He huffed a laugh, shaking his head.
Rolling my eyes, I gestured for him to continue.
“Callum,” he replied, the singular word attaching itself to me the instant it left his lips.
“Callum,” I replied, testing out the name, the word rolling off my tongue in a way I very much liked. “It fits.”
He rolled his eyes at my comment, and I felt Finn’s eyes on me in surprise.
“At least she approves of your name,” Axel retorted, kicking the curb as he glanced at me. “Rather than asking me, what was it again you so eloquently said . . . ? If I was ‘set on my name’?”
“It’s a valid question,” I replied smoothly. “Lieutenant Pierce just doesn’t have much ring to it. Now, Sergeant Callum Blackwood . . . that does.” I shot him a haughty grin.
“I’m sorry,” Emberly cut in. “I’m lost here . . . How exactly do the three of you know each other?”
“We don’t,” I stated.
At the same time, Axel replied, “Well, it all started?—”
“Raelyna here has a habit of stalking us.” Callum interrupted him.
My gaze cut between both males, standing side by side with looks of amusement as I spluttered, “I have absolutely no such habit. If anyone was stalking, it would be you.”
“If you say so, starlight.”
“For the love of the gods.” I groaned as I buried my face in my hands, shaking my head.
“Definitely missing something,” Emberly muttered as she kept looking between the three of us.
“So you’re just friendly with these two members of the RSG for no particular reason?” Finn asked finally, after an excessively prolonged silence.
“I wouldn’t exactly say friendly,” I stated, feeling four sets of eyes looking in my direction. “And the only reason they’re here is because I ran into two enforcers on the fourth floor, and Axel intervened.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Finn bit out, his jaw ticking as he held my gaze.
“This better not have to do with your obsession with the passed-out angels, Rae,” Emberly added, and I felt the moment Blackwood—no,Callum’s—eyes narrowed on me at her words.
“What angels?” His voice was a tight demand.
I heard Finn’s brief scoff—probably in disbelief at my actions.
“It’s nothing—” I began as Emberly began speaking over me. But my own words trailed off as I felt a tidal wave of nausea rise up in me.
And. . . it was official. All five gods were clearly waging a war against me tonight.
I nearly curled forward as another wave of nausea rose from my stomach, and my head began to pound. Only this time, the episode sprang on me far quicker than it had in the past, and I couldn’t do anything to stop my nose from bleeding. My head was throbbing, my balance off-kilter as I attempted to stop the flow of blood.
“Fucking shit,” I heard Finn bit out from beside me, but it was Callum who reached me first, pulling back my hair.
Someone pressed a cloth into my hand as I pinched the bridge of my nose, attempting to staunch the blood flow. The pounding in my head had yet to subside, as another violent wave of nausea wrecked me and I let out a pitiful groan.
“This is thesecondtime tonight, Rae.” I heard Finn’s voice from in front of me, but it took everything in me to stay somewhat upright as Callum supported me. I hated that my body involuntarily leaned into him, trusting him to support me as my guard was down. I hated the small circles he drew against my back as his voice rumbled in my ear, reminding me to breathe. But most of all, I hated how much Ilikedbeing in his arms.
In. Out. In. Out.
I forced myself to focus on taking steadying breaths, the voices around me fading into the distance as I mentally battled against my own body.
It had never been this bad—even I could admit that. Not that I knew why it was so much worse.
