Page 99 of Deadmen's Queen

Bast held me close, and I leaned my head against his shoulder as a chill breeze blew across my face, whipping my hair into my eyes. It brought with it the tang of salt, and somewhere in the shadows I could hear the gentle sound of lapping waves.

“Where are we?” I asked, my voice cracking.

“Somewhere safe,” Bast said simply.

I clung to him, as he carried me down a gravel path towards a large house that rose up before us. It was very modern, all wood and glass, and Nate bent down to extract the key from somewhere nearby. He unlocked the door and Bast carried me into the house, heading straight through the main rooms and into a large bedroom.

My fingers tightened around the folds of Bast’s shirt as I saw the bed, and I felt him tense under me as I started to shake.

“Hey, hey, it’s ok,” he whispered, kissing the top of my head. “This room is just for you, princess. So you can sleep and get better. Whatever you need, for as long as you need.”

Nate moved over to the lamp and switched it on. I blinked as my eyes adjusted to the light. The room was beautiful. Stripped back wooden floors, white walls and light wood furniture. The bed covers were white and long white sheer curtains hung either side of the window which took up all of one wall. It was too dark to see what was outside, and Nate closed the curtains as Bast laid me gently on the bed.

I whimpered at the deep ache all over my body, curling up into a ball. I was still only wearing Bast’s jacket, and he grabbed a soft pale blue blanket from a chair nearby and laid it over me.

“There’s a doctor on her way, Paige. She’s going to check you over and give you something for the pain. She’s on our books, so tell her everything you can. Let her help you.”

I didn’t reply, I couldn’t think of anything to say. My mind felt numb, detached, though I felt the tears roll down my face as I lay there, staring ahead at nothing. The guys faded into the background of my awareness, but I could hear them speaking. It was like they were talking about someone else.

“Nate, what do I do?” I heard Bast say. His voice sounded so different to normal, like it was broken.

“She’ll be ok, she’s in shock. Just keep her warm till the doctor gets here. I’ll go and get her some water.”

I heard Nate leave, and after a moment, I felt Bast climb onto the bed behind me.

“Paige?”

I couldn’t reply, just kept staring at nothing.

“Paige, please talk to me.” His voice was choked and somewhere deep down inside it hurt to hear him like that, and knew I could stop it, but I just couldn’t speak, couldn’t think.

“God, princess, I can’t bear seeing you like this. I just want to hold you, but I don’t know if you… can I hold you, Paige?”

He was crying. My Bast, my Hades, cold and controlled, was crying because of me. He was hurting.

Reaching for the last tiny bit of strength I had, I whispered, “Yes.”

He let out a choked sob, then moved closer. As gently as he could, he shifted me back against his chest and into his arms. I felt his lower body move close against mine, and for a horrible moment, sheer terror flashed through me, but there was nothing hard pressing against me, and after a moment, the feeling passed.

“Paige, you’re shaking so hard,” Bast said, holding me close, but making sure he didn’t squeeze too tight. It hurt, everything hurt. Every knife wound on my back and legs that his body pressed against hurt, but I wouldn’t have told him for all the money in the world. His warmth began to seep into my body and very gradually I felt the tension start to leave my body, my shaking starting to calm.

I don’t know how long we’d laid there, but then I heard the door open, and the murmur of voices behind me. Soft footsteps skirted the bed and a woman crouched down in front of me. She had soft brown hair pulled up in a crocodile clip, and was in her late thirties or so. She wore a pale pink cashmere jumper and yoga pants of the same colour.

“Hello, Paige,” she said gently. “I'm Dr. Harper. I'm here to help you. Would you be ok with that?”

I forced my head to move, giving a small nod.

“That’s good. I’m going to get the guys to leave us, Paige. So it’s just you and me, ok?”

Another nod as Bast gently pulled his arms out from under me, and climbed off the bed. I felt him lean down, pressing a kiss to my hair.

“We’ll be right next door if you need us, Paige. Dr. Harper, the bathroom is just through that door, but Nate’s brought some cloths, towels and warm water. It’s just there on the table.”

“Thank you, Blake. I’ll call if we need anything else. This might take a while.”

I heard the quiet click of the door as Nate and Bast left the room, and Dr. Harper moved to sit on the edge of the bed.

“Let's start by checking your wounds, and getting you cleaned up,” she said quietly. “And maybe when you’re ready, you can tell me what happened.”

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