I couldn’t hold back a whimper.
“What the hell are you doing?” Alex’s tone was pure menace.
Graves eased his grip. “I’m not doing anything. Stay calm.”
“Don’t make her fall.” Theor elsewas implied.
“I won’t.”
Graves’s body quivered, and his temperature rose further. His muscles swelled as fur grew on his skin. A gasp remained trapped in my chest, but he didn’t completely turn into a wolf.
He flexed his knees and jumped through the dark window. There was a thud when he landed, and the sound of glass being smashed followed. I was jolted up and down in his arms.
“Damn.” Graves jumped around, knocking off trays and chairs.
I grimaced at the ruckus. The man in the bed didn’t stir though. He was pale and sweaty, likely unconscious.
Alex landed softly behind us without making a sound. “Bloody oaf. You’ll alert the entire hospital to our presence.”
Graves huffed. “Let’s be quick.”
“His heartbeat is fading.” Alex loomed over the man in the bed. “It’s a matter of minutes now.”
He handed me the dagger, and I wielded it with a trembling hand. Graves put me down but held me against him tightly. My muscles cramped, and I let out a groan.
“Be careful with her, dammit!” Alex widened his stance.
“Why don’t you carry her then? Oh, right. You’re the almighty duke?—”
“Shut it.”
I closed my hands around the hilt. My mind conjured up a vision of my papa’s smiling face. He’d been murdered, and Sean had tried to kill me as well. I was a wili to bring justice.
Graves wrapped his hand around mine. “Let’s do it.”
I drew in a breath. “I’ll count to?—”
Graves stabbed the man’s chest before I could finish.
“Bloody hell, Graves!” Alex said.
“Why wait?” Graves pulled out the dagger as I remained stunned.
Then a gust of warm air engulfed me, like a cuddle. Silver light shimmered around me, and energy flowed through me. I arched my back and spread my arms. The fatigue, sleepiness, and ache vanished. My blood rushed through my veins with renewed strength. Happiness, sheer and pure, made me laugh.
Even my senses sharpened. It was like waking up refreshed after a good night’s sleep.
The wound on the man’s chest disappeared, and no blood stained the bedsheet. But the man was dead. He had no aura. Graves’s aura was a triumph of yellow and other bright colours, constantly in turmoil. He was happy for me.
When the light coming from me dimmed, I stood next to the bed on my own feet, stronger than ever before.
Graves clapped my shoulder hard enough to make me stagger. “Well done, you.”
Alex looked at me with pride.
“I didn’t do anything.” Tiny stars danced through my fingers until they faded.
The door was flung open, and the man we had caught and who had escaped entered. For a moment, no one spoke. He glanced at the body on the bed and at us.
