Page 42 of Twist of Fate

The healer met his gaze. “We can.”

Only then did Luke allow himself to breathe. The relief remained incomplete. Luke was accustomed to surviving danger by moving toward it or taking it apart piece by piece. Now he was dependent on strangers using power he couldn’t understand.

The healer had said his presence was helping, so Luke kept hold of Connal and forced himself not to interfere.

Cosmo stepped closer to the bed, his usual amusement absent. “The King will require an account of what happened once Connal has recovered.”

“He’ll get one,” the dark-haired brother replied.

The healer repositioned her hands. Connal’s pulse stumbled beneath Luke’s fingers, then gradually settled into a steadier rhythm.

“He needs time,” she said. “Stay with him until he wakes.”

Luke looked down at Connal. “I wasn’t planning to go anywhere.”

Cosmo’s gaze moved from Luke to their joined hands. Something thoughtful entered his expression, but he kept it to himself.

Luke remained beside Connal while the healers worked, his fingers wrapped around Connal’s wrist for reasons that no longer had much to do with monitoring his pulse.

CHAPTER TEN

Connal came back to awareness all at once. The warehouse returned in broken flashes—the trap closing around him, Luke’s weight against his side, and the portal opening beneath his hand.

He sat up with a gasp. “Luke.”

His mate sat beside him, one hand wrapped around Connal’s wrist. “I’m here.”

Relief struck first. Luke was safe.

Then Connal noticed the strain around his eyes.

The chamber was otherwise empty. The healers had gone, along with Cosmo and Garzaxie. None of his brothers remained.

“How long was I unconscious?” Connal asked.

“Not long. The healers finished a few minutes ago. Cosmo and the hobgoblin went to update the King. Two of your brothers stepped outside.” Luke frowned toward the chamber doors. “The one with the long dark hair disappeared before I could ask where he was going.”

“Zer.”

“I’m going to need name tags.”

Connal would introduce them properly later. For now, he reached instinctively for his magic. It answered sluggishly, catching before it moved through him. The foreign bindings were gone, but the strain of fighting them remained.

“I am fine,” he said, already preparing to stand.

Luke did not release him. “You passed out. You don’t get to pretend that didn’t happen.”

Connal pushed himself higher and swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

The chamber tilted.

Luke’s grip tightened. “Hey. Stay with me.”

“I am here.”

“Then stop trying to get up before your body catches up.”

Connal stilled. The rebuke should have irritated him. Instead, the concern beneath it disarmed him. He had collapsed in front of his mate, and Luke had remained beside him. Connal had spent every moment since finding Luke determined to protect him. He had not considered what it would feel like to have Luke remain and care for him in return.