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Pulling my eyes from his face, I run them over the rest of his body, checking him over for any clue. With a raised brow, I see he’s now wearing borrowed clean clothes, and peeking from the top of the shirt is a clean, white dressing on his shoulder.
“I saw to his wound and changed his clothes,” Kano comments from behind me, obviously picking up on my observations.
For some reason, this feels really important. Knowing that it was Kano, someone I trust, seeing Syn at his most vulnerable like that, releases a band of tension from my chest that I hadn’t realised I’d been carrying.
I’m reluctant to look away from Syn, my bond objecting adamantly, but I need Kano to know how grateful I am, especially after my accusations earlier. “Thank you.”
Something shifts in his eyes at the obvious emotion in my voice, and he dips his head in acknowledgement. Turning back to the cell, I greedily seek my mate once more. “Is he okay?” Again, I don’t turn away from my mate’s prone form, addressing the question to the room. “I thought he’d be awake by now.”
“We wanted to wait until you were here before we woke him,” Luna answers, her voice rough with exhaustion, even though I can hear her trying to mask it.
I don’t like that he’s been kept asleep for so long, but I can understand why they didn’t want to risk it. I could never live with myself if he hurt himself by trying to get to me while I was recovering upstairs, my other two mates wrapped around me. I have no idea what his mental state will be like when he wakes up. He’d been walking the line between sanity and madness, so how will this extended sleep have affected him? Will he remember what happened, or will he still be in the grips of his rage, his mate instincts driving him to protect me? Hopefully, being close to me and within the sanctuary will have helped, but we won’t know until Luna releases the spell.
The sound of Kano moving closer behind me makes my ears prick, but I’m pretty sure it’s to be closer to Luna rather than me, something that’s confirmed with his next comment. “We should do it now, or you should find someone to take over for you.”
I can tell that he’s trying to be gentle in his reproach and hold back his instincts to just order her to stop. With Luna, it would probably just make her dig deeper. However, it doesn’t have the effect he hoped for.
Luna makes a noise of disgust at the mere suggestion. “No one can work this magic as well as I can, and you know it,” she retorts, her pride and stubbornness showing through. Though I don’t want her hurting herself, I’m grateful she’s trying to protect Syn. “I’m fine, I can go a little longer. We need to wait for the others anyway.”
At the mention of “others,” I shift my position so I can look up at her but still see Syn from the corner of my eye, ignoring my wolf and bond pining to be closer to our mate. Luna attempts to stand, only for her knees to give way, and she has to grab onto the wall to support herself as she stumbles. In a flash of movement, Kano is there, steadying her with a hand on her shoulder and the other at her waist. He stares down at her with concern. Luna’s eyes widen, a light flush gracing her cheeks, and it’s like I’m watching the moment in slow motion as she grips onto his shirt, their bodies flush thanks to the momentum of her fall. For those few peaceful seconds, the love the two of them have for each other is clear.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t stay that way for long. Kano frowns, seemingly snapping out of the moment and remembering what’s brought this about. His expression hardens. “You’re nearing burnout. Don’t be stupid and try to save the day. Let us help,” he snaps, the order ringing loud and clear with the acoustics of the hall.
Outrage sparks across her face as she pushes away from him, finding a sudden burst of energy. It costs her, her steps wobbly and knees buckling, but she manages to stay upright, glaring at my half-brother. “You’re such a hypocrite.”
Biting down on my lip, I ponder what I should do. There’s clearly a lot going on here that I don’t know about, and frankly, I don’t want to, yet part of me thinks I should step in and break up the argument that’s about to blow up between them. I’m saved from answering as I feel the magic around us flex and shift, followed by two familiar presences warming my chest and telling me my mates are close.
“Oh good, this argument again.”
Atlas’s sarcastic voice makes me gasp, and I turn to look over at the prison entrance to see both Atlas and Nicolai walking towards me. Nicolai is wearing a fresh set of clothes, and I can see that he’s washed his hair, the silky strands still wet as he hurries forward with a smile lighting his face. Kneeling at my side, he wraps me in his arms and inhales my scent deeply. My heart twists at the action. This is a common greeting for werewolf families or mates, and despite the fact he’s no longer a werewolf, he still seems to have some of the instincts.
He doesn’t seem to realise that he’s done it or doesn’t care, cupping my face with his hand. “Sorry, we wanted to get down here before you so you had some backup, butsomeonetook forever to get dressed.” His pointed comment is paired with a jerk of his head in Atlas’s direction, though he never takes his eyes off me.
“I can’t help it,” comes my witch’s easy response, his purred words intended to antagonise. “It takes time to look this good. Some of us actually care about our appearance.”
Atlas’s remark hits its target as Nicolai stiffens by me.I guess this means the ceasefire between the two of them last night is now over, I think to myself. Sighing quietly, I look over Nicolai’s shoulder and raise an eyebrow in reproach as I watch Atlas stride forward. I momentarily forget that I’m annoyed at him for trying to antagonise Nicolai, my breath catching in my throat. There’s so much attitude in just those few steps, but the clothes he’s wearing only enhances it. These must be his court clothes, but I’m too lost in my sudden arousal that I’m left dumbstruck. He looks like something out of a fairy tale—a hot, adult’s only fairy tale.
Tight black jeans and leather biker boots are coupled with a white button-down shirt, the top two buttons undone to show off a little chest. A dark blue waistcoat that fits him perfectly pulls the outfit together, mixing smart and his usual casualness together to create this hybrid that only seems to make me want him more. He looks like a bad boy motorcyclist being forced to attend a function. His hair is tousled in that way that’s supposed to look natural, but you know has been carefully styled, and the corner of his lips twitch up as he senses my attraction to him.
That quickly disappears as he takes in how close I am to Nicolai, his eyes locking on where his hands are touching my body. He does his best to mask his frustration and jealousy, but I can still feel it through our partial bond, giving me an indication of just how much he’s struggling with this.
“How is he?” Nicolai asks, pulling my attention back to him. It takes me a moment to realise he’s talking about Syn, but I follow his gaze to the cell and the motionless body of my mate.
My chest constricts with guilt and concern. “He’s still under Luna’s magic. We were just about to wake him,” I explain quietly to disguise the croak in my voice.
As if on cue, Luna takes a few careful steps until she’s by my side, kneeling on the ground beside me. She attempts a neutral expression, but it comes across as strained. “Laelia, are you ready?”
I stare at my mate, worry gnawing at me. What if he wakes up and hurts himself trying to get to me? Even though I have doubts twisting around in my mind, I find myself nodding. “Yes.” I surprise myself with how steady and sure I sound, and I take that as a sign. “Wake him up.”
ChapterSix
Luna makes a gesture with her hands, and a rush of magic floods the room. It only lasts a second, but it’s so strong that I can’t breathe, gasping with relief once it disappears. No one else seems to be affected like I am, and from the questioning look Atlas is shooting my way, I get the impression it’s not normal.
With a groan, Luna slumps into a heap on the floor. Kano curses and comes forward, kneeling on the floor and propping Luna up against his chest. She doesn’t fight him like I expected, and instead, her eyes slip shut, and she makes a quiet happy noise, shuffling closer to him. Pale and gaunt, Luna looks like a shadow of herself, and I realise that burnout is more serious than I first thought.
I’m not sure what pulls my attention back to the cell. There’s been no movement, and Syn’s not made a sound, yet I can feel him waking. It’s the strangest sensation, like the part of his soul I carry with me is slowly coming round and stretching after a long sleep. His chest rises and falls rhythmically, but otherwise, he’s completely still.
Shifting closer to the edge of the cell, I swallow back the rising nausea. The magic is now gone, so why isn’t he waking?
