Page 82 of The World Undone

And then, with the power of a bomb, power pulsed hard and loud through us, my hands falling to my sides as I collapsed into the ground, my breathing ragged and rushed, like no amount of air would be enough for my lungs.

“Good,” Max said, her breaths even more labored than mine as she crawled across the floor, hands searching for Dec, “good. That was good.”

Fucking hell. Was this what healing typically felt like for Max? I swiped away a few strands of hair that were caked to my forehead with more sweat than I’d produce in three hours of sparring.

Those hadn’t been tears running down my cheeks. My entire body was clammy and hot, my shirt sticking in wet patches as I fought to catch a breath.

Wade fell back on his ass, expression dazed and exhausted as the indigo of his irises pushed back the black abyss of his blown pupils.

Max seemed to be recovering more quickly than we were and she held her hands to Declan’s cheeks. A pulse of power ran through us, like the connection between us was still just as strong, a livewire that couldn’t be severed by space.

She closed her eyes, and I could feel her healing Dec, healing us too as she reached for me and then Wade.

“We shouldn’t have done this today,” Eli muttered, his hands running frantically over Max while he checked her for injuries. “That was super fucking reckless. Today of all days.”

“Who knows how much longer Sarah would’ve had,” she said, latching her fingers through his as they roamed over her for a second pass, “we’ll be fine in a few minutes. I promise.”

Darius was a silent, unmoving sentinel, eyes dark and cagey as he stood back in the shadows, like he was using his remaining will power to fight the urge to do the same. To rip Max from Declan and drag her back to his bed where he could keep her safe.

But the way his stare snagged every few seconds on Dec made it clear he was just as concerned about her. He’d clocked Dec’s pallor, the way her arms still trembled slightly from the aftershocks of exertion.

“That was too much,” he said, shaking his head. After a brief consideration, he came into our circle, setting one hand on Max cheek, and the other awkwardly on the top of Dec’s head. “But you’re okay, yes? Both of you?”

They nodded.

“We are too,” Wade said with a snort, earning a smirk from the vampire, “thanks for asking.”

“You’re replaceable,” Darius shot back, but there was no bite to his words. And I caught the way his eyes traced Wade and then me, satisfied that we were both, indeed, fine. “Though I suppose finding another incompetent incubus and arrogant werewolf this late in the game would pose an inconvenience.”

“We should postpone,” Eli said. “I doubt you four will be much use today after this.”

After a moment, Dec’s grayish-white complexion warmed up a bit, until she looked more like herself, her eyes wild and panicked as they held Max in their stare.

“We’re all okay,” Max said, her lips carving into a soft smile as she met his eyes, willing him to believe her. “I promise. I’ll heal them, and our power will balance out better,” she’d begun referring to her power like that lately—as ‘ours,’ “fill in the gaps and regenerate. We’ll be back to fighting shape in an hour, I think. This was good,” she turned back to Dec, her eyes glistening with pride, “you did good.”

Max seemed lighter than she had in weeks, her cheeks flushed bright with color, her expression soft with relief. She hardly knew Sarah, but she’d dedicated almost every free moment she’d had since rescuing her to trying to save her. And after all the shit we’d been through, she’d needed a win. Maybe this would be the thing to give us an edge today, the high of this success.

I cracked my neck, my strength coming back to me with every passing moment. She was right, at this rate, I’d feel good as new before we even grabbed breakfast.

I stretched, feeling restless and jittery. It’d been weeks since I’d shifted. My wolf was growing antsy locked in my chest with all of these foreign emotions coursing through me. After our mission today, I’d let him run. Maybe see if Ralph wanted to join in.

A low moan caught all of our attention as Sarah shifted awkwardly, like she wasn’t used to moving her body, like she didn’t quite feel comfortable in her own skin.

Her eyes, blue and wide, darted around the room, her breathing rushed and uneven as she processed the impossible clash of her nightmare reality with this one.

My stomach tightened at the sight. She was awake. Alive. Better.

But this was only the start of her battle.

“I’ll call Jay.” Ro ran a hand through his hair, the pieces sticking up in every possible direction, like he’d been incessantly tugging at it. His eyes found Max, like they always did, and held her stare for a moment, confirming that she was, indeed, okay. She couldn’t speak into his head the way that she could ours, but those two had their own silent language, one just as powerful and clear. He nodded, confirming whatever he needed to. “I’ll be right back. Arnell will get Charlie and the others.”

Sarah’s entire body shook as she watched us all. She was like a small bird, lost and far from the nest, surrounded by hungry predators. The image was so at odds with the girl we’d brought back from hell, that I didn’t know how to parse the two versions of her together, to unite both halves into this new reality.

Had I looked this scared? This lost, when Max brought me back?

I’d certainly felt it. For weeks.

We all kept our distance as we watched her, none of us wanting to startle her further, to push her back into that place she’d only just escaped.

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