Page 137 of Sorrow & Strangers

“Currently, you,” I snarl. “Risking your life without a care, as if your life belongs to you.”

“It does belong to me,” she snaps back.

I grab her throat, pressing her back against the vanity mirror. “No. It’s mine.” Beginning and end. Mine.

Her lips part on a gasp, and I am unsure if it is from my hold on her throat or my words.

“You will not be so careless with something that is mine.” She watches me cautiously, those icy blue eyes glowing. “Understood?”

She swallows but doesn’t answer. Not good enough.

“Nod,” I order, tightening my hold. She nods shallowly, and I release her throat. Silently I finish bandaging her arm and secure the ends with a strip of tape before packing everything up.

Summer just quietly watches me through it all, not saying a word. She hasn’t even tried to move off the counter, and after I finish washing and drying my hands, I step back between her spread thighs. Being careful of her injured arm, I lift her hands and place them at the back of my neck, before wrapping her legs around my waist. I expect her to fight, but she doesn’t even try to pull away when I lift her against me. It surprises me, and I wonder if she has hit her limit and just doesn’t have the energy to physically resist me at the moment. If that is the case, I have no doubt her compliance will be short-lived, but I still don’t like the evidence of her exhaustion.

“W-what are you doing?” she asks, clinging to me as I carry her from the bathroom. “I need to check on Rafe.”

“I know,” I say, striding down the hall. She rests her head on my shoulder, not even protesting when I push through the door, into my room. I stop before the rune I drew on the wall and activate it. The portal opens and I step through, holding her close as we drop into her bedroom. Her arms and legs tighten around me during the short fall, and the jarring impact of my feet against the floor. Even as she looks around, registering her surroundings, she doesn’t try to get me to put her down. She allows me to carry her to her bed and gently lay her down.

“You can’t be here,” she whispers.

“Rest.” I tuck the blankets around her and put a pillow under her injured arm.

“I need to see Rafe,” she says, exhaustion draining the emotion from her voice.

“Later,” I say, pressing my fingers to her lips.

Agony, bright and burning, sizzles along the oath bond, making my hand feel as if it is on fire. It is the only warning I will get before it becomes crippling, and then lethal. There is a reason the Grand Arcane outlawed blood oaths like this.

“Behave,” I whisper, brushing her hair back from her cheek.

She glares at me. “Get out of my room. You’re about to be in breach of our oath.”

It’s a small price to pay, but I kiss her forehead and vanish from her room.

Fool.

This time, I don’t know if I mean her or myself.

Chapter Sixty-One

Summer

The second he is gone, I climb out of bed. I don’t want to think about anything that happened, anything he or I said, or the way I felt so safe in his arms. The skin beneath my bandage feels tight and hot, and my arm throbs painfully as if the bone is being slowly splintered. The pain is too intense to account for the wounds, and I wonder if Rafe’s claws are venomous. I’ll look into that tomorrow, but tonight I just need to check that Rafe is okay. I need to make sure he knows I am okay and that it wasn’t his fault.

I knock on Rafe’s door, and he opens it immediately. His eyes are frantic as he looks me over, but he exhales heavily when he sees my bandaged arm.

“Hi.”

“Where did you go?” he says by way of a greeting.

“I was getting stitched up,” I say, lifting my arm, feeling the threads tug a little.

“By who?” he asks, tipping his head.

“My friend.” It still feels weird when I call him that, but I’m not sure what else to call him. “Look, Rafe. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” Rafe asks, his brows drawing in confusion.