“E-E-Evan!” a deep voice cried out.
Disoriented, I stared up at the swaying branches. Blue sky showed through them. Something else was a similar shade of blue, though a bit darker. Like the ocean. Eyes that often hid so much from me but softened in intimate moments.
Other colors joined that ocean blue. Purple, topaz, hazel, and the warmest shade of brown.
Why did my chest hurt so much? And what was that smell? Like something charring on the grill. I tried to move my arm, but it felt like deadweight. I couldn’t move any part of my body. Evenmy lungs struggled to work, making each of my breaths come out sharp and wheezing.
Prince Sawyer and Finnian screamed my name but were drowned out by the loud ringing in my ears. My breaths scraped through my airway, and the nauseating scent of burned meat filled my nose.
A shadow passed over me, and I squinted up into an indistinct face. Or maybe my vision was just blurry. My lashes fluttered closed before I forced them open again.
“You’re the one. I sense it in your blood.” The mage squatted down beside me and chuckled. Gold eyes raked over my body. “Gods. And I nearly killed you.”
Distant yells and the heavy thump of boots came from the path behind us. Weapons clanked against armor.
“Rotten luck that I’m not a healer.” When he touched my chest, pain radiated through my body. With the exception of my legs: I couldn’t feel them at all. “Try not to die until I take you to my leader, all right?”
He slid an arm under my back.
Was he going to lift me? Why? My consciousness started to wane, and I slipped deeper to those depths, body weighing heavier.
And then, there was a menacing snarl.
I caught a blur of black before the mage was thrown away from me. Jaws snapping and deep growls sounded. I tried to keep my eyes open and failed.
A low whine then reached my ears, and something soft butted against my head. There was the lightest pressure on my torso and more nuzzles. Warmth seeped into me, easing the aches in my body. Feeling returned to my toes. Something wet touched my cheek, like little licks.
Footsteps grew closer, followed by shouts and clanks of swords against shields. That warmth on my chest then lifted,and I heard what sounded like retreating paws and the rustle of bushes. I faded in and out.
“N-No.” Trembling fingers caressed my jaw. “E-Evan? P-Please open your e-e-eyes.”
The deep voice was unfamiliar. I tried to do what he said, but I only managed to crack open one lid, catching a glimpse of buzzed hair, a strong jaw, and eyes like rain before I lost the battle and slumped back to the ground.
Chapter Twenty
A Chosen Path
Someone was crying.
The sobs sounded muffled and rough. A pressure squeezed my hand, and a light weight pressed against my belly. “Wake up, damn you.”
I slowly opened my eyes to a dimly lit room. Moonlight streamed in through the set of windows in front of me, and a fire burned in the nearby hearth. Empty cots surrounded me. Why was I in the medical ward? I couldn’t make sense of anything. As another cry sounded, I noticed Rowan beside me. He rested his head on my stomach and held my hand.
“Ro?” I croaked.
“Evan?” He jolted upward, eyes puffy and pink.
“Why are you crying?”
“Oh, little treasure.” A rasping cry left him before he grabbed my face and kissed me hard on the lips. Then he kissed me again, softer this time and unsteady. Tears landed on my cheeks.
A frantic whine tore through the air.
The scent of peaches then surrounded me as Lake appeared on the other side of the cot and took me in his arms, stifling his cries in my hair. “You’re awake. My Evan.” Another whine, this one grief-stricken. “We were so worried.”
“Worried? Why?” I blinked a few times, confusion growing. Everything was so muddled. And my body felt heavy. Lethargic. Like I was on a strong pain killer.
“Maddox!” Rowan called over his shoulder.
