Page 56 of My Guardian Gryphon

His blood seeped between my lips just before his fingers slipped inside the wound in my side. “Damn you, vampire!” I gritted my teeth and dug my fingers into the sod beneath me, willing them not to clench into a fist and slam Erick’s solid body, but the desire to rip the vampire’s head off flashed through my mind anyway.

“Damn me later, once you don’t have lead scattered through your body like shrapnel from a bomb. You’re lucky they didn’t hit you with anything bigger than a rifle.” My mind faded to black again. Pain seared my nerve endings, and I lost consciousness again.

My eyes fluttered open to the bright afternoon sunlight. I was still on the grass. How much time had passed? Where was Gretchen? Her scent had faded, and I couldn’t hear her heartbeat. I vaguely remembered holding her when I’d landed. I’d made sure I took the brunt of the fall, cradling her in my wings as the ground had rushed toward us. Tired, so tired, but I needed her. I needed to know she was safe.

“Where’s Gretchen?” My voice rumbled deep and gruff, like a drunk who hadn’t spoken in days. Everything hurt. My body felt like it’d been run through a meat grinder.

“Bailey took her inside the castle. Bella is removing the bullet from her abdomen. Then Bailey will give her some blood to heal her. Don’t worry. She will be fine. It didn’t look too bad.”

“Rose didn’t come back.” The words came out slowly, not a question, just a realization. I’d already asked him once, and he’d ignored me. That could only mean she hadn’t returned from Xerxes compound.

“Eli?”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, visualizing his bleeding, lifeless body. “No.”

“I guessed as much. I’m surprised you didn’t hear Diana’s scream all the way out where you were. I’ve heard pain in my years, but never like that. Miles had to shift and go inside to keep her from leaving the castle. Brace yourself.” Erick put an arm beneath my shoulders and lifted me into a sitting position.

Pain sliced through me, and I fought back the urge to vomit. Brace yourself. That was it, and then his damn fingers were digging between my ribs. “Fuck.” I shuddered, breathing through the convulsions once Erick had removed the last bullet.

“Five.” Erick licked his fingers, making noises like he’d just eaten a T-bone steak. “I got three out while you were in and out.”

“Enjoying it?”

“While you do taste amazing, my friend, I was just trying to spare you some pain by hurrying to get the others out when you weren’t present to enjoy it.”

I nodded, appreciating the kindness. Having his fingers digging around inside my guts wasn’t exactly pleasant. “Bailey better not be digging in Gretchen’s body with her hands.” The snarl came out like the lash of a bull whip, mostly because my whole body still burned from the gunshot wounds.

“I could’ve used a knife, but it’s faster with my hands, and no, Bella is using pixie dust to get Gretchen’s bullets out. The Lycan doctor in town was killed, and we don’t have anyone else who is capable. The pixie dust is the safest method. I suppose I could’ve left the bullets in you and waited for Bella—”

“Shut up, Erick. Help me stand.”

Erick jumped to his feet and extended a hand. My wounds were already knitting back together—thanks to the infusion of his blood. “Thank you.”

He nodded. “What happened to Eli and Rose? Do you know?”

A heavy sigh slipped from my chest. “Xerxes was there. He threw a dagger at Rose and one at Eli. Rose only saw the one. It was a distraction and—”

“It worked.” Erick’s voice took on a pained tone. His face tightened, and his bright blue eyes flashed red for a split second. “Fucking bastard.”

“Yes.” Totally agree. I took a deeper breath as the pain in my lung faded to a dull ache. “Rose fought Xerxes, giving me a chance to get Gretchen out. Before we’d entered the compound, I heard her tell Eli that Gretchen had to be saved…or—” I couldn’t say it. I still couldn’t believe she would’ve done it, or that Eli should kill her. He wouldn’t have done it. Would he?

“Or be killed?” Erick put a soft hand on my shoulder. “Rose was many things. She was a strong leader who made a lot of hard decisions that many of us did not understand. She was also a caring woman who lived with a broken heart. She knew you’d never be able kill the woman you loved. When it comes down to it, none of us probably could have. If it’d been Naram, she wouldn’t have been able to do the noble thing, either. Mates are part of us. We’re bonded at a cellular level.”

“Rose is probably dead. To save Gretchen from Xerxes. I can never repay that debt, but now that she’s gone and we can’t continue this.” I waved my hand in the air. “What are we supposed to do now? How do we finish what she started?”

“I’m not sure we can, but we have to fight or run. Xerxes will leave us no choice.” He motioned toward an open set of French doors. “Come. Let’s go check on your mate. Most of the fighting outside in the town has died off.”

“Is everyone inside the castle?”

“Most.” Erick walked ahead of me a few paces. “Some of the pixies returned to the river outside of town. Some people are here. Some are in the bunkers beneath Riley’s bar or the bunker beneath the cafe. Calliope is upstairs pacing the halls with Eira, helping Miles keep Diana contained. Those are the ones I know for sure.”

“What’s keeping the Djinn out of the castle?”

“The four-foot-thick stone walls and the original teleporting barrier. We’re hoping they don’t have any heavier artillery than we’ve already seen. Otherwise, the castle is coming down soon. We had a couple of Lycans jump the walls, but they were ended quickly.” Erick turned to wait for me to catch up. “Did you see any artillery with that capacity where Xerxes was?”

“Yes, but Eli destroyed most of it. Everything there was ash within seconds, and if it wasn’t burnt, it was running with its tail between its legs.”

“Nothing in the world quite like Dragonfire, still, that couldn’t have been Xerxes’ entire force. How many men?”

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