Page 66 of A Spark Of Revenge

“Mi Sol!”

The new man and I glance up the hill as Creed falls to his knees next to a panting Razar, who has crumpled to the ground. My eyes widen when the man gasps, then runs to the blond man running down the hill in my direction.

“Valen!?” he shouts in excitement, making my dream man pull up short in surprise, his pale green eyes widening as a breathtaking smile breaks across his face.

“Jesthren!” Valen dashes down the hill, grin in place, but he runs to me, not Jesthren, and pulls me into his arms, kissing my hair, then my forehead as his hands immediately move over my body. His soft touch starts at my shoulders, then glides over my arms, stomach and finally legs before going back to my neck, his fingers wrapping firmly around the sensitive skin there as he releases a shaky breath.

“I’m fine,” I rasp, my heart still beating fast in my chest as I try to regain control of my rapid breath. “Is Razar okay?” I ask, peering around Valen as he holds me close and then moves us closer to the new guy, his hand outstretched. Jesthren grins, clasping his hand to Valen’s before pulling him into a side hug, me along with him.

“Razar?” the new man asks and Valen gestures up at Creed and Razar, making him smirk and nod. “Nothing can take Razar down, my lady,” Jesthren answers for Valen, grinning down at me with dark green eyes before ruffling Valen’s hair like he’s a child. “I missed you, brother,” he murmurs, smacking Valen’s back a few times before nodding up the hill. “Let's go make sure Raz doesn't need some help,” he adds, and I nod, grabbing Valen’s hand and pushing out of the weird hug I got caught in.

“Mi Sol? Why are you holding a stick?” Valen asks, plucking it from my hand as I try to climb back up the steep slope of the hill.

“Mi Sol?” Jesthren asks with a deep chuckle, grabbing the stick from Valen as he studies it, then looks at me in amusement. “Your sun?” he asks Valen, then grins. “That's rather adorable. And the girl looked like she was about to wage war against the Wraiths with this stick alone,” Jesthren teases, making me scowl over my shoulder as I try to yank Valen to move faster toward Razar. Does no one care that Razar is injured? Thankfully, Creed’s at the top of the hill, his hands pressed to Razar’s side as he looks down at me, his eyes full of worry.

“You what?” Valen whispers in horror, and I shrug.

“I ran out of blades! What was I supposed to do? Let Razar die?” I ask, then curse as my foot slips, and I almost face-plant in the snow. Valen catches me, holding me close to him as he finally starts leading the way back up the hill, not having a problem with the steep slope. When we finally make it to the top, I’m a panting, sweaty mess, and Jesthren is looking at me like I might die or something.

“Razar?” I shout, rushing over to him and falling next to his side as Creed looks up at me in relief.

“You alright?” he asks, his brown curls plastered to his head from the amount of snow falling on us. I nod and lean forward, my heart skipping a beat as I tentatively run a finger over the top of Razar’s nose; the only part of him that's not covered in poisonous needles. Razar growls in response, and I glare at him, shaking my head.

“That was such a stupid plan! Next time, I get to choose how we lure the Beastia away,” I grumble, ignoring how Razar's soulless black eyes stare at me.

“We said that she was to stay on top of the wall, Razar,” Valen hisses, dropping next to me as he runs a gloved hand over Razar's wounded side. “Nox will be needed to heal these,” he mutters, concern replacing the anger as he looks at his brother.

Jesthren tsks above us, then crouches next to Creed, patting his shoulder in help as he shakes a big finger at Razar. “You should know better than to start a fight you can't win, Yannos,” he murmurs affectionately, then motions for us all to move away. Valen rises immediately, tugging me to my feet as Creed slowly climbs to his and rushes over, his hands moving to my face before he yanks me to him in a hot, demanding kiss.

I gasp against Creed's mouth but don't have time to react as he stops our kiss as fast as it starts. “You were supposed to stay put! Do you have any idea how worried we were?” he asks, closing his eyes as he rests his head on mine. I watch Jesthren from the side of my eye as he pats Razar on the head like a damn demonic puppy before literally scooping him up into his giant arms and starting toward the castle.

I gape after them in shock as Valen snorts an amused laugh, muttering, “Only Jesthren would have the balls to do that,” under his breath while he tugs me from Creed and leads us toward the castle.

“How is he doing that?” I whisper to Valen who nods at the big man’s long leather coat and gloves.

“Dragon scales,” he mutters and I nod.

“Shit,” Creed mutters, his fingers wiping at my cheek as we walk through the snow. “Nox is going to lose his shit!” he grumbles, looking down at me with a wince, making Valen do the same just as a familiar figure appears on top of the wall, his intense green eyes roaming the landscape until they fall on us… on me. I can feel his gaze like a living thing inside me, making my blood warm as he narrows his eyes, a frown marring his beautiful face. Then his eyes widen, and pure, unadulterated rage fills his face as he leaps over the side of the wall, landing with a grace I know I’ll never have.

“Fuck! He’s going to kill Raz for this!” Creed whispers as Nox strides toward us, his black cape billowing behind him and ax in hand. His eyes move from me to Creed, then Valen, and finally stop on Jesthren and Nox as he bares his teeth in outrage.

“Credence!” Nox bellows as he stomps toward us. “Lead him to the med wing. I’ll meet you there,” he snarls, gesturing toward Jesthren and Razar with his ax, making Jesthren’s amused smile reappear on his face.

“Aww, baby brother. It's so good to see you, too. Too bad it's under these unfortunate circumstances. But don’t worry. I’m here to clean up the mess you made.” Lennox growls so loud I can hear it from where we stand at least fifty feet away, but he ignores Jesthren, his eyes falling on my face as Creed kisses my cheek, whispering that he’ll come find me later, then rushes to Razar and Jesthren's sides ushering them toward the castle.

THIRTY-TWO

Meyer

Nox is practically trembling by the time he reaches us, throwing his ax to the ground as he curses. He yanks the black leather gloves off his hands and cups my cheek, making me wince as his fingers brush the scratches the Wraith left behind.

“Why is there always so much blood on you?!” He snarls at me, eyes flashing with anger as he flicks a glance to Valen, who keeps his hands on my waist.

“It's not all hers. Creed had blood on his hands when he touched her; the only injury I’ve found is her cheek,” he whispers, fingers stroking over my hair as I glare up at Nox.

“Why are you always so mad? You need to chill out,” I grumble under my breath, earning another growl in response.

“I told you to stay up on that wall!” he roars. His hand is still trembling as I feel what I now recognize as Nox’s magic rushing from him to me, warming my injured cheek as he knits my wounds back together.

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