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“Yeah, of course. Hang on.”
The bed bounced slightly as Wyatt stood and ran to the minibar at the far end of the room. He returned a moment later, unscrewing the top off a bottle of water.
He handed me the glass. “How do you feel?”
“Like shit,” I said, gulping the water. I drained the whole thing in five or six chugs and wiped my mouth. “Oh, sweet gods, that’s good.”
The water did wonders for my mind. The confusion and blurriness faded, and I could finally take in what I saw before me. When the image clicked into place, the bottle dropped from my hand. Wyatt was covered in blood, his suit shredded and punctured on the shoulder and chest.
I gasped and crawled across the bed to him. “What the fuck happened to you?”
He took my hand before I could probe at the torn clothing. “I’m fine. The dinner party didn’t go quite as planned.”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
Wyatt sighed, and from the stormy look on his face, I could tell it had been bad. “They shoved us all into a ballroom down in the basement. Locked us in with a changeling.”
I clapped my hand to my mouth. “No. Are you serious?”
He nodded sadly. “It… um…” His voice cut off in a choked sound, something that wasn’t quite a sob.
Instead of finishing his sentence, he grabbed me and pulled me in close, wrapping me in a tight embrace. I flinched in surprise, then melted into his arms. He rubbed my back and held me tighter than I’d ever been held in my life.
“I just need a second, okay?” Wyatt whispered.
“Okay. Sure. Take all the time you need.” I rubbed his back in return and pressed my cheek to his chest.
He must have been through something terrible. From the way Wyatt was reacting, I had a suspicion, but I waited for him to calm down before saying anything. After a few minutes, his body went rigid and stiff. He pulled away and held me at arm’s length, a look of abject horror on his face.
“Where did I find you twelve years ago? After your first shift?”
He knew I didn’t like talking about that day. It was the worst day of my life, and the last thing I ever wanted to talk about. But the terror in his eyes prompted me to answer.
“The cave,” I said. “Covered in blood. You held me just like this while my world fell apart. Wyatt, what happened with the changeling?”
The horror melted from his face and the tension eased out of his muscles. “Oh, thank the gods.” He wouldn’t meet my eyes when he began to explain. “It looked like you. I killed it. It lookedexactlylike you. I knew it wasn’t you, but…” He trailed off, shaking his head.
“Hey,” I said, flattening my palms on his cheeks and forcing him to look at me. “That wasn’t me. It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay.” The fervent way he said that and the shame in his eyes broke my heart.
I’d spent years knowing Wyatt Rivers as a calm and steady influence. As structured and steady as a marble statue. Emotional but controlled, empathetic and kind, businesslike and dependable. This wasn’t like him at all. Killing that creature had really messed him up.
“I’m fine, Wyatt. You can calm down. It’s all over. I promise we’ll get through this stupid show. We’ll come out the other side okay.” I said the words and hoped he believed them because I wasn’t as confident as I sounded.
Wyatt sighed wearily and ran a hand roughly across his face, his demeanor changing fast. The sorrow and regret vanished, replaced with anger and worry.
“I can’t believe they knocked you out,” he growled. “Those fuckers. How do you feel? Any headaches or anything?”
Despite the situation, I smiled. “I’m all right. Maybe a slight headache, but nothing too bad. Honestly? You look worse than I feel.”
He glanced down at his ruined suit and chuckled ruefully. “That thing got a pretty good hit in. The witches healed me.”
“As good as you look in what’s left of that suit, I think you need to get cleaned up. Come on.” I climbed off the bed and took his hand to lead him to the bathroom.
Wyatt didn’t argue. He was still tense and stressed, and I wanted to help him calm down. He needed to have a clear head to survive whatever the show had planned for us next.
“Here, give me that jacket and your shirt,” I said.
