserve a palace,bella.” The anguished expression on his face had meglancing away. “You deserve so much more than this.”
“I deserve to pay my uncle back for all the pain he’s caused me and everyone else,” I countered loftily. “And what about you, Gabriel? It’s not like you haven’t suffered, too.”
“Well,”—he rubbed his thumb over my cheek, like he was cleaning something off—“it’s been my pleasure to suffer with you,bella. A privilege, even.”
“Stop acting all sentimental, or you’ll ruin your tough reputation,” I teased, looking in the direction of the safehouse, breath stalling in my lungs. “Giovanni wasn’t surprised to see me. He had that snarky little comeback all ready to go.”
“No, he wasn’t,” Gabriel agreed, wincing as he tried to get comfortable. “From his lack of reaction, I’d say he’s known for a while you’re alive.” He coughed, a wet rasping sound that… didn’t sound at all good.
I dragged my eyes off the city and focused on Gabriel’s white face, clammy forehead, and bright, feverish eyes. I dropped to my knees, ripped open his coat, and the smell of fresh blood about knocked me out.
“Gods, Gabriel,” I hissed through clenched teeth, ripping open his soaked shirt to reveal an abdominal wound so deep, I could see his insides. Four deep gouges, perfectly spaced. “Could youbeany more stubborn? When the fuck didthishappen?”
“Thank you, Gabriel, for saving me from that Ashbound. Taking that blow was a noble thing to do. You’re practically a hero.” His blue eyes were an alarming shade of gray, his lips bloodless.
“Thank you, Gabriel, for saving me, andhow the fuck could you be so godsdamned stupid?” I scolded. “Youcould have bled to death when we dematerialized. Did you ever think of that?”
“Dematerializing was no picnic,” he agreed, color slipping from his face at an alarming rate. “But staying on that island wasn’t high on my list of priorities, bella.”
“You’ll probably get a staph infection from the lagoon water and die a slow, hideous death,” I muttered beneath my breath, pressing my hand to the wound. But the gash was too big, my hands were too small.
And I didn’t have magic.
“And that’s if you don’t bleed out in the next five minutes.Godsdamn it.” I scanned the rooftops for Dante. For Nico. For anyone with magic who could help me.
“You are not dying on me,stronzo,” I gritted out, pressing harder, blood bubbling up between my fingers, panic blotting out everything else except my fear. “Gabriel, please, you have to hang on.Please.”
“Not… exactly… the way I figured I’d… buy it.” His dulled eyes slipped shut, head lolling to the side. I rolled him gently onto his back, blood pumping out of the wound now, black beneath the moon.
Black as fucking ink.
“Fuck. I can’t stop the bleeding, Gabriel.” I couldn’t catch my breath, nothing I could do would save him, and he would die just like my father… and…no.
I would not sit here helplessly and let Gabriel slip away.
I couldn’t lose this male; it would devastate me. The truth landed inside my chest like a string plucked across my heart. A note that landed exactly right. I couldn’t lose him because I didn’t justlikeGabriel.
This was more. Something deeper. Something lasting.
