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“I can heal it when I change to Aedh form,” I said, barely resisting the urge to cradle my hand and weep like hell. “Let’s just get Tao home and worry about me later.”
Azriel didn’t look at all happy, but he merely nodded and disappeared from sight. I took a deep breath and glanced at my hand. Bad mistake. All I saw was a raw and swollen mess, and the pain—which had been bad enough up until that point—became overwhelming. A chill swept me, I began to shake, and my legs went from underneath me. But even as I hit the ground, my stomach rose, and I threw up.
Then Azriel was there, holding me, supporting me. The heat of his presence fanned through my body; a warmth and strength chased the weakness from my flesh and snatched the pain from my burned and blistered hand.
Eventually, I pulled away and glanced down. Though it was still red and tender, my hand was no longer blistered or weeping, and I could flex my fingers without pain. My gaze rose to Azriel’s. “Thank you for healing me.”
“I’m glad that I could.” He brushed the sweaty strands of hair from my eyes, but despite the tenderness of his touch, there was anger in his expression. “You should not have endangered yourself that way, Risa. It could have ended very differently.”
“But it didn’t.” I hesitated. “Where did you take him?”
“Home, as you wanted. I brought Ilianna in to tend to him.” He placed a hand under my elbow and gently pulled me upright. “And we should go. The police are coming.”
I glanced past him and saw the approaching red and blue lights of the emergency vehicles. “At least no one got hurt.”
“No one but you,” he commented, as he wrapped his arm around my waist and swept us from flesh to energy form. He didn’t immediately release me when we reappeared in the living room, simply continued to hold me close.
My gaze rose to his again, and there was an intensity, a ferocity, that had my heart doing an odd sort of dance. “What?” I said, almost breathlessly.
“Do not ever ask me to do something like that again,” he said. “Because I will not.”
Annoyance flared. I tried to step back, but his grip tightened around my waist, pressing me closer. “Damn it, Azriel. He’s my friend—”
“And I mean nothing to you?” he cut in, his voice flat and even despite the fierceness that radiated from every inch of his being.
“You know that’s—”
“What I know,” he cut in again, “is that the link between us has evolved into something far stronger than a mere exchange of thoughts. I will not feel your agony like that again and not do anything about it.”
My breath caught somewhere in my throat. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know—”
“And wouldn’t have cared if you had.” His voice was grim. “I’m just giving you warning never to ask that of me again.”
I took a deep breath and released it slowly. “Okay. But I also meant what I—”
“Oh, I am under no illusions where I stand when it come to your friends.”
The edge of bitterness in his voice stung deep inside. “That’s not fair, Azriel.”
“And yet it is nevertheless true.” He released me and stepped back. “Go tend to Tao.”
“Azriel—”
He cut me off with a short, sharp motion. “You have what you wanted, Risa.”
And with that, he disappeared, leaving me standing there feeling angry, confused, and oddly hurt.
“Risa?” Ilianna said.
I forced a smile and turned around. “How’s Tao?”
“Unconscious.” She hesitated. “Are you okay?”
“Couldn’t be better. Is Tao going to be all right?”
“I don’t know.” Her expression was concerned. “What’s going on between you and Azriel?”
“Nothing.” And everything. “Is there anything I can do to help Tao?”
