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As if reading my thoughts, Jake said, “Someone attacked him, Ki. That’s why Jude was late, and why he didn’t help you. I think he couldn’t stomach letting you down, and that’s why he left to cool off.” He jerked his chin toward the trees, his deep-golden skin a shade paler.
I softened instantly.See, I told myself,he didn’t leave you. He never would.
Focusing on Patrick, I asked, “I still don’t understand who dropped me off here?” Those arms, that familiar voice—
“Like we said, it was a flash, a trick of the dark, and then…then you were simply here, nestled in a fresh blanket and cleaned up. Not a drop of blood in sight.” Patrick scrubbed a dirty hand across his face, clearly just as lost as I felt.
My hand flew to where the monster had bitten me, stunned when I was met with only smooth skin. No puncture wounds. Nothing.
“We didn’t understand it either,” Patrick added. “Can’t say I’m not grateful, though.” His eyes flickered to my throat, and he let loose a relieved sigh. For a moment I tensed, wondering how he seemed to know where the creature had attacked me, but when I recalled he’d been present for Alec’s execution, I relaxed. The monster had gone straight for Alec’s throat.
While the major injuries had magically healed, my muscles ached and throbbed, my bones groaning with each breath. Then again, from the flickers of memory I retained, I’d been…
I’d been a living and breathing nightmare, so I supposed that had to take a toll on the body. Needing to do something with my hands, I took another sip from the canteen, ash still coating my tongue.
“Get some rest. After you’re better, we’ll head to theX. The sooner the better.” Patrick ran a heated finger down my cheek, and I involuntarily flinched.
His green eyes sharpened at the movement, and he opened his mouth but promptly shut it; whatever he wanted to say could obviously wait.
“We’ll be right here if you need us, Ki,” Jake promised, bestowing me with a tender smile brimming with adoration. Love. “And I promise I won’t take off into a sprint at the first sign of danger this time.”
I shook my head and gave him my best attempt at a smile, but he was right, Iwastired. What good would I be to them if I could barely lift my head?
Unconsciousness claimed me a minute later, sleep’s pull too strong for me to resist. And just as I let go of the real world, about to greet the realm of dreams, an ethereal face flickered before my shut eyes. Though it didn’t belong to Jude or Grandmother.
I saw the face of the man I’d known most of my life—
The face of the man who’d saved me.
…
Copper.
I smelled copper. Metal.
Blood.
My eyes snapped open.
“Jake, Patrick, get over here!” I shouted, jumping to my feet. The world wobbled precariously as a blurred image clouded my thoughts. Something I couldn’t seem to hold onto tightly enough before it floated away.
I shook my head. With the promise of that foul wind and the horrors it could inflict on us, I couldn’t focus on whose face I might or might not have seen. I’d survived this far, and the battle wouldn’t pause for me to gain my footing.
My friends were at my side in an instant, hands on their daggers and eyes alert for danger. “Do not panic, but I think the wind that brought the hallucinations is back,” I hissed, reaching for my own blade.
Ha. As ifnotpanicking was at all possible.
Jake’s blue eyes turned dark. His best friend had killed himself as a result of that venomous breeze, and no doubt the memory of it hovered at the forefront of his thoughts.
“Last time, you snapped us out of it, Ki.” Patrick grabbed my other hand, positioning himself in front of me. His eyes retained an unfamiliar edge to them, but his touch was gentle. “We just need to ride it out. You seem to be immune.”
“We stay by her side,” Jake agreed, his voice raw with emotion. “We’ll surround Ki and hold on to one another.”
Internally I swore. The last time I’d saved them my gloves had been off, and…
They didn’t remember. Only Jude had been cognizant enough to recall the wounds painting my hands. But if my touch had been the reason I’d saved them—
My scars. I’d been touched by a shadow beast, a creature of the night. Maybe my tainted skin had been the reason I could withstand the Mist’s influence.
