Tyson couldn't let her go alone. He couldn't leave her. She almost died, and he wasn't willing to allow this man to have a chance at taking her again.
He pushed himself up, forcing himself to ignore the pain shooting through his entire body. He pulled at the wires, ripping out his IV. Shayla tried to stop him, but he held her back as he ripped off the heart monitors.
"Tyson," Gil spoke up, now nervous. "You could get hurt again. You need to rest."
"And I'm not letting her go alone," Tyson replied. "I'm not willing to lose her so quickly. No. I'm going."
"Tyson, you can't." Shayla tried to push him back down. "You nearly died. You don't have the strength or the energy to get up. You shouldn't. Your body is weak."
"I'm a dragon." Tyson growled at her, "I will be fine. I will, however, not be fine if you get hurt or die."
Shayla faltered, and Gil tried once more to reason with him. "Tyson, listen to her. You could be doing more damage to yourself, forcing yourself to get up."
Tyson looked at Gil with rage. He knew his friend was only trying to stop him from doing more harm to himself, but he didn't realize how important Shayla was. Shayla was his world.
"I'd rather heal slower than lose her forever, Gil. We have no idea what she could step into."
Shayla gripped onto his hand tightly, "Fine." She knew there was no stopping him. "But you have to promise to be careful and listen to what I say. If I say we run, we run. If I say we stop, we stop."
Tyson nodded his head. He didn't care how they went about this as long as they were together. Whoever this person was that was after them, they knew what they were doing. It scared him a little.
"Well, if you both are going, I'm going," Gil spoke up now, determined to go with them.
Tyson shook his head, "It's not safe for a human, Gil. We could get hurt, but you could die. I've already lost one friend."
Shayla hated to agree with Tyson so quickly, but she knew it was true. She nodded her head, "I agree. Tyson is right. We got this."
"At least let me help in some way." He looked between them, "Shayla has become a part of our group, and I don't want her getting hurt."
Tyson didn't want her to either, so he looked at Gil. "What do you have in mind?"
"I made an antidote for the iron. When the killer hurt Shayla with it, I was able to replicate it. You never know when you might need it." He pulled out a small vial and slipped it into Shayla's hand. "If he tries to use it again, this will be useful for you."
Shayla smiled softly at him, happy to have the support. Tyson gave his friend a single nod in understanding.
"It's the least I can do." He looked between them, "Stop whoever is doing this."
Tyson couldn't agree with Gil more.
Twenty-Six
Shayla
Shayla was sure the pharmaceutical company must have been thriving at some point, but now it looked like a ghost town. It was a behemoth of a building, but the whole place was dark and eerily empty.
“I’m sure he’s here somewhere,” Shayla murmured, using her fae abilities to outline objects in their path with a faint magical aura.
Tyson sighed slightly, more confirmation that he would just as soon leave his attempted murderer at large.
“Maybe you don’t care about your own life,” Shayla spat. “But I do. I’ll make whoever did this to you pay.”
Though he didn’t say anything, Tyson’s energy softened and Shayla was sure she struck a chord. As they rounded a corner, a few doves were spooked from their nest and took flight.
The noise and the commotion sent Shayla jumping backwards into Tyson’s arms. “It’s just birds,” he murmured in her ear, laughing quietly.
Shayla huffed, cheeks reddening a bit. “What are birds doing in here anyway?”
Tyson shook his head, peering around the darkness. “What wouldanyonewant with this place?”