He shrugs. “Something to do with her being a bitch during your last fire lesson.”
“Bitchy enough to kill me?”
Disappointment etches into the frown that marks his forehead. “She wouldn't be the first.”
A wave of emotions washes over me at his words, and my eyelids flutter closed. Inhaling sharply, I part my lips. “Others want to kill me?” I question, and he hums his acknowledgment. “Is that what you tried to do, the day at the cliff?”
Silence engulfs the room as my pulse rings in my ears, and my chest clenches until he clears his throat.
“You remember?” he asks, and I nod, inhaling sharply again as I force my eyes to open. My gaze lands on him, finding his eyes wide and alert, as if he's ready for me to shatter whatever this moment is between us. Yet my gut instinct to trust him when he offers the truth, despite the circumstances, resonates deep within me, quelling the anger I usually feel. Not eradicating it altogether, but easing it a little.
“It was Francesca,” I state, and my gut twists. “She wasn't alone.”
His eyes darken as if he knows what I'm about to say.
“Say it,” he grunts, lurching from the bed with his hands planted on his hips.
“Bonnie and Odesa.”
“What for?” he snarls, and I shake my head.
“It's a power play,” I mutter, rising from the bed too as I pace by the side. “She forced me to heal a wound she created onBonnie. At least we know my phoenix abilities include that now,” I state, trying to make light of the situation, but my body still aches with the remnants of pain.
“I’m going to chop off their fucking heads, put them on spikes, and feed them to Alaric.” He vibrates with anger.
As if sensing the disaster unraveling in the room, the door opens, and familiar faces fill the space.
“She remembers,” Baron grunts, head tilted down to the floor. “Francesca. Odesa. Bonnie,” he snarls, and the room erupts in chaos.
All four men talk at once, raging at one another as a fifth joins the mix: Hugo.
Unable to think among the madness and their shouting, I startle when Meadow peeks her head around the door.
I'm instantly flooded with relief.
Through the testosterone-built tension, there is a sliver of serenity.
“Hey, you're awake. Are you okay?”
I step into her extended arms. “I’ll be better when you get me out of here,” I admit, frowning at the guys, completely aware that they're coming from a good place, but they're giving me a goddamn headache.
“Absolutely. Do you want me to put my foot down and say it's girl time?”
I gnaw at my bottom lip as I nod, but before we can devise a plan, another light, feminine voice rings through the air.
“Did somebody say girl time? Hey, I'm Aster, their sister, and I promise, I’m definitely better than they are,” she promises, pointing her finger over her shoulder as she moves closer, and there’s a flash of movement behind her.
“And I’m Cami,” another girl sings, and I smile as Baron and Sax’s mom steps into the room.
She frowns at her sons before looking at me with bewilderment. “Would you like the company, dear? Or would you prefer some space?”
A knot unravels in my chest, one I feel has been wound tight for an eternity.
“Girl time?” Archer’s voice cuts through the air. “There's no girl time right now,” he commands, folding his arms over his chest as he narrows his eyes at me. “You need full protection, constant observation, and a certainty that nobody gets near you.”
I’m not the only one who gapes at him in disbelief, but it’s Baron and Sax’s mom who speaks first.
“Archer!” she bellows, cutting through the room and silencing everyone. “Rule number one: don't ever tell a girl what to do. Rule number two: don't suffocate her. And rule number three: when a girl says girl time, it meansgirl time.”
