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I desperately cling to them while trying to catch my breath. Panic still lances through my body, but now that the immediate danger has passed, I feel my adrenaline start to fade as shock sets in. Shakes rack my entire body, a combination between my delayed fear and the chill in my bones.
Syn and Atlas wrap themselves around me, feeling my urgent need for them. My hands are like claws, my fingers frozen as they dig into their shirts, holding on tightly like my life depends on it. The heat from their bodies surrounds me, almost too warm for me to handle, but it’s so blissful that I don’t complain or try to escape their touch. I don’t feel any pain, although if I manage to make it out of this injury free, then that will be a miracle, so I assume that my body is focusing on keeping my heart beating.
“Shit, Laelia, you’re freezing,” Atlas curses, his hand running up and down my sodden back. I must be getting them wet, but they don’t seem to care.
Syn grumbles, his chest vibrating beneath my cheek as he rests his chin against the top of my head. In other circumstances, I might marvel over the two of them working together so closely without snapping or fighting with the other. However, they seem to be in agreement that helping me is more important. Besides, my mind has practically shut down, and I’m not in the right state to be hypothesising over anything right now.
Mumbling something under his breath, Atlas shifts and gently pries my hand from his shirt. The lack of contact and chill that fills the void make me pine, a strange, desperate sound emerging from my chest.
“Shh, it’s okay,” Atlas whispers, quickly removing his shirt and then pulling me against him. “There, you’re safe. I’ve got you.”
Something settles within me, and although my other mates aren’t touching me, I know they are close by. A splash makes me flinch, and as I twist in their arms, I see it was just some small rocks crumbling from the side of the cavern, falling into the lake and causing the water to ripple out.The water isn’t moving by itself, it’s not being magicked. I am safe, I tell myself, needing my heart to calm so I can stop this damn shivering.
As I look at the small divot in the wall where the rock just crumbled from, I see another beside it, the rock blackened. Frowning, I look around, trying to pay closer attention, and I realise what my magic did. Scorch marks mar the walls in a perfect circle with me in its centre, as if my stars expanded around me and burnt anything in their path. When I spot several smoking bodies, I realise they must have been hit by my strikes. My mates must have arrived after the witches were already knocked down. I have no idea if those witches are alive or not.
My breath catches in my throat, and I squeeze my eyes shut as I contemplate what I might have just done. My magic is strong, the power of the goddess. Burying my face against Syn’s chest, I shudder, but this time, it isn’t from the cold, but what I’m capable of.
“Is she okay?” Joel asks, tension making his voice tight.
Glancing over Syn’s shoulder, I look at my alpha mate. I can see how much he wants to be with me from the way he keeps glancing over with concern flashing in his eyes. However, he stays where he is, kneeling by two of the unmoving bodies. Scott and Nicolai are assisting, and I see them dragging the body of Lord Maliki over to the side where they can keep an eye on him. Did Maliki get hit by my magic? Looking at his pristine clothes, I don’t think so, which means that one of my mates knocked him out. At least, I hope he’s knocked out. The idea that I’ve taken another life grips around my heart like a vice.
“We need to get her out of here and warm her up. Other than that, I think she’s okay,” Atlas replies, his hand still moving in smooth motions on my back.
Not wanting them to worry, I attempt to prove Atlas’s statement true. “I-I’m o-okay,” I say through my chattering teeth.
There’s a heavy silence, and I feel all eyes on me. Whatever they see makes them believe otherwise. I don’t want to admit that I’m struggling, but thankfully, I don’t have to.
“You have magic, can’t you warm her?” Scott asks from the other side of the cavern, an edge to his voice that I’m not used to hearing from him. Trying to lift my head to look at him, I find I don’t have the strength. In fact, fatigue is starting to set in, my eyelids feeling heavy.
“I haveicemagic. I don’t think that will help the situation,” Atlas snaps. “If I didn’t drain Nicolai’s power earlier, I probably could have taught him to use his though.”
Joel huffs out a frustrated breath, and I feel him walking over to me. There’s some sort of grunted communication between them that I don’t hear, and the next thing I know, I’m being lifted and pressed against a new chest—Joel. I’d recognise his scent anywhere. Shifting slightly in his arms, I press my face against his chest.
He places a kiss on the top of my head and addresses the others. “Let’s get her out of here.”
ChapterEight
Anew set of clothes later, I’m wrapped in blankets and surrounded by my mates on my bed. They are taking turns thanks to the fact that they don’t all fit, and currently, I’ve got Atlas and Scott pressed against me, the others watching on from other parts of the room. They watch me like a hawk, looking for signs that I’m getting worse.
Apparently, when they brought me back here, I kept falling asleep and becoming unresponsive, a dangerous sign of hypothermia. As soon as we got back, they changed me and started to warm me up—not that I remember any of this.
I’m beginning to feel a little better. My shaking has improved, and I’m able to think a little more clearly than before. Nicolai made me a hot drink earlier, but my hands were shivering so much that I couldn’t hold the mug without spilling it.
Atlas and Scott must be boiling under all these layers of blankets. I’m sure I resemble a marshmallow, but the glorious warmth of their bodies is enough that I don’t care. Shifting my weight on the bed so I’m leaning on my left side, I rest my face against Atlas’s bare chest. Our bond is still so fresh that being without him feels physically uncomfortable. It’s not painful, so to speak, but like the throb of a newly formed bruise. Lying against him like this helps ease that while also warming me up to a normal temperature.
No one has spoken in a while, the atmosphere tense in the room, but as I tilt my head up, I find Atlas looking down at me, and I’m speaking before I realise it.
“You found me.” My voice is hoarse and broken, but he seems to hear me clearly enough, as do the rest of the guys who perk up at the sound of me speaking.
Atlas’s expression softens, and he leans down to press a kiss against my forehead. “I will always find you when you need me, Laelia.”
His promise warms my heart, and my other mates mumble their agreement. Scott stays silent on my right side but squeezes my hand as if to show he also agrees. The connection between us feels odd, almost taut, and I realise that when I ran off in the ballroom, he had just confessed his love to me, saying he would stay with me forever despite the fact we weren’t mates. I never answered him. Does he think I was running away from him and what he told me? It would explain why he’s been so quiet. Crap. I need to talk to him and explain everything, but I won’t do it here in front of everyone. He’s already feeling like shit, so the last thing he needs is for me to expose everything he told me in confidence while my mates are listening.
Instead, I glance over my shoulder and give him the best smile I’m able to, squeezing his hand back. Returning to my position on my left side, I feel Scott move closer behind me, keeping me cocooned between them as I settle. Thinking back over what happened, I frown slightly as Atlas’s response registers in my mind.
Just how did they find me? It was clear that something was separating us. They weren’t far behind me, so how was it that we became so separated, and why couldn’t I feel where they were when I stepped into the cavern? Somehow, they found me.
“How?” My energy is failing me, and this is all I have the strength to say, but thankfully, they understand what I’m asking.
