“I don’t trust him,” Kyle whispers to me, his focus locked on Amaros. “You need to go with me. Don’t listen to him.”
My focus shifts between Amaros and Kyle, but my vision falters.
Kyle’s eyes soften as he looks down at me. “I will protect you, no matter what. Trust me.”
I can feel myself slipping away, but I manage to open my mouth to speak. “Take me…” I whisper.
And without another word, Kyle swoops up and out through the castle roof while I drift into unconsciousness.
I blink my eyes open and find I’m in an unfamiliar bed, but it’s the most comfortable one I have ever been in. I stretch my arms out at my sides, and my memories come rushing back to me. The Great Hall. The explosion. Astelle stabbing me. And Kyle, with his gorgeous black wings.
Kyle.
I sit upright and search the room. Where in the gods am I?
The room is large with pristine bright-blue walls with gold trim. The floor is a light oak wood, and I glance out to the windows where translucent white curtains blow open in the breeze. The salty scent of the ocean hits my nose, and I take ina deep breath. I glance down and see I’m wearing a blue silk top with matching shorts.
“You’re awake.”
My focus snaps to the door where Kyle is coming through holding a tray of food. He’s shirtless, and my gaze immediately drops to his tanned and chiselled chest with his sexy dragon tattoo, and then to his abs.
He clears his throat and sets the tray down next to me on the bed.
Heat rises in my cheeks, and he laughs.
“Glad to see you’re feeling better,” he says and leans down to press his soft lips to mine.
I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him against me as tears well in my eyes. “Kyle. Gods, I missed you.”
He pulls back and cups my face between his hands. “I’ve missed you too.” His eyes scan mine, and he brushes a few tears from my cheek with the pad of his thumb before kissing me once more.
Although I am seriously enjoying this right now, I can’t help but wonder where I am.
Kyle moves back and sits on the edge of the bed. “This is my room. We’re in Zarquon,” he says, as if reading my thoughts.
My eyes widen as my head snaps toward Kyle. “What?” The panic in my voice is clear.
He reaches out and strokes my cheek. “It’s okay. Remember what I told you? That I would protect you no matter what? You’re safe here.”
I think back to the Great Hall, when Kyle showed up, and my hand quickly moves to my side where Astelle stabbed me. I’m thankful when there’s no pain.
Kyle puts his hand over mine. “You’ve been unconscious for four days,” he gently tells me as he lifts my silk top up to reveal a bandage on my side. “You were unable to heal yourself. Astelleused a weapon that is lethal to angels. It’s getting better, though. Luckily, our healers have special herbs only found here within our Kingdom that have been helping your body to heal.”
I carefully peel back the bandage to reveal a gash in my side that has started to knit back together. It’s still only halfway healed, so I’m surprised there’s no pain.
As if reading my expression, Kyle adds, “The healers gave you herbs for the pain, too.”
Without meaning to, dark magic swirls from my fingers and into the wound, healing it completely. My eyes shift up to meet Kyle’s, and he’s staring at me with a furrowed brow.
“Thank you,” I tell him, “for saving my life.”
He rests his forehead against mine. “Always,” he says before adding, “Is it okay to use it like that?”
I pull back to study his face. “I didn’t mean to do that just now. Sometimes it just happens on its own.”
He presses his lips together, and I can see how concerned that makes him. I scan my eyes over him, but he looks completely fine. Not a scratch on him. Whatever happened to him during the watcher attack with Finlay has healed by now.
“Em found me,” he says, and I immediately tense at the mention of her name, but he continues. “She took me back to Zarquon to our healers. I wanted to send word to you, but it wasn’t possible.” His features shift, showing the pain he feels at that.