Page 71 of Expose Me

As my magic did my bidding, I managed one last, deep breath before darkness pulled me under.

Chapter22

Icame to slowly—not in a shallow pool of water, but in something soft and dry. My eyelids were so heavy, and I managed to lift them barely a sliver on my first few attempts.

I could hear water trickling somewhere nearby, and the fuzzy glimpses I managed through stubbornly lethargic eyelids told me I was somewhere bright.

There were no voices talking around me, no beeps of hospital machines. My mind cleared up enough for me to realize I wasn’t dead. Good. That was good.

I thought I was alone, but when I tentatively shifted my body, my left hand stretched out over the soft bedding and there he was. Even with my eyes closed, I knew it was Zey who took my hand in his, his thumb caressing my wrist.

Turning my head to the side, I managed to open my eyes.

“Are you watching me sleep?” My voice was weak and croaky, but he quirked a little smile and I returned it and nothing else mattered. “Creep.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” he murmured. “I’ve been watching you sleep for two days, five hours, and eighteen minutes now.”

“Wow. That’s a new level of creep. I’m impressed.”

We shared another, bigger smile. I was feeling more awake by the second, my mind slowly catching up and processing everything that happened before my epic nap.

“Did they stop that douchebag?” I asked. “Did they release the final Onuei?”

Zey reached up with his free hand, tenderly brushing some matted hair off my cheek. “That’s the first thing you’re worried about?”

“No. The first thing I worried about was you watching me sleep.” I chuckled. He smiled in return, his hand still caressing my cheek, trailing down my neck, my shoulder. “But seriously, we’ve been single-mindedly on this mission for some time, and I inconveniently passed out before we could see it through. I left myself on a cliff-hanger, so ... lay it on me. Did we fail?”

“No, we didn’t.” He was being cagey and slow and affectionate, like it was a casual pillow chat on a Sunday morning. Not like I was asking about the fate of his entire realm.

“Zey, what happened?” I smacked him lightly on the chest and left my hand there, enjoying the feel of him. “I tried to summon it so maybe one of your people would have a chance to release it, but I have no idea if it worked.”

“It worked better than anyone could’ve hoped.”

“What does that mean?”

“You summoned it, but not to you—not the ribbon with the Onuei inside it. Sky, you summoned the Onuei right out of the ribbon. You released it.”

“I did?”Holy shit. Zey nodded, pride shining in those dark eyes. It left a warm, satisfied feeling inside my chest.

“I didn’t even know that was possible. I’ve never summoned anything that wasn’t an inanimate object. Wow!” I laughed. “I summoned the shit out of that thing.”

Zey grinned, but it fell off his face quickly when I winced. My body was sore and weak, and my injuries sent pain shooting through me when I moved too quickly.

“You need to be careful,” Zey reproached, sitting up and fussing with my pillow. “You’re still healing.”

I glared at him, about to reflexively demand he not tell me what to do, but I relaxed back into the pillows. He was right—I needed to rest.

Now that I was more awake, I took a look around. We were in a massive bed overflowing with pillows and blankets and ridiculously soft sheets. But it was the only thing in the room that was familiar to me, and it stuck out like a sore thumb.

The space was ...minimalistwas the best word I could think of to describe it, but even that wasn’t quite right. The walls were a soft gray but didn’t look solid like walls should—they looked like you’d sink into them if you leaned against them, like a giant piece of memory foam. There were items in the room that I figured were furniture—a table, chairs, a storage shelf—but they were all very sleek. Everything was smooth lines and monotone shades of black and gray, but it didn’t feel cold and unwelcoming.

On the opposite wall were holes in various shapes, reminding me of the holes on a monstera leaf, but more irregular. Nothing more than sky was visible beyond.

“Zey, where are we?” I frowned.

“In Vuulectus,” he said matter-of-factly. “In a dwelling close to the portal. The occupants were gracious enough to allow us use of their space while you recovered.”

Behind him, I caught a glimpse of a side table. It was overflowing with an obscene number of vials, potions, powders, and even human medical equipment. I was pretty sure the bag hanging on a pole and connected to—I lifted the blanket and followed the clear tube to my arm—tomewas called an IV drip. There were also items I wasn’t familiar with, like glowing spongy boxes. I figured those were Vuulectian things.

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