Page 165 of Phoenix Rise

And with that, she stomped off, leaving me staring after her, no closer to having answers than I’d been before I started off on my swim.

I’d basically had three people call me stupid. And all within one day.

I ground my teeth together, crouched, and leaped for the clouds.

48

Anna

I woke up in Matt’s arms.

Normally, that made me feel damned good. But today, I was only numb. Which was better than I’d felt before I’d fallen asleep. Or rather, been drugged.

I wanted more of it. Wanted to sleep forever. I checked my chronometer to see that I’d been down for hours. I found myself reluctant to let the numbness end.

Matt’s arm was around me, his hand over my heart. It took me a moment to realize he had folded it around Sebastian’s horn.

No glimmer of energy shone from it, and when I moved my hand, grit clung to it.

Horn dust.

And just like that, the pain hit. A devastating, tearing sensation that had Matt sitting bolt upright and clutching me hard to him.

It wasn’t coming from outside. It was coming fromwithin me.

“It’s all right, Angel. It will be all right.”

But it wouldn’t be, and I could hear it in his voice. And it was only going to get worse. Trix whined from somewhere beyond Matt. She knew it too.

Matt’s voice penetrated, barely. “Anna. Let’s go for a run.”

I couldn’t remember when he’d last, or ever, called me Anna. I groped for an excuse. “I can’t run in body armor.”

“We’ll go upstairs and get changed.”

My mind spun. I didn’t want to go running. But I didn’t have a good reason not to. Maybe the exercise would help. “Okay.”

Relief coursed through our link, and I supposed that if it made him feel better, I would hit the trails. I would do almost anything for Matt.

Cara was sitting at the table with Jacques when we came through. Her tired blue eyes scanned me, and I sensed her concern.

“We’re going for a run,” Matt announced.

Jacques shuddered theatrically. “Much as Iadmireryourbeauté—you are perfection,MaChérie—I cannot fathom the attraction of pelting around. All thattranspiration.”

Matt growled as he followed me out the door.If he calls you perfect one more time...

We ran into Kitani and the twins in the hall. Trix bounced excitedly around them. I saw the raw slices over the Sabre’s skin. “Are you guys okay?”

“Oh, yeah. Cody has sexy new scars. The girls, however, want to do the beach, but—” she broke off.

My beleaguered mind ticked over. Right. The dead bodies in the nearby meadow were not child friendly, even for Sabres. I crouched down to the twins. “Trix would love to run in the back field. Could you take her there?”

Kitani beamed at me as, suddenly, both girls changed their minds about the beach.

Matt and I left them at the stairs, going up while they went down. It only took me a few minutes to slip off my armor and the sword. But the horn—I swallowed and shoved it back between my breasts, inside my bra, so that it ran from my belly button to my throat. The tip stuck up from the collar of my tee shirt.

Matt’s eyes dropped to it as I emerged, but he didn’t say anything. Just put his arm around my waist as we descended the stairs.

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