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“How’d that happen?”
“There’s a lot of broken glass on the ground out there.”
“We’ve gotta wake her up, make sure she’s ok.”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me. Here?! You can’t do that!”
“Cas, can you hear me?”
Something stroked my hand gently and a hand settled on my shoulder, nudging me softly. The delicate scent of cedar and leather filled my senses. I struggled to open my eyes. From within the numbness, though, I began to feel something.
“Cas. Come on, wake up… Please.”
“Oh yeah. Real smooth. Let’s wake the fucking human!” Whoever he was, he seemed to be losing control of his anger now, and the sound of his footsteps reached me as he paced.
“Shut up, Barrett. It’s not as simple as you think.”
Wait, Barrett? Oh my God, that was Damien’s voice. That’s why it was so familiar; why had I not been able to figure that out? The other voice belonged to Vincent, and Cole was there as well. What were they doing here?
I fought against the heaviness that held me down, finding the strength to open my eyes. My eyelids felt so heavy, and my vision was so blurred, I couldn’t make anything out around me.
Everything in me wanted to close my eyes again and go back to sleep, exhaustion clinging to me like a weight. The room spun in a dance of blurred movements as I looked around, making my stomach turn.
A large figure seemed to be pacing back and forth only a few feet away, and I couldn’t tell if he was angry or not. He seemed to be shaking though, one arm tucked under his other elbow, a fist balled and pressed to his lips as he thought.
Two others sat in the corner of the low-lit room. My head turned slightly to look up at the one sitting beside me, hovering just above me. He seemed to ease the moment our eyes met, and his hand gripped mine tighter, his thumb stroking my skin. He let out a heavy sigh of relief, as if he hadn’t breathed the entire time I was unconscious. The fear and worry melted away almost instantaneously at the sight of his face, and I didn’t know if I was smiling or not.
“Hey.” Damien smiled tenderly down at me. His right arm came to settle down above my head as he leaned over me, brushing a soft kiss to my forehead.
“Hey.” I groaned, my face scrunching as I blinked a few times and attempted to sit up. Damien’s body tensed, and for a moment, I couldn’t understand why. Then the feeling rushed through me. Sharp pain seared in the back of my head, traveling around to the front and I slumped back. My stomach twisted, and I sucked a breath in through my teeth, wincing.
Damien’s hand came up, urging me to stay laying down. “Easy, Cas. Stay down. Try not to move.”
“What happened?” I groaned, raising my hand to rub my eyes and face.
Damien stopped short, his eyes lingering on me for a moment, before looking away. A deep expression of guilt showed on his face, and he couldn’t meet my gaze.
“Damien?”
“Your head hit the pavement when you fell.” I tilted my head, searching for Vincent when he spoke up. He sat in a chair nearby, Cole sitting adjacent from him. I remembered hearing him speak moments before.
I looked back to Damien, but he couldn’t bring himself to meet my gaze.
“Do you remember anything that happened?” Vincent asked.
“What do you mean remem—” My words fell short as I remembered, the memory flooding my mind. The dark alley, the darklings, Damien fighting to protect me.
“Damien,” Barrett warned. Why though? Why was Barrett so tense and worked up? It wasn’t as if they were the ones who attacked me.
“Where am I?” I asked, looking around in a panic, adrenaline flooding my system as I remembered my encounter with the creatures. It was a dream; it wasn't real. This wasn't real.
But itwasreal.
“Somewhere safe.” Damien's voice was low. His eyes finally moved back to me. His skin had paled, eyes heavy and worn. Those beautiful warm gray eyes were more intense now, almost crystalline, like a silver tiger’s eye gemstone. They were amazing. His pupils seemed to constantly shift, growing bigger or smaller with each movement, like a predator in the dark.
My eyes drifted to his shirt where a dark liquid had seeped into the fabric, and it was slightly torn. My hand reached out to the front of his shoulder, touching the soaked material, and I pulled my hand back to look at the liquid on my fingertips. He was bleeding. The blood rushed from my face.
“Oh my God!” I gasped, looking up at him, trying to push myself up, doing my best to ignore the pain. It must have happened when he was fighting. “Damien, you’re hurt!”
