Page 12 of Loving Nightmares
“Well, War is very much to blame,” I drew out, rocking forward on my toes, trying to keep my voice as calm and relaxed as possible. “And Hate—”
“Is in a lot of pain and not around,” Saint mused.
Ashur chuckled darkly, drawing my attention and blocking out Saint’s words momentarily—although I still caught the implication there. I met Ashur’s intense gaze.
Intense was actually an understatement.
The man’s eyes were so incredibly unique, like nothing I had never come across before, completely black with no pupils. Nothing but obsidian with bolts of silver moving actively throughout. I felt frozen, pinned by it and breathless, before I was finally able to break away. A shiver rolled over me as his pine and night air scent reached me. The air the man had to him was absolutely primal, and while he seemed relatively calm, it was only a facade for what lay beneath.
Something so intense I craved to experience it, no matter how dangerous.
“Right,” I said easily, not entertaining Saint’s violence—although I had no doubt he wanted to tell me just how much pain Hate had gone through. “But here’s the thing, Keres—you aren’t part of the issue anymore, but youwere. You can’t deny it; it is what it is.”
“But he doesn’t—”
I turned to Slater. “But it’s not very cool to bring it up. What’s the point?”
“I don’t like the threat she poses to my mate.”
“But she doesn’t anymore, right?”
Keres nodded adamantly. “I’m done with War’s bullshit. I’ve always sided with him because, outside of Saint, none of us were able to kill him. But if this is really happening…I’m washing my hands of him. I’ve chosen my side.”
“Well see, that was easy,” I said, loving the conviction in her voice. I had learned that when these god terrors said something, they meant it—if they didn’t, they just wouldn’t say it.
“So…” I drew out. “Are we good now?”
“Hardly,” Eve sighed. “But for this, yes.”
“Are you okay?” I asked Eve softly. She shook her head but didn’t answer, her gaze moving to the door as if waiting for someone.
“We can talk later if you want,” I promised her. Then, more loudly to the rest of the room, “But for now we all have a lot to discuss.”
That was an understatement. I sat at the head of the long table, Saint and Ashur taking seats on either side of me as everyone settled in for the meeting. Saint’s magic surrounded me in a velvety grip, and I smiled as I saw a little shadow figure out of my peripheral, the physical manifestation of Saint’s shadows. I was tempted to touch it, but I forced myself to focus—we had a lot to talk about, and not a lot of time.
“We checked with the healers,” Zain said, taking the initiative to get started. “Some injuries, but most of our people avoided the new bullets. I don’t think they’d manufactured enough of them to make a difference, or if they had, they hadn’t distributed them. Only two nightmares were hit with them; one of them was just a grazing wound, but the other was in the arm.”
“Shit,” I mumbled. “How are they doing?”
“Stable,” Cy said, standing against the wall. “They’re trying some healing techniques they think will help, but it’s still a work in progress.”
I swallowed. “After this, I’d like to go see them. I could help with mysis metaability.”
“What do you mean?” Eve asked.
“When Damian was hit with one in California, I was able to heal him from the poison,” I explained.
“That’s not sustainable on a large scale, Arabella,” my father said, shifting and offering a pained look.
“I’m not saying it is,” I agreed, “but maybe I can help figure out a better way by focusing on it again. Last time I was a bit distracted.”
Damian made a low rumble in his throat, knowing I was talking about the uncharacteristic fear I’d felt at him being so injured. Something I never wanted to feel again.
“After this, we can go down there and check it out,” Razar said. I exhaled, thankful for his ability to see what I was hoping to accomplish.
“I promise I won’t overdo it,” I said to my dad, who nodded and relaxed back into his chair.
“What exactly are we here to talk about—why don’t we just swarm them?” Keres asked, seemingly back to her normal self.
