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Healing someone who couldn't tell you what was wrong was not easy, but I did my best, concentrating on their lungs first before trying to mimic the scan I'd seen Aeson do. The magic flew through me, connecting us to the point that I could picture their body in my mind, certain areas flaring up as the magic moved over them to show what needed help. With Lachlan, it was his heart, and with Evander, it was his lungs. I pushed healing into both, lessening the angry pulse that attacked their organs. My energy wavered the longer I worked, tears steadily streaming down my face as I worried that my guys wouldn't wake up.
I was so lost in my task that I didn't hear our attacker wake, oblivious until cold hands wrapped around my throat, pulling me backwards and slamming me to the ground. My head cracked on the hardwood floor, the world above me spinning as he looked down at me, his face contorted in rage.
"How dare you! Do you know who I am?!" he screeched at me, reaching down and grabbing a fistful of my dark curls before turning and dragging me toward the elevator by my hair. I fought with everything I had, but the obsidian dagger gleamed in the dim light over by my guys.
'Tristan!' I called in my head, desperate for someone to come and save me. My hair felt like it was being plucked out a strand at a time, and I didn't know how to fight back at this point, every attempt at using others’ powers failing me.
He smacked his palm against the elevator call button repeatedly, growling out obscenities and yanking me around every few seconds. A low growl sounded behind us, and I could see Lachlan limping forward, his bear's teeth showing. Thankfully, his growl was masked by the man's slamming and the ding of the elevator as it finally reached its destination.
"Don't fucking touch her, you piece of shit!" Tristan yelled, launching himself at the man, his fist raised. I wasn't at a good angle to catch the contact of his fist to the man's face, but I heard it, and it was the most satisfying sound in the world. His hand loosened in my hair, giving me the chance to pull away. Tristan's fists continued to rain down on the main, leaving blood dripping down the formerly white suit.
"Enough, Tristan!" Calev said, pulling him away. My sweet psychic looked half deranged, his face feral and angry as his breath came out in great heaves.
"Tristan?" I asked in a quiet voice, the sound seeming to deflate him as he pushed away from Calev and hurried over. The others rushed over, everyone trying to get to me at once as the elevator dinged again. None of us had even noticed that it had gone back up during the scuffle.
When it opened, a group of men in long robes stepped out, taking in the scene before them. The guys didn't move to protect me, but they did bow their heads respectfully. I followed their lead, though I inhaled a sharp breath when the action caused my head to pound even more. I swayed in my spot and nearly collapsed until one of my guys steadied me.
"Young lady, can you stand?" one of the men asked gently, looking concerned as I looked back up. When the room stopped spinning, I used Lachlan's fuzzy back to support myself as I rose on wobbly legs.
"The feed was sent to us, your girl here is quite the fighter," another man praised, while the remaining guy went over to the man in white who lay unconscious on the floor once more. With a flick of his wrist, my attacker was levitated, before the man motioned him toward the elevator and stepped inside.
"She impresses us, too," Aeson said as he smiled down at me.
"Are you alright? Do you need to see a healer?" the first man asked, his brows still drawn down in concern.
"I'm fine, I just need some rest," I reassured him with a smile. "We have a healer among us."
"Well then, if you could leave your names and contact information upstairs with the clerk, we will be in touch. I'm not happy anyone dared to attack one of my citizens... in the capital, no less. We will get to the bottom of this." At his reassurance, a sinister smile twisted on the levitator’s face, sending a chill down my spine. Despite the sense of caution that covered me, I couldn't find it in me to even feel a hint of remorse for the man in the white suit. If you hurt my family, you get what's coming to you. I was just thankful they didn’t question who or what I was, though I doubted that they knew each and every citizen well enough to identify them by appearance alone.
Once the elevator closed again, leaving us alone, the guys converged on me. I tried to reassure them that I was fine, but they ignore my protests until I let out a shrill whistle, stopping them in their tracks. Though maybe I should have picked a method that wouldn’t make me feel like I’d just been stabbed in the head. "I'm fine. Aeson, please check over Lach and Van. The asshole was a physiomage, and he managed to hurt Lachlan's heart and Evander's lungs in the process. I healed everything else I could."
"On it," he mumbled, already letting out the white glow as he approached Evander first. I walked over to Tristan, relieved now that the others were being cared for, and a wave of exhaustion hit me as I approached him. He caught me as I dropped, pulling me against his chest and whispering sweet words to soothe me.
"You're a badass warrior," he whispered as my eyes slipped closed.
I didn't wake again until someone was pulling me out of the car. I guess I missed that entire drive home. Tristan smiled down at me as my eyes fluttered open, lifting me and carrying me inside. Now that I was awake, I felt a lot better.
"How are they?" I asked in a raspy voice, my throat still a bit scratchy from the deep sleep.
"Just fine, your magic saved them. They were still pretty damaged, and if you had to use this much magic to heal them enough for Lach to shift, I would wager they were near death," Aeson answered for him as he opened the door for us. When we were safely inside, Tristan finally put me back on my feet.
"Sorry for falling asleep, the magic wiped me out, I guess," I mumbled, already searching out Lilah's coffee stash so I could start a pot. I didn't feel like attempting to go to bed just yet, and I was far too sleepy to sit through a movie without any caffeinated assistance.
"You don't have to apologize," Lachlan said, coming over and wrapping me in his arms. The smell of pine and mountain air washed over me, driving away some of the awful feelings from earlier. "You were a fucking badass back there. Even I was a little scared for him." The teasing in his tone didn't block out the clear awe in his voice, and that made me feel even better. Knowing I wasn’t the weakest link, that we didn’t have one in our group, made me happier than I could put words to.
"Where's Evander?" I asked, realizing he'd slipped out of the room.
"He needed blood, so he was checking his bag for a vial," Aeson answered as he pulled down a bag of chips from the cabinet.
"I'll be back, someone make my coffee for me?" I asked, not bothering to see who. I made a beeline for our rooms upstairs, hoping to catch him before he drank the bottle of blood. I'd learned enough about him to know he needed a live feed for this, but he hated asking. For some reason, the thought of having him drink from me made me excited, and I wanted to know what it was truly like. Books and movies always made it sexual or painful. Though if I had the choice, I'd take sexy vampire over the other any day. Let’s be honest...even if it hurt, I’d still be willing to help him out. I care about him too much to not take care of him when I can.
"Oh, hey," he said as I entered the room, almost dropping the vial from his shaking hands. Once I closed the door behind me, I walked over and gently took it from him, putting it back in his bag. He looked confused until I slipped my shirt over my head and flipped my hair to the side, baring my neck. "No, Doll. We don't have to do that, this will be enough."
"Wouldn't this be better?" I asked, giving him a reassuring smile. I could see him arguing with himself, his eyes studying me as his jaw clenched and unclenched repeatedly, before he let out a defeated sigh.
"Yes, of course. And I've wanted to know what you tasted like. But not like this," he mumbled in defeat.
"We all taste differently?" I blurted out, my stupid mouth getting ahead of me again. He laughed at the question, finally re
