My fingers brushed through her hair, sighing in relief that the bleeding seemed to have stopped, but worrying about how much damage an injury like that would have done to her. I couldn’t imagine how bad it had been originally, and it just further solidified the fact that someone had put her out there to hurt her. Someone had taken her out in the middle of the fucking Horde forest to let her freeze and bleed out from head trauma.
Someone had hurt mon amour. Someone was going to die for that.
I didn’t enjoy killing, but I also didn’t reject it. I had the ability to pull someone’s life force from them, not softly like a necromancer or like a slow draining process. No, I could literally just rip someone’s fucking life force out and toss it into the Spirit realm. I honestly had no idea where my magic came from, but considering my parents had sold me off at age five, I would assume their bed partners weren’t well vetted. I could be a fucking descendant of Hades himself and I would absolutely never know. I was completely okay with that concept, for the record.
Gently, I poured warm water over her shoulder as she shivered, clutching me tighter. Maddox increased the temperature slightly and answered my comment. “There has been no sign of him on Academy grounds since dinner, and his uncle is still in questioning… so unless someone hid him and he attacked again, it’s unlikely.”
“Who knows what type of friends that motherfucker has,” I muttered disdainfully. “He had someone trash Maize’s room, presumably. What about those kids?”
Maddox chuckled softly. “Containment. A solid week, and then they may be let out, but not until then.”
The fact that David and his friends had a connection through his uncle to SE was a problem to begin with. No that it wasn’t allowed, but there was such a high amount of corruption within the kingdom’s military, and while I knew the Royal Guard were working to erase it, it was difficult to do so on such a grand government scale like that. There was a pecking order that had been ingrained in their brains, and anyone who had a bit of power believed that they had the right to make decisions. Even if it wasn’t their fucking job to do so. Especially when it wasn’t their job to do so, it seemed.
The woman in my arms shifted slightly, my eyes trailing the way her icy skin was now flushing in color, blood washing away to reveal dark bruising on her biceps, as if someone had dragged her that way. I let out a small snarl at the concept of anyone touching her like that. My lips pressed against her temple as she let out a soft, content sigh that had my heart jumping with a surge of relief.
She was going to be okay. I just needed to continue to remind myself of that.
When the door opened, I expected Valerio, but instead Charm made an appearance, shutting the door and joining Maddox on the floor. His eyes ran over Maize, a vulnerable, worried expression flashing across his face. It was one I hadn’t seen in years, and I felt my chest squeeze in sympathy, knowing that Charm was terrible at handling shit like this. I was surprised he’d yet to lash out. Instead, he just looked sort of… lost.
“Is she going to be okay?” Charm asked roughly, his eyes darkening to almost black. It made him look even more pale, and Maddox offered him a concerned look, probably feeling the change in his magic signature. Charm’s normally vibrant magic felt restrained and weaker.
He continued, “I tried to stay in the other room, but she wasn’t lying. It’s like a fucking itch under my skin. When we moved Philip to the other bedroom, it became too much, and I… I had to be close to her again.”
Jealousy surged through me at the obvious primal connection the two of them had, and I found myself wishing that it was me that she’d marked. Which was absolutely ridiculous since he hadn’t asked for it but instead saved her life. Still, it didn’t remove the desire. My eyes flashed down to the small star outline on her collarbone, making me wonder if each of our mating bonds would leave a mark on her. I hoped so.
If she accepted the mating bond… it was almost inevitable she’d mark us. Even if by accident. I had never wanted a mark on my skin so bad, and I’d never wanted to mark someone like I did with Maize. It wasn’t a healthy reaction, but it was unavoidable.
“Yeah, she’ll be okay,” I said in response to his first comment as she nuzzled into my chest slightly, her breathing a bit uneven still. “Are you going to be alright? You look like shit, man.”
Charm nodded sharply, not offering his normal sarcastic remark, making me even more concerned as he just continued to stare at her. My fingers brushed over her face, rubbing a thumb over her nose as it began to turn pink and her frozen lashes began to thaw. After another five minutes, I felt her magic finally begin to make an appearance. I had no idea where it had come from, but the cool sensation against my skin was familiar. Maddox sat up, clearly sensing it as well.
Charm jumped like something had shocked him, his head hitting the cabinet behind him as a crash like breaking glass sounded from the other room. I arched a brow as both men stood and went towards the door, closing it to keep the steam trapped in the bathroom. Ten bucks that Philip had just woken up. I watched Maize expectantly as her back twitched, almost as if moving along with her wings that were still hidden, before her lashes finally opened.
Maker. She was perfect.
“Chait?” Maize asked softly as I cupped her jaw gently, her voice raspy and exhausted. Diamond-like eyes fluttered up to me, a flush invading her face, affection turning them from a pale blue-silver to a rich sapphire that had me nearly groaning. I couldn’t tell if she fully realized that she was awake, because her attention seemed hazy at best, her body stretching against mine. Maker. The woman was unfairly stunning. My heart actually hurt with how beautiful she was.
Nothing compared to the relief I felt at seeing her eyes open. Nothing in the world.
“Mon amour,” I mumbled in greeting as my fingers brushed over her cheek, causing her to nuzzle against my chest. I could see a flush invading the rest of her body, and this wicked threat of energy began to grow from her magic, a pulling sensation that I was used to, except that this one was tainted with a heady sexual undertone. One that had an unabated rumble breaking from my throat at the way she squirmed against me.
As if she didn’t notice, her eyes gazed around the massive tub before shakily looking down at our submerged bodies, my arms tightening around her not only securely but possessively. I didn’t want her to leave me. Even if it was by a few inches. I also could see the panic and reality start to sink in as her body went completely still, her face filling with fear as her pulse went haywire. Immediately, my magic wrapped around her, trying to send soothing energy over her skin as my lips brushed against her temple. Maize let out a puff of breath as she seemed to cling to me.
“Breathe, Maize,” I demanded in a soft but persuasive voice. “You are completely safe. I promise. I’ve got you.”
She exhaled and nodded hesitantly, tightening her grip on me. It made my heart surge with pride, knowing that her instinct was probably to push me away until she figured out what was going on, to protect herself by distancing. Instead, she clung to me as if I was providing an anchor for her. Maker, I hoped I was doing something goddamn helpful… besides staring at her half-naked body.
As enjoyable as that was, I had a feeling it wasn’t included in the ‘helpful’ category.