Page 86 of Blood Bearon
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Dropping the rifle, she charged forward.
All around her, shifters did the same, swarming over the remaining Fae, even as many of them simply fell over or collapsed into piles of purple dust.
Rachel didn’t care, nor did she notice. Her eyes were fixed on one person, and one person only. Sliding to a halt over his prone form, she fell to her knees at Khove’s side, cradling his head in her lap.
“Khove!” she shouted. “Khove, you idiot. You wake up this second or I swear to God that I will follow you into the afterlife and torment you for eternity. I did not fight my way across this battlefield for you to die, dammit. Nowwake up!”
The huge shifter groaned and then stirred. “I’m not sleeping,” he muttered. “I’m just resting with my eyes closed.”
Rachel sob-laughed. “You’re okay.”
“I think. Hurt. But okay. Queen…” He stiffened and tried to rise, but she put a hand on his chest and forced him back down.
“Easy,” she said. “Easy. Kaelyn is fine. Rough shape, like you, but she’s awake and talking to Knox, if I remember him correctly.”
Khove sighed in relief and sagged back down. “What are you doing out here?” he asked. “What happened?”
She smiled and kissed his forehead. “Someone tried to take my man from me. I had to come show them how bad of an idea that was.”
Khove started smiling. “Badass.”
Rachel nodded. “Don’t you forget it. I’ll do the same thing to you if you don’t behave.”
Khove’s eye’s went wide, then closed again as she leaned down to kiss him.
Only then did she weep for everyone who hadn’t made it, the stress finally too much.
41
“You should be in bed back in the infirmary,” she growled as Khove limped toward the shower, his body covered in bruises. “Your leg is barely healed enough to walk on, even for you.”
“I need to be clean,” he muttered. “Not dirty.”
Rachel started to protest, but Khove turned to look over his shoulders, his eyes flat and dull. “Many of my friends are dead. There are others hurt far worse than I am. I willnotwaste the nurse’s time staying back in medical.”
“Okay,” she said quietly, pulling off her shirt.
“What are you doing?”
Rachel snorted. So typical. “I’m going to wash you,” she informed him, undoing her pants while she followed him into the shower. “You have one arm in a sling, and the other has three fingers barely healing. Not to mention cracked ribs, a leg that you can barely put weight on. Shall I go on? If you can’t handle your mate helping to clean you, then you can take it up with her other side.”
Khove blinked. “No, I think I’m good.”
She grinned savagely. “Smart answer. Now move it, mister.”
Helping him into the shower, she turned on the water, trying not to grimace as the water turned an ugly reddish color. Most of the purple liquid the faeries used as blood had dried and caked off, but enough of Khove’s own blood remained, and it, along with dirt and grime now sluiced off into a disgusting pool that was slowly swept down the drain.
“You don’t have to do this,” Khove said as she lathered up a loofah and slowly began to rub it across his shoulders.
“I’m aware of that. I’mchoosingto do it, because I want to, Khove. Because I care for you.”
He stiffened, and she poked him gently in a place free from bruising. “Relax. That’s an order.”
“Sorry,” he said, the words muffled by the shower. “I guess I’m just not quite used to someone caring this much for me.”
She smiled unseen behind his back. “That’s your own fault, for being such a good person that it comes easily to me.”
