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She glanced toward the tunnel entrance. They were still out there somewhere. Would they come back? She felt terrible that she hadn’t healed them all, but fatigue weighed down her limbs and her eyelids. She usually needed a nap after a powerful healing, and she feared exhaustion would soon claim her. What would happen if the zombies came back when she slept? Would Cadmus be able to protect them? Stifling a yawn, she covered her mouth. “They’re enslaved by a demon named Gorgo.”
His eyes narrowed. “Enslaved?”
She yawned again. “So were you until a few moments ago.”
The dizziness returned, and he blurred before her eyes. “What happened?”
“I-I healed you.”
He leaned into her, the intensity in his eyes like the strength of a thousand earthquakes converged into one.
She jerked back with a hiss when he touched her hand, and she was suddenly aware of the burning in her knuckles again. She looked down at her hand with a gasp. Her knuckles were swollen with big, festering blisters.
“Did I do this?” he asked as he gently grasped her hand.
It took a moment for her brain to work. “Do what?” She looked down at her hand in his. Oh. She vaguely remembered his monster zombie maw scraping her skin. “Yes.”
He frowned, smoothing his thumb across her wrist. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” she said, unease solidifying her limbs in fear. What if her hand didn’t heal? Or worse? What if his zombie virus was contagious?
She felt a strange disconnect from her body, as if she was staring at her mate from someone else’s eyes. He had a worried look in his marred brow as he examined her knuckles. Then his nostrils flared and he made a face as he sniffed the wound.
Fuck. Was she turning into a zombie?
When a familiar putrid smell suddenly overwhelmed her, she knew it wasn’t all coming from her. Jerking free of his grasp, she let out a hiss. “They’re coming back.”
His eyes widened as he went eerily still. Outside she could hear their low growls and moans as their shadows passed over the tunnel opening. She clutched the claw, summoning that protective magic, sighing in relief when the gray smoke flooded the cave.
How desperately she wished she could capture and heal them all, but she was exhausted from the magic she’d used, and her dizziness was getting severe again.
It wasn’t until the shadows passed and the smell dissipated that she heaved a sigh of relief.
Cadmus eyed her a long moment. “Your shadow magic has grown stronger. What were those creatures?”
She cocked her head. “You didn’t recognize their smell?”
He shuddered and stuck out his tongue. “They smelled horrible.”
“You smelled like that just a few moments ago,” she said, even as her world spun and tilted. “You’ve been enslaved by Gorgo for almost three thousand years.”
“Three thousand years?” He fell back on his ass, looking at her as if she’d lost her mind. “I thought it was a few years at most. You’re serious, aren’t you?”
She nodded, and he gave her an accusatory look. “And where were you all this time?”
“Dead, maybe? I don’t know. The Vindictus knocked you and your brothers down to this dimension and forced Hecate into their coven, but they obliterated Elria and me.”
Shadows darkened his eyes. “Obliterated?”
“I was resurrected in the mortal dimension nineteen years ago.” Unnerved by his penetrating glare, she swallowed back a lump of nerves. “I go by Phoenix now. Daeva and her mates and I defeated the Vindictus a year ago. That’s when Hecate told us about you. I’ve been trying to get down here ever since.”
A look of pain flashed in his eyes. “Do you have any of Bennu’s memories?”
She shook her head.
He expelled a breath and hung his head in his hands. “We failed to protect you.”
“You didn’t fail me.” She instinctively grabbed his arm. This time, she was prepared for that familiarzingthat shot through her. She was pleased when he didn’t pull away. “We were all overpowered by the Vindictus.”
