Chapter 9
Rummy
Ireally was bored. But honestly? I wouldn’t have left if I hadn’t been certain Jessiah would follow me.
The man was an overprotective control freak, and I refused to sit around and let him command me like I was one of his men.
Besides, spending too much time with three men around a fire couldn’t be good for my mental health.
I needed to reconnect with nature, smell the trees, look at the stars, et cetera.
Still, I was already missing the warmth of that fire. I spent many nights in the freezing cold winters of Midgrave, but I was not cut out for this. The breeze brushed against my already chilled skin, and even though it was dark, I took maybe ten paces before I felt Jessiah’s presence.
“You couldn’t possibly make my life any harder, could you?” he asked. “Goddess above, I sometimes wonder how much planning you put into ruining my days.”
“Awww.” I shoved a small branch out of the way, releasing it so it hit Jessiah in the chest. “You wonder about me?”
He growled. “Not funny. I told Wolf and Huntyr that I’d do my best to get us all back home alive. If you go off and die in the woods, they’ll be pissed. And they’ll blame me.”
Just the sound of his voice irritated me. “We can’t have that, can we? We can’t have anyone mad at poor little Jessiah.” I marched faster, desperate to put more space between us.
Of course his concern was upsetting Wolf and Huntyr. He wasn’t actually worried about my safety in the damn woods. I should have known. That would be too nice of him.
He was done caring about me a long, long time ago. And truthfully, I didn’t blame him. Not after what I’d done.
“Can you stop for one damn minute?” He gripped my bicep and spun me around, the force of the move enough to make me lose my balance.
I was dangerously close to smacking into his chest when I caught myself. “What are you—”
At the sound of leaves crunching to my right, I snapped my mouth shut, and Jessiah and I both turned that way. It was pitch-dark, but every one of my senses lit up.
No, I wasn’t afraid of the woods. But being attacked by a giant monster in the dark? Maybe I was a little afraid of that.
“Don’t move,” Jessiah whispered.
Even as a chill ran down my spine, I rolled my eyes. “Wasn’t planning on it. I’d rather not get eaten by whatever’s lurking out there.” We were probably overreacting. It was probably nothing.
Before I could say that to him, he pulled his sword from his belt and stepped in front of me, his white wings outstretched, as if sheltering me.
And we waited. Though it was only seconds, it felt like hours. My heart pumped, sending blood flowing to my limbs, preparing me for the fight.
Not like it would do me any damn good.
I wasn’t trained like Jessiah or his soldiers. That was one of the many reasons I avoided physical danger.
Yet, here we were.
Another stick crunched. Yep. There was definitely something out there. And that thing surely wanted to eat me.
I didn’t dare speak. Neither did Jessiah.
Movement caught my eye to the right, but when I spun, I was too late.
I had seen large animals before, but this was entirely different. A massive, short-haired beast darted from the trees. The large horns of a forest oryx came straight at me, knocking me to the ground before I could react.
I hit the forest floor.
Hard.
With a yell, Jessiah brought his sword down on the animal, and the weight of the body fell off me, but I still couldn’t breathe. The air had been sucked from my lungs with the impact, the surprise of it all, the adrenaline.
“Goddess above, Rummy, are you okay?” He dropped to his knees beside me.
I tried to tell him that I was fine, but I couldn’t form the words.
He loomed over me, his figure dark, but even in the night forest, his eyes were visible as he scanned my body. They froze on my torso, beneath my leather jacket.
I followed his gaze.
That’s when I saw the blood.
Shit.
I didn’t stop him as he peeled my jacket back. Even if I wanted to resist, I couldn’t. I lay frozen from the shock of it all, my body unable to respond to any command.
“Rummy,” he breathed. The way he said my name, like he had never said it before in his life, like the word alone encapsulated everything he’d ever wanted to say, terrified me.
I finally pulled in a breath, the cool night air waking up my senses, and said, “I’m fine, it’s a small wound.”
“This is not a small wound. You were impaled by that thing.”
Goddess above, why did this shit happen to me? Forest oryx weren’t even predatory!
“It’s fine, really. Help me stand up.”
I half attempted to push myself up to a seated position, but my entire body seized in pain, and I flopped back to the ground. A new pool of blood gushed from the wound near my belly button.
Great. Just great. Eyes closed, I silently cursed.
“Nope, you’re not going anywhere like this. I need to get back to the camp and bandage you up.”
“It’s really not that big of a deal,” I argued through gritted teeth. “No need to pretend you care.”
“It is a big deal. We’re one day into this journey, and we have at least five more days until we reach Pericius. And for those five days, you can either be healing from this, or festering an infection. Come on. I’ll carry you back.”
Inside me, dread mingled with annoyance, because as much as I didn’t want his help, he was right. Even so…
“I do not need you to carry me.”
“Really?” He pulled back, hands on his hips. “Is there someone else here who can help you? Because I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t make it two feet by yourself right now. Stop being stubborn. I’m not going to leave you here to bleed out.”
“Why not?” I joked, though I couldn’t muster a humorous tone. “Seems like that would make your trip a little more enjoyable. You’re the one who didn’t want me coming along, anyway.”
I tried to laugh at myself, but it came out as a gruntled cough, and more warm blood gushed from my wound.
Fuck.
Jessiah crouched, sliding one arm beneath my legs and one behind my shoulders.
He lifted me, and a stream of curses left my mouth. As badly as I wanted to reject his help, I didn't have a choice. Truly, I would have done just about anything to avoid this situation.
I never wanted Jessiah’s help again. I was just fine on my own.
I was always fine on my own.
But that damn animal hadn’t left me many options.
Ignoring the way his massive shoulders flexed as he straightened, I wrapped one arm around his neck.
“Day one.” A puff of his breath hit my cheek as he shook his head. “I should have known this journey wouldn’t be easy.”
An unexpected tightness hit my chest. I wasn’t easily offended, but I was damn well aware that I wasn’t wanted here. I also knew that I was holding the group back.
And that was before I was attacked.
I said nothing else as he hauled me back to our campsite.
When we broke through the trees, Xavier and Matthias jumped to their feet.
“What in the hells happened?” Xavier gushed. “You two were gone for two damn seconds!”
“A forest oryx jumped out of the woods. It moved so quickly, we didn’t have time to react before Rummy was hit.”
“Are you serious? Since when do forest oryx attack people?”
“It’s these damn woods,” Matthias added. “They’re bloody cursed.”
Jessiah lowered me to the ground a few feet from the fire.
In the flickering glow, I could see the wound much better.
And all the blood.
“What can I say?” I replied with a smirk. “Animals love me.”
My quip was cut short by a shooting pain through my abdomen. I slumped back, the back of my head hitting the ground.
Jessiah’s hands lingered for a second, almost as if he wished he could do more. When he pulled away a second later, shaking his head, I reminded myself that the asshole hated me. He probably loved that I was in pain right now.
“Goddess above,” Xavier mumbled. “There are bandages in my pack.” He stood and ran to his horse, then tore through the bag on one flank.
Matthias stood back, his face lined with concern. I didn’t know the guy, so I appreciated the space he gave me.
Especially when Jessiah still lingered so close, with his hands in the air above me, as if he wasn’t totally sure what to do with them.
I lifted my head and peeled back the ripped fabric of my blood-soaked shirt to survey the wound.
Xavier returned a second later with a hiss. “You’ve got a battle wound, that’s for sure.”
I scoffed, gritting my teeth against the pain. “Some battle.”
“We need to clean it first. Here.” Jessiah twisted at the waist and grabbed the pack he’d left near the fire. He rummaged through it, then pulled a flask out and passed it to Xavier.
“What?” Xavier teased. “You’ve been holding out on me this whole time?”
Jessiah rolled his eyes. “This is for emergencies. Like this one.”
With a hand behind my head, Xavier brought the open flask to my lips. “Here,” he whispered. “I’d consider this an emergency.”
I took a long swig, fighting the urge to wince. The liquid was nothing like the delicious ale from Soph’s bar, and it burned ten times more painfully on its way down. But right now, that was exactly what I needed.
Xavier pulled the flask away, giving me absolutely no warning before pouring it over my open wound.
As white-hot pain seared my insides, Jessiah held me down with strong hands on my shoulders.
“Dammit, Xavier!”
He mumbled an apology that he definitely didn’t mean, then got to work packing my wound with bandages.
“I told you,” I huffed. “It’s really not that big of a deal. I’m almost positive it didn’t hit any vital organs.”
He ignored me, focusing on my midsection—though not in the way males tended to look when it was on display—leaving Jessiah to entertain my witty remarks.
“Would it really hurt to just say thank you?” Jessiah asked. “Or do you just like making life more difficult than it needs to be?”
“Obviously the latter.”
As he gritted out a curse, his jaw looked more defined in the flickering firelight. All his features did; his cheekbones were sharper, and his brows looked thicker as he frowned down at Xavier’s work.
All the while his right hand remained on my shoulder.
I didn’t brush it off, though I certainly could have.
I certainly should have.
But it was cold as all hells, and I was tired.
“Where’s Wolf and his healing magic when we need it?” I sighed.
Jessiah’s eyes darkened even further.
But I wasn’t conscious enough to hear the offensive remark that came next.
Because even with the fire, my body was racked with chills.
And darkness came swiftly.
The sound of my own laughter surprised me. I hadn’t heard it in so long, and it ripped through my mind like a foreign memory.
Jessiah and I sat on the roof, me with my feet dangling off the edge, him standing on one side and a few feet back.
He was quite the scaredy-cat for someone who could literally fly.
“You’re doing that on purpose!” Though he yelled, I could hear the smile in his voice all the same.
“Oh, come on! Live a little, angel!”
We’d been in Scarlata for a couple of weeks.
Wolf and Huntyr were busy doing all the things required of leaders of a brand-new kingdom, so that left the two of us plenty of time to do, well, whatever we were doing.
We didn’t have much in common, other than our status as non-bloodsuckers in a kingdom full of them.
But I didn’t totally hate his company. He was pure and honest, and he practically glowed with a refreshing lightness. Looking at him was like looking up at a bright, cloudless sky and feeling the warmth on my skin. I wanted to protect him. I wanted him to stay this pure and innocent forever.
Innocent may not have been the right word for it. Jessiah had been through some shit; we all had. Nobody made it through this life unscathed, and Jessiah’d had his fill. His father died not long ago at all, and yet here he was, laughing and wasting time with me.
As if I was worth all the smiles.
He didn’t know it yet, but I wasn’t worth a single damn one.
“I quite enjoy living, actually, and you should, too. Which is why I implore you to slide away from the roof.”
“Don’t worry,” I replied, legs swinging. “If I fall, a big, strong angel with massive white wings will come to my rescue.”
“Oh, he will?” Jessiah teased. He stepped closer, though he kept his distance from the edge.
“Mmhm,” I teased, dropping my head back to look at him. “I don’t think he’d let anything bad ever happen to me.”
We were just messing around, but the truth in that statement was impossible to ignore.
I froze, hoping Jessiah hadn’t noticed it, too.
“No,” Jessiah said softly. He took the final few steps to the edge of the roof and kneeled beside me. “I don’t think he would.”
It was still dark when I blinked my eyes open.
The fire dwindled to low, glowing embers.
Matthias was fast asleep on the far side of it, Xavier next to him.
Jessiah? He sat close, his legs pulled up to his chest and his arms resting on top of them, his focus fixed on the dying fire. With any luck, he hadn’t noticed that I was awake.
“You were dreaming,” he said.
Well, there went my hope for peace.
“What?” My throat burned. I was now covered in two thick blankets, and a pack had been placed under my head.
Jessiah passed me a canteen of water without looking me in the eye. “You were dreaming. You talk in your sleep, you know.”
“I do not.” I propped myself up on one elbow and drank from the canteen. As the liquid passed over my dry throat, I suppressed the moan of relief. “And spying on people isn’t nice.”
He didn’t laugh. “Xavier said you’ll be fine to travel in the morning, but we need to take it easy.
Head flopped back, I groaned. “I cannot believe this happened to me. Actually, I can believe it, because the entire world is against me.”
It must’ve been the pain and the restless, delusional sleep. That was the only way to explain how easily the honest truth slipped out.
Though I didn’t dare look at him, I could feel his attention fixed on me. “The world isn’t against you, Rummy, you just have shit luck sometimes.”
“You saw that animal. It came out of nowhere and barreled directly at me. That’s not normal, is it?”
A silent moment passed, then, “These woods are dangerous. We knew that going into this trip.”
“Yeah, because of vampyres and criminals and other travelers we may stumble upon. Not harmless animals.” I let my head fall back onto the pack beneath me as I listened to the embers crackle.
He let out a long breath. “Try to get some more sleep,” he eventually said. “It’ll be morning soon enough.”
“You’re not sleeping?”
It was then that I noticed his massive, silver sword lying next to him on the ground, unsheathed. “Not if animals like that are still out there.”
Before I could argue, tell him that staying up all night with no sleep was a stupid idea, exhaustion crept over me again.
And when sleep came, I didn’t fight it.