“Okay…” I wrap my arms around my middle, unable to take my eyes off Rhune’s rising and falling chest. I’m worried that if I look away for even a moment, he’ll stop breathing, and my world will fall apart.
It feels like an eternity before Nyx and Dravik manage to get the bleeding to stop, and even longer still until his arm is reattached. As soon as the last of the tattered skin comes together, Nyx and Dravik slump backward to the floor, their chests heaving and brows slicked with sweat.
“That’ll have to be enough,” Nyx wheezes. “I don’t… I don’t think I have anything left in me to give.”
“Same here.” Dravik closes his eyes as his wings slump to the floor at his back. “At least he’s in one piece now.”
“Fantastic.” Nyx lets out a sigh and slides flat on the floor, pressing the side of his face to the cool stone. “I don’t know about either of you, but I could go for a long nap and some food. In that order.”
“You take the first shift,” Dravik says. “I’ll stay awake and keep watch over Rhune and Willow.”
“You sure? You look a little green.”
“I’m fine,” Dravik huffs. “Go and rest. You’ll need all your strength for our next healing session. We’ll start when the sun flips.”
Nyx nods, then turns his attention to me, his mouth tipping in the tiniest of smiles. “Any possibility I could entice you to take a rest with me?”
I bite my lip. “I think I should stay here with Rhune for a while longer.”
“In that case… I’ll be right back.”
He’s gone for maybe a minute, returning with a brighter smile and a bundle of furs in his arms. Carefully, he places them at Rhune’s side, making sure to leave plenty of space so he doesn’t accidentally bump him in his sleep. With the grace of a cat, Nyx curls up in the furs, his wings wrapping around his body in a protective ball, and promptly passes out.
I glance at Dravik, my eyes wide. “I… never knew he could fall asleep so quickly.”
“He used up a lot of his energy,” Dravik explains. “The more magic that demons expend, the more they need to sleep.”
“Kind of like humans and exercise.”
“Yes… I suppose that’s correct.”
We sit in pleasant silence for a while, and when I look over at Dravik, I’m surprised to find him in a deep sleep similar to Nyx.
Carefully, I grab a loose blanket and place it over Dravik’s chest, making sure not to wake him. Once he’s covered, I curl up in the furs by Rhune’s head, lightly brushing the ends of his beautiful pink wings with my fingertips.
Eventually, sleep tugs at my eyelids, and I find myself in a similar predicament as the others. Just before I fall asleep, though, a monstrous howl sounds deep underground, powerful enough to shake the floor beneath my ear. It’s followed by an answering call—only, this one sounds far closer than the first. Closer than any ice wyrm roar I’ve heard before.
Then again, maybe that’s just my imagination.
21
Rhune
2 cycles later…
I’m woken by a powerful tugging sensation in the center of my chest—as if my heart knows she is near and demands I look upon her. However, no matter how hard I try, I can’t get my gods-damned eyelids to open.
Willow… I want to see my willow…
The last thing I remember is the feeling of her precious necklace clutched in my palm as the portal threatened to tear me limb from limb. It was stupid of me to travel back to The Far Place as weak as I was, but logic had no place in my decision-making. I was so desperate to get back to my mate and see her smile that I completely disregarded the limitations of my body. And I almost died because of it.
Iwouldhave, if Nyx and Dravik had not come to rescue me when they did. Because of their loyalty, I live to see my mate another cycle. For that, I will always be in their debt.
But first, I need to find a way to open my eyes.
Suddenly, a pair of webbed leathery paws step onto my throat, crushing my windpipe as the creature presses its full weight into me. At the next moment, its warm, furry lips are shoved into my cheek, a loud snarfling noise accompanying its aggressively twitching nose. The creature nudges me once, twice, and when that doesn’t work, it opens its mouth wide and nips me—hard.
My adrenaline spikes from the pain, and I’m able to crack my lids open the smallest bit. This makes Sasu very happy, and he lets out a high-pitched chirp before promptly biting my eyebrow.
