Page 71 of Daughter Of The Ninth Line
The guy holding Avalon stared at me, but didn’t move to put her down. My Soul Tie turned her head, groaning, but conscious and kind of pissed. She tapped at the guy’s chest, and he placed her gently on her feet. They were all still staring at me mutely.
That’s when I saw the bleeding gash on her head, and all reasonableness left me, subsumed by rage. “I askedwhat happened?”
The guys stiffened their spines, stepping in front of the women, including Avalon. The urge to protect through violence rose up in me, and I worked hard to keep it tamped down.
What the hell was wrong with me?
They were all saved from serious injury by Avalon stepping out from behind them, back into my line of sight. She was frowning at me, her expression somewhere between confused and annoyed. “I fell down the stairs, and they were taking me to the healer. Well, theywere,until you came over here growling like a rabid bear.”
Someone gasped, tugging at her sleeve in warning, but I had to admire her audacity. No one outside my Line spoke to me like that—fear and a healthy dose of self-preservation made them watch their tone.
Either Avalon Halhed had no idea who I was, or she was brave. Or perhaps stupid. I couldn’t wait to see which it was.
“I’ll take you to the healer,” I told her, stepping into her space to scoop her into my arms.
She stepped back, batting away my hands. “Whoa. I don’t need or want your help,” she said, holding out both hands like she was trying to ward off the aforementioned rabid bear. “I’m more than capable of getting myself to the healer. I just had a little moment of dizziness.” She turned to the people behind her. “I’m fine. Thank you again for the rescue.”
One of the Twelfth Line girls eyeballed me, like it was my fault she was sending them away. “Fine. But if the healer says someone needs to watch you due to a possible concussion, you’re welcome down on our floor. I have some healing experience.” She glared at me again, and I tried to remember her name. I didn’t have much to do with the Lower Six, so I had no idea, but I’d get Lucio to find out.
Avalon gave her a genuine smile. “Thank you again for your help. I appreciate the rescue.”
The other female narrowed her eyes at me and opened her mouth to argue, but the guys bundled them away. Avalon watched them go, then stepped around me to walk down the hall. The wrong hall.
I realized she had no idea where the healer was.
I trailed along behind her, ignoring her annoyed huffs, until she was so turned around, I was fairly sure she wouldn’t even know how to make it back to the atrium, let alone the healer or the food hall.
Eventually, she reached a dead end and was forced to turn and face me. I leaned against the wall, grinning at the enraged expression on her face.
“Lost, Avalon?”
She ground her teeth and winced. I straightened, moving toward her. I gently touched the lump on her head, and she hissed. It was a bad contusion, but she looked okay. I was ashit Soul Tie, chasing around after her, rather than getting her medical attention.
“Are you okay?”
“Apart from a massive headache and a giant pain in my ass?” she asked pointedly, and I smiled. Man, she was fiery. And beautiful. So fucking beautiful. I stared at her a little longer, until she let out another aggravated noise and went to move around me.
I gripped her arm and pulled her to a stop, staring in awe at the place where my skin touched hers. It was like a current passing between us. I wanted to get her naked and feel every inch of her skin until I was electrified.
I looked down at her solemnly. She was kind of tiny. “Please let me escort you to the healer’s rooms.”
She closed her eyes slowly, in obvious pain. I resisted the urge to lean down and lift her into my arms. “Fine,” she ground out.
I slipped my palm from her forearm to her hand, lacing our fingers together like it was the most natural thing in the world. When she didn’t pull away, I smiled. We were making progress already.
Sighing, she followed along behind me, and I slowed my pace to match hers. “You know, there has to be an easier option,” she informed me lightly.
“Easier?” Easier than the healer? Not that I was aware of. The healers had magic on their side. The kind of slow medicine the people down in the Twelfth used would have taken her days to heal.
“An easier way to get laid. I’m not interested in being your conquest, Heir Taeme.” Ah, so she did know who I was.
My jaw tensed. How did I explain to her that there would be no other ways to get laid—no other conquests, no one else but her from now on—without scaring the shit out of her?
I squeezed her palm in mine, relishing the contact. “I’m not looking to fuck you, Avalon.” Lie, lie, lie, but it wasn’t the reason I was doing what I was doing. “I’m just being a good member of Boellium War College, helping you find your way to some of our important facilities.”
She snorted, like she knew I was full of shit, then fell silent. It was okay; with the warmth of her palm in mine, I knew everything would be fine.
“Why did you fall down the stairs?”
