I had to assume that was what had occurred, though, because Philip was in a state of unconsciousness, unable to be woken up, and Charm had been knocked out until Maddox had managed to shake him awake. Well, he actually hit him after a few minutes of trying and failing to wake him up, but same thing. The demon had woken up, groggy and out of sorts, deeply confused on what was going on until he heard Cannon’s panicked voice from the other room. The same voice that had immediately woken all of us and landed me in the position I was in now, concerned that the woman I was absolutely in love with was bleeding out in front of me.
There was a part of me that was concerned about Philip. I loved him as a brother, but it was grossly overshadowed by my panic for Maize. Plus, both Zed and Charm were keeping tabs on him. Zed, as mentioned, wasn’t allowed in the room because almost immediately upon seeing the bloodshed, our bond had been flooded with alarm and raw bloodlust. So much so that he had left the room despite her state. Charm, on the other hand, was barely able to stand, his entire face chalky and body seemingly weak, which I had to assume was either a part of their connection or because of the pain she was experiencing.
I honestly had no idea if it was better to keep them apart or together, but considering he was only a room away, I figured it would be fine. He didn’t seem like he would be much help right now, and that was what Maize needed. Fucking help.
“You’re good.”
I nodded to Maddox, a sharp movement, as I stood and stepped into the massive tub with her in my arms. I didn’t care that I was in jeans as I sunk into the lukewarm water, her lean, frozen frame clinging to mine as she let out a sharp hiss at the temperature difference. I offered a soothing sound, knowing that the water probably felt searing against her skin, and watched as a tremble worked its way across her entire body. I had absolutely no idea how long it would take to unfreeze her and wake up fully, two factors that terrified me.
We needed to check for frostbite as well. Was that possible for her? Honestly, after tonight, I had absolutely no idea what was possible when it came to Maize. I mean, it was like she’d never left the bed, yet she clearly had.
Our room was fairly secure and warded, usually allowing us to tell by the magical signature who had passed through. But by all accounts, she had never left her bed, and clearly we knew that wasn’t true. I mean, hell, when Cannon hadn’t been able to find her, he’d tracked her blood nearly all the way to the Dark Fae border. Yet, despite consistently following her scent, he’d been caught up in a circle, unable to pinpoint her final location. As if it was changing on him. As if someone had been purposefully keeping him away from her.
How the hell had she gotten all the way out there?
I didn’t believe for a second that she’d willingly gone out there, not after being attacked at dinner earlier tonight. No. This was something else, something bigger, and my gut was warning it wasn’t anything good. Maybe she had been sleepwalking? Somehow I didn’t think that was the case, though.
Most of our top teams were scouting the area, the castle alerted to what had occurred despite nothing being found yet. It had been a short amount of time, but the lack of information had me feeling panicked, worried that we couldn’t protect her from some looming threat. Only Maize could inspire these feelings in me. Truly. My eyes closed, and despite having been exhausted the night before, I had a feeling that I would never sleep again. Not without knowing that she wouldn’t be plucked, literally, from our goddamn bed.
Maybe if she had been in your bed, it wouldn’t have happened…
No. I didn’t believe that. I knew how powerful Charm and Philip were. If something was able to knock them unconscious, then it probably would have done the same to me.
“Chait.”
The soft murmur from the woman in my arms instantly had my complete attention. Well, not just mine—almost immediately, my three teammates went silent, seeming to completely focus in on Maize. Relief flooded our bond as she let out a soft, sleepy sound, making my entire body relax. At least her pulse was getting stronger. Small blessings from the Maker.
My gaze ran over the sight the two of us made together, and I found myself nearly shaking my head in disbelief. I had no idea what Maize saw in a scarred, fucked-up phantom hybrid from the Elven realm, but if she said she loved me, I wasn’t in the business of questioning miracles. I think I would take any affection she gave me… scratch that, I absolutely knew I would. Not that I would ever be good enough for her love, but hopefully she wouldn’t realize that.
We did make a very stark contrast together. My tattooed arms and darkly ringed fingers seemed to crowd her icy, perfect form possessively, as if I was trying to mark her. The only thing that was “imperfect” on Maize, unlike myself, were scars that were burned in dark slashes across her wrists and back.
Yet even those “imperfections” could only be seen as a symbol of strength. A symbol of her surviving Mario’s bullshit. I had always thought they were beautiful, and there wasn’t a very good way to say that without sounding weird.
I loved Maize, perfect or imperfect, but there was something stunning about her imperfections. Like looking at a shattered mirror. It was still beautiful, a smooth, reflective surface, but it was a more fractured, twisted version of its reality. There was something beautiful about that concept.
Mon amour’s jet black hair was soaked against the white slip she wore, blood tinting the water around us but not inhibiting my view of her body pressed against the extremely see-through material. I knew I should have looked away, tried to cover her up, but I didn’t want to risk moving. At least, that was my excuse.
I swallowed, trying to not give into the groan working its way up my throat at the sight of her breasts pressed against the soaked material. Her nipples were hard from the cold, and my cock only seemed to harden the longer she was in my arms, clearly not getting the memo of how goddamn inappropriate that was right now. I tightened my hold on her and buried my nose in her hair, restraining myself from shooing everyone else out. It was a ridiculous protective urge because I knew she was their mate as well, but sometimes… sometimes I just wanted her to myself. To be selfish like the past year or so, where all of her attention had just been on Maddox and I.
I wanted all of Maize’s love.
I didn’t care what I had to do. I didn’t care if I had to beg… it was pathetic, but I would be willing to do so. I was far past preserving my pride. I think I had been for some time now, and tonight just made that feeling that much more present. More desperate. I needed her to realize just how important it was that she didn’t leave me. Didn’t leave us. I knew our wants weren’t her only concern, but I had to at least give it a shot, to try to explain my need, my desire for her.
Maize let out a soft hum and dug her nails into my skin slightly, my cock pulsating with need as I tried to think of anything but how much I wanted her. My lust for Maize had terrible timing as always, so I tried to distract myself. I mean, there was a fucking ton of shit I could focus on instead. She’d nearly died. She wasn’t healing as fast as she should. Her familiar tattoos were gone from her frame as far as I could tell, and her wings had yet to appear despite her being injured.
How had everything gotten even more fucked up than it had been earlier at dinner? That seemed impossible. Improbable.