Page 13 of Waves
I blinked and it took me a moment to realize that he and Ugo probably had some agreement about alerting one another …
But that’s as far as my thoughts got.
My eyelids were sinking again. Heavy.
Lizza’s rotting face suddenly shoved into the space in front of me. “Here. Eat this. Sometimes you undead are so sensitive.” With a roll of her eyes, she shoved something black into my mouth.
A leaf.
“Chew that up now.”
Dear god, Lizza thought I needed one of her creations. That was never a good sign.
The leaf had the texture of taffy, and the tar taste intensified, the smell making my stomach churn. But it took only seconds for the charred feeling on my wingtips and back to recede, thank goodness. Whatever spell she’d done on this disgusting leaf was a good one.
Even though the pain was fading, Felipe’s wrath charged through the water like a shark.
“What the sarding hell did you do to her?” he barked, his navy tail lashing.
“Noth—”
A second later, his rough hands were encasing mine, pulling me away from Lizza and Posey before placing himself in front of me like a shield.
“I told you she needed rest. And then you took her out here and shoved her at these—” he gestured at the smokestacks before swimming right into Lizza’s face, crowding her and leaning over her. “I don’t care if you’re undead. If you ever do anything like that to her again, I’ll find a way to make you suffer.”
Whirling around, he came back, and his navy eyes roamed wildly over me before he reached out and cautiously cupped my cheek. “Avia?” My name came out as a harsh whisper, as if it was the only word he could speak without shouting at the moment.
“I’m alright,” I murmured. Belatedly and a little resentfully, I added, “Now.”
“See? She’s fine?—”
“You’re coming with me.” Felipe’s hand moved from my face and latched onto my wrist. He pulled me roughly into him and the ferocity in his gaze was nearly as intense as the black smoke I’d just encountered. It made it just as hard for me to breathe…but for an entirely different reason.
My lips parted but no words came out.
And when my former guard dragged me away from my mages, I let him.
When we reached my tent, as was his habit, he left me outside and went in to check it, just as he would have back when he was my guard.
I floated for a second, tentatively testing my wings to ensure there was no remaining pain. But Lizza’s leaf had done the trick.
Recalling how nasty her concoctions normally were, I took a quick moment to swipe my tongue over my teeth and ensure they were clear of any taffy. At the same time, I watched servants as they packed up the tents nearby, readying us for a night of travel. This morning Sahar had agreed that the rebels would expect us to travel during the day and we'd throw them off by setting out at sunset instead.
The tent flap lifted, and Felipe’s scarred face softened when he gazed at me. “It’s safe. Come on,” His hand once again shackled my wrist, and I liked it. Quite a bit.
“I really am alright,” I murmured as he led me inside.
“I want to…Ineedto check.”
Pressing my lips together so he wouldn’t see my smile and suspect that I found his anger endearing, I nodded.
“On the bed.”
Oh.
Oh dear.
A man had never uttered a phrase like that to me.
