Page 136 of Elas

“August, are you alright?” Elas twists in his seat, and I try to give him a reassuring smile.

“I need to get pressure on this,” I say, my teeth chattering as shock settles in. Lillith tears the sleeve off her shirt and unbuckles herself, helping me to wrap my middle. It’ssloppy, but it’ll staunch the flow until we can afford to stop.

“Thanks,” I say weakly, and the further we drive, the quieter it gets. Sirens wail in the distance, and my ears still ring with the commotion. “Where did you find explosives?”

Lillith grins. “I kicked down the door to their laboratory and found a bunch of fun stuff inside.”

“And the other prisoners?”

“They got out through the front,” Taryn offers from the back. “Did you get the keys to them, honey?”

“I did! I told them to hide far away from the building and use the vans after the explosion.” Exhaustion hits me full force as I breathe a sigh of relief and slump into my seat.

“So, what happens now?” I ask, my eyes fluttering as I fight to stay awake.

“Now we go home,” Elas says, his voice slurring as the adrenaline leaves his body. “And I really need a fucking bath.”

Elas

Consciousnessfadesinandout, the voices around me wavering from sharp and focused to a muffled, distant drone. Lillith cheerfully chatters, twisted backwards in her seat. She runs her fingers through Taryn’s hair while also watching for signs of being followed.

August sleeps with his head slumped against the side of the SUV, and after an hour, I can’t put aside the need to check on him any longer. “Stop over there,” I say to Xeni, gesturing at a small scattering of trees just a few hundred feet off the road. He nods and pulls into the rocky soil. August grunts as the bumps jostle his injury, and his eyes crack open to find mine in the darkness.

He smiles.

He fuckingsmilesthrough the pain, looking at me like I hung the damn moon. “Hey.”

“Hey, baby,” I say softly. “We’re going to pull over and get you properly bandaged, okay?” He nods, reaching forme, and even though the angle is uncomfortable, I reach back and wind our fingers together.

Xeni parks, glancing up at the black sky before shutting the lights off and opening his door. “It’ll be hard to work in the dark, but I’ll do my best.”

I turn to him with a sneer. “What do you mean,you’lldo your best?”

He scoffs and crosses his arms. “Elas, look at yourself, man. You’re a walking fucking infection.”

“Fuck you,” I snarl, common sense taking a backseat at the thought of him touching August. He already doesn’t smell like me anymore, and I’ll be damned if he smells likeXeni.

“Take a fucking breath and think about this instead of puffing your chest out. I’m a medic, Elas, and I’m trained to do this. You have been locked in a cage for ten fucking days.” My heart lurches, invisible walls closing in on me despite the wide open terrain. “Show me your hands and tell me you’re steady.”

Soft, dragging footsteps approach, and August wraps an arm around my waist to hug me tight. “Elas, you’re barely standing,” he says, keeping his tone gentle. “You trusted him enough to work together back there. I know you want to take care of me, but he’s the most qualified to stitch me up.”

I frown, wavering on my feet like the universe is trying to prove his point. My eyes meet Xeni’s solid white one over his shoulder, but for once, the cockiness is missing.

“Fine,” I grumble, and August tilts his face up and places a soft peck on my mouth. I grimace, aware of how terrible I smell.

He only smiles up at me, those dimples threatening to make an appearance, before releasing me and turning to Xeni. “We have a medical kit,” he says, and they walk around the vehicle and return with the kit, a few towels, and some water.

Xeni hands me a water bottle and nods towards the trunk. “You should eat… all three of you.” Stubborn rebellion wants to argue, but after the adrenaline faded, the hunger pangs returned. My body got just enough calories to piss it off earlier, and now it’s demanding more.

“You just don’t want me to watch,” I finally say, and he sighs.

“Yeah, I really don’t. Pulling a bullet out of your mate might be a smidge upsetting to you, and I can’t fight you while I’m stitching him.”

“I’ll be fine,” August says, attempting a stern face while nodding towards the trunk where the food is stored. “Go eat, please. It’ll make me feel better.”

I grumble, stomping to the back of the vehicle. “Giant toddler,” Xeni mutters, and I fight my urge to turn around. Lillith and Taryn stand near the trunk, and both smile as I approach. Taryn’s is cautious, but Lillith’s is cheek-to-cheek.

“Hungry?” I ask.

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