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“No,” I moaned. “No more.” I wasn’t sure I could take it.
“I brought some. One second,” Claudia said.
I closed my eyes, and then the hands pressed me down again. I wasn’t sure how long the burning went on. It felt like eons, but was probably only minutes. The sound of the zipper opening startled me. “What now?”
“I’m done.” Dastien brushed the softest kiss on my forehead. “I’m going to wrap it. It should heal okay now.”
I nodded. He was gentle but it still hurt.
When he finished, I was exhausted, dirty, hungry, and thankful to be alive.
Mom’s voice sounded at my side. “Come into the house. We’ll get you something to eat.” She started to get up but stopped. Her head bent over as she shuddered.
“Are you okay?”
Tears glistened in her eyes. “I’ve got both my kids here. Healthy and alive. I’ll be okay.”
“Okay.” I tried to move, but any movement and it felt like I was splitting in two. Dastien leaned down, picking me up. Even that had me moaning with pain.
We passed Raphael, Shane, and Axel, who were already trying to fix the front door. The others had gone to off to shift and put on clothes.
This was a victory. No one was hurt. Except me, and I’d live.
As Dastien carried me toward the door, I peeked over his shoulder at my parents’ driveway. A dark spot marred the dirt. We’d only faced one major demon and it’d taken all of us to do it.
How in the hell were we supposed to fight more than one at a time and live?
Cosette stood off to the side, not glowing anymore, but playing with her blackened fingertips. I hoped it wasn’t anything serious, but if she wasn’t making a big deal of it, then I wouldn’t either. She caught me looking and tilted her head at the charred spot. For once I was positive we were on the same page.
If being in that church was inevitable—destiny, like Raphael said—then we were going to need some bigger guns. Because this wasn’t going to cut it.
Dastien set me on the kitchen counter, and then went in search of Oreos. Only eating my own bodyweight in cookies was going to help ease this kind of realization.
That and maybe two gallons of ice cream.
Chapter Twenty
We got back to campus as the sun rose. Exhaustion and a touch of pain made it hard to keep my eyes open, but hope coursed through me.
There was plenty to worry about, but as we walked back to the dorms—still coming down from our adrenaline high—we were united in friendship. Were. Witches. Fey. We’d fought a battle as one, and lived.
Sure. My side was still burning, but it’d heal. And if I thought about everything we still had to do, it seemed like an impossible feat. But looking back at how far I’d come—how far we’d come—it was impressive. Our potions needed some beefing up, sure, but before I left to stay at the compound, the werewolves weren’t the least bit friendly with each other. And the fey… But now we were fighting together. That felt like a victory. Maybe a small one, but it was enough for now.
Dastien and I followed Meredith and Donovan to the dorms. There was no way I was walking all the way back to Dastien’s cabin—no matter how much I wanted the privacy. The term “dead on your feet” had been taken to a whole new level tonight. This morning. Whatever day it was.
Donovan showered first. When he was done, I took a quick one. Meredith was sitting on my bed when I was done. “You went through with it, didn’t you?”
Dastien raised an eyebrow and motioned to the bathroom. I’ll give you a moment.
I almost laughed. He didn’t want to get in trouble for not telling Meredith. She always had a knack for seeing right through Dastien and me. “Yeah. We did.”
She swatted my shoulder, and I winced. “Sorry! But I knew it. Something was up with you all day. You have to tell me everything.”
“Sure. When I’m not so tired, and the guys aren’t listening in.”
“Girl time is needed. ASAP.”
“Agreed.” It seemed a little too good to be true that she wasn’t upset with me over this. “You’re not mad at me?”
