Page 231 of The Chosen One Universe: Volume One

“I’ll be okay. I’ll be better now that you’re here.”

He raised his head from Draco’s shoulder and the tears in his eyes were Andvari’s undoing. He cupped Sawyer’s cheek in his hand and kissed him gently. “You’re not allowed to ever get kidnapped again.”

Sawyer laughed but it quickly choked off and he lowered his head to Draco’s shoulder again. “You’re never allowed to let me get kidnapped again.”

“Deal,” Andvari said. He turned to look at the horse but found a mountain of a man standing there instead. He looked heartbroken as well. “Care to introduce your friend?”

“Oh!” Sawyer lifted his head again and sent a beaming smile to the other man. “Saeward, come meet my mates.”

“That’s what the wind was saying!” Henry exclaimed. “Not sea-ward, Saeward!”

“He’s one of my guardians,” Sawyer said. “And… I don’t actually know what he is. I never asked. It’s been kind of a rough day.”

Saeward lowered his head respectfully before raising it again. “I am Saeward of the Atlantean clan. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Eduard made a surprised noise and Andvari couldn’t blame him. The Atlanteans weren’t part of their normal group, and in fact, Andvari hadn’t heard of one being around in his lifetime. The hippocamps were notoriously reclusive and didn’t mingle with others at all.

They introduced themselves, with only Henry and Sawyer unaware of the rarity.

Saeward bowed his head again. “Sawyer is in need of medical care. I have done what I could.”

“You did a lot,” Sawyer said. “He saved me.”

“What happened?” Eduard asked. “Magdalen said she didn’t—”

Sawyer flinched back, his eyes widening in horror.

Saeward stepped up behind him quickly. “Sawyer, what is it?”

“It was her,” Sawyer choked out. “She was the one who took me.”

Andvari felt like the very air around him had been sucked away. He turned to Eduard, who’d paled considerably.

Draco rumbled and pulled Sawyer away from Saeward and back into his arms. “We’re here,” he muttered. “And I’ll gut her if she comes near you again.”

Eduard reached for Henry’s pack and pulled out his phone from the pocket. “I need to warn my father.”

“Wait,” Andvari said.

Eduard paused with his finger hovering over the button.

“She doesn’t know we’ve found him. If she gets away now, we may not find her. And I very much want to have a long conversation with your cousin.”

Eduard nodded then glanced down at the phone. “I don’t have a signal anyway. We need to decide how we are going to handle this.”

“My feet hurt,” Sawyer said quietly. “I need to get off them.”

Draco rumbled again and carefully lifted Sawyer into his arms. “What happened?”

“Running barefoot on rocks,” Sawyer explained. “I don’t recommend it.”

“He has a very deep claw mark on his side as well,” Saeward said. “And a lot of bruising. I did what I could to help.”

He seemed to worry that they doubted his care. Andvari didn’t. He could see that Sawyer could have been much worse, especially considering the blood he could scent from the bandaged wound in his side.

“Thank you,” Eduard said. He still seemed to be a little bit in awe of Saeward, not that Andvari blamed him.

“Cecil sent supplies,” Andvari said. He pulled the pack off his back and pulled out the thermos Viv had sent for Sawyer.

Sawyer groaned. “I can’t escape those damn things.”