Chapter 43
forty-three
-Set-
What the fuck is happening to me?
That’s all I’ve been able to think about for the past hour, because that’s exactly how long it took for me to open my fucking eyes.
My chest hurts like hell. Like it’s about to explode the very next second, and every breath is a torment I can barely stand.
I don’t remember ever feeling this kind of pain.
Still, I do remember how this happened—someone shot me.
It wasn’t the first time that happened, but it’s the first time I haven’t been able to recover.
I still can’t. Yet as much as it hurts, I can’t help but feel at peace.
I woke up with Serena in my arms. That pretty much did it for me.
That’s all I need—for her to be safe, next to me.
Sure, I certainly don’t need a bullet hole in my chest, but it’s a hell of a lot easier to bear with her here. Wherever the fuck here is.
The room’s pitch-black, except for a stray silver of moonlight shining across her face.
Ya’amar—my moon. I smile as I tuck away a wandering strand of hair from her face.
Then I close my eyes again and let my finger drift through her hair, gently enough, so I won’t wake her.
She’s sleeping so soundly that I’m suspecting she’s been through some shit lately.
Especially since I can see an ancient occult book on the nightstand next to me, and what I’m pretty sure is a palm tree shadow outside.
It’s too dark in the room to make out much else, but this has to be Draco’s place in L.A.
Which also means things were bad enough for Whiro to bring me here.
I want to ask questions. I’m just not ready—at least, not yet. I’m almost drifting back to sleep when I feel Serena waking up. “Set…Set you’re awake.”
“You could say that,” I manage to speak, though the words barely come out. I never imagined speaking could come with such difficulty. But then again, I never imagined recovering from a bullet wound be this fucking hard.
She raises her head, and moonlight catches her face.
She’s so fucking beautiful. And so fucking mine.
Because I’ll admit, I had my doubts, no matter what promises she made, no matter how strong our bond was.
I did some things in the past that hurt her—making her a killer being one of them.
So the fear that she’d leave again—if given the chance—was still there.
But she just had the greatest chance of her life to run as far away as she could. Yet chose not to. “You stayed,” I say, brushing away that same stubborn strand of hair from her face.
“Of course I stayed,” she murmurs, pushing herself up in the bed and leaning in for a kiss.
“You know this totally reminds me of a scene from that cartoon… what’s it called?” Whiro’s voice cuts through the darkness. “Oh yeah, Beauty and the Beast. You know, when the beast’s half-dead, and the girl swoops in to kiss him.”
Serena turns to look at him. “The Beast says, ‘You came back.’”
“Details,” Whiro mutters, and I still can’t even see him.
But I can definitely kick him out. “Whiro, get the fuck out now,” I growl, even though we both know it holds no real ground at this point. It’s just our way of communicating. Call it brotherly love.
Now it’s time for a different kind of love. “Did he just say she kisses the Beast?”
“She sure does,” Serena murmurs as her lips come crashing against mine. And it hurts like fucking hell—the jolt in my chest nearly knocks the breath out of me. I don’t tell her that. I want her to do it ten more times if it means feeling her mouth on mine.
For a second there, I thought I wouldn’t get to live through this moment.
I’ll be fucking dead before I let her go again.
I can taste the salt of her tears as my tongue pulses against hers, and as much as I hate that she’s crying, I can’t help but want her tears.
They show me how much she feels for me, and how scared she was to lose me.
But enough is enough. “Stop crying, or you’ll force me to try a different approach. And I’m not sure I won’t die in the process.”
“You’re not doing anything that gets you close to dying again. You had me all panicked,” she says with a soft smile, gently easing herself off me. “Are you in pain?” She asks with real concern in her eyes.
“I’ve been better, but the pain just lets me know I’m still alive,” I mutter, trying to sit up against the pillow. “Fuck. Very much alive, from the feel of it.” My hand races to my chest, and I’m already exhausted from the effort.
“You shouldn’t move so much. I’ll go get Draco,” Serena offers, but I want her right here, next to me.
I catch her hand, refusing to let her leave my bedside.
“Whiro probably beat you to it.” Damn, who knew breathing could be this much work?
“Besides, didn’t anyone tell you it’s rude to leave a patient unattended?
” I pull her into me again, trying to figure out how to get her even closer without actually dying in the process.
Pretty hard to pull that off right now, especially when I still don’t know what the fuck’s wrong with me.
“Is the bullet still in?” I ask, trying to piece things together.
“No. Draco took that out. But...” Serena pauses, as if she doesn’t want to tell me what came next.
Still, I want to know what came next. “But?” I press, letting her know I need the whole story.
“But… Bronte had to revive you,” she says, her eyes glinting at me.
Did she really think getting electrocuted would shock me? Well, it did shock me, but not in the way she probably expected. “So, I was dead. That’s a first... I think. Can’t really remember my past. That's why everything hurts like hell?”
“You should get some more rest. Your wound doesn’t seem to be healing.”
“Well, I woke up, so I must be on the right track,” I rasp out the words, because it’s getting hard to even speak. Fuck.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. You only woke up because your girl here stood up to Thanatos,” Draco says as he walks into the room. But I don’t have time for pleasantries.
“You fucking did what?” I snarl, this time forcing myself upright. I don’t even care if it fucking kills me.
Serena looks at me, guilt glinting in her eyes, and I can tell it’s true. She doesn’t even need to say anything.
“Were you out of your fucking mind? He could’ve ended you on the spot.
” There are only a few things in this world I’d think twice about facing.
And Thanatos is one of them. We know better than to cross him.
So none of us ever does. It’s a rule older than time.
None of us can stop him from a mission, no matter what that means in the end.
“I couldn’t let him take you,” Serena snaps, fully convinced she did the right thing. And maybe she did for us. She certainly did for me. But what if he’d killed her? Human lives are worthless to us. Just mere entertainment that can be wiped out with a snap of a finger.
“She was braver than any of us,” Draco says, approaching my bed. “To be honest, I’ve never seen that look on Thanatos' face. For a second there, I couldn’t tell if he was about to laugh or just wipe us all out.”
“Fucking shit,” I mutter, acknowledging the danger, pretty convinced that Serena didn’t know exactly what she was doing. Pissing off an entity like Thanatos could lead to severe consequences—even in death.
“You’re welcome,” she says, rolling her eyes, thinking she did me a favor by almost getting herself killed. I’d rather have died than risk her. So no, she’s not getting my gratitude for that.
“I would’ve chosen to go with him before risking your life,” I say, my voice harsh enough to shut her down.
I can see her pouting, but I don’t take it back.
I was serious. Nothing is worth risking her life.
And she needs to understand that. “I’m not fucking Nick.
You come first.” I whisper, just loud enough for her to hear me.
No way I’m making this kind of confession with Draco around.
I’d never hear the end of it. And judging by the light blooming in her eyes, she got it.
Her fingers glide slowly across the sheets in search of my hand—and when they find it, they don’t let go.
“So what was I shot with?” I ask Draco, hoping that he’s got something by now.
“Looks like a regular bullet—nothing poison or other substance, just an unusual metal,” Draco answers.
“What kind of metal?” I ask again, trailing my tongue against my lips. Damn, I’m thirsty. And Serena notices immediately and hands me a glass of water. I’ve never enjoyed playing the patient or feeling helpless, but I bet I’d enjoy it if she’d play nurse.
I snap my focus back as Draco steps closer, holding a piece of metal in his hand.
“Is this it?” I take the metal. It’s light and iridescent. Nothing I’ve ever seen before. But that’s not the weirdest part about it. Strange decorative writings mark its edges.
I can’t make out what it says, because the metal contorted when it hit me, but I think it’s Celtic.
“So you’re telling me the fucking Tooth Fairy shot me?” I ask, unable to find a connection between this attempt and anything else in my life lately. If this were connected to Chen’s death the markings would have been Asian.
“I don’t know. None of us does. I was hoping you had a clue.” Draco says, taking the bullet back.
“Well, I did have a few... outbursts a couple of months ago. Wiped out half of Vegas's criminal scene. Maybe a few mobsters in Italy, too. Probably pissed off the Yakuza or the Triads. Hard to keep track,” I say, but Draco knows this isn’t a valid explanation for what’s happening here.
He just wrinkles his nose, probably waiting to get me alone.
He doesn’t press it. Maybe it’s not a good enough explanation for him, but it is for Serena. No point panicking her even more, especially not that I just found out how reckless she can be by taking on someone of my kind.
Truth is, neither of us has any idea what this is about. But we all feel it—there’s a new threat looming over us. And Draco understands exactly what I’m doing. “Keeping the balance, eh?” he says as if this is just a part of our job.
Despite my best attempt to keep this under wraps, Serena doesn’t dismiss the danger so easily, though. “This could happen again to any of you,” she says, looking at Draco, probably expecting him to dig into things.
He’s smart enough to try to calm her, too.
“We’re all prepared. At any time. We’ve been through worse.
What happened here was just a unfortunate set of events.
” He tries to seem in control, but we both know neither of us is in control right now.
“Now let’s check out this wound.” He takes a step closer, then slowly removes my bandage to have a look.
“Well, it looks a little better than earlier.”
“Fuck, it was worse than this?” I can’t help but ask since the damn thing still hurts like I got shot five minutes ago.
“Way worse,” Draco nods. “It’s healing faster than a human wound anyway, so you should be brand new in a week or so.”
“A fucking week.” My head hits the pillow. I can’t even imagine how I’m gonna stay in bed for that long. I mean, I could stay in bed for a week, but I’m not sure it’s recommended to do any of the activities that would keep me there.
“Think of it as an overdue vacation.” Draco lets out a laugh.
“Maybe I should shoot you and give you an overdue vacation,” I mutter, trying to find a better position on the bed, because no matter how I lie, something hurts.
And just when I’m about to give him another piece of my mind, Whiro comes back. “I see you’re done with the love confessions.” He winks, knowing damn well, I don’t like my life out there on display, not even for my brothers.
So I give him the brotherly “fuck off” in response.
“Yeah, don’t worry I didn’t come to see your sorry ass. I actually came back to take Serena downstairs. She hasn’t eaten in, like, a day... and she is human. Fragile and shit. The maids already set the table.”
My gaze turns to Serena. “So, you do have a death wish after all. Go downstairs and eat something. I’m not going anywhere.” I say, before she gets a chance to argue. Guess she knows this isn’t the time or place for that. Besides, I need a word with Draco.
At least, this time, she listens. She leans in for a kiss, then follows Whiro out of the room.
“So how fucked are we?” I ask my brother, knowing damn well this is just the beginning of something that might change things forever.
“Can’t tell yet. I don’t know what the metal is.
I also suspect it’s Celtic, but I can’t make out the words.
What I do know is that someone put a lot of thought and effort into this.
Which only means we need to match that effort.
” Draco seems fully aware of how serious this is.
Someone’s been watching me, maybe all of us—and they know we’re not mortal.
“I’ll keep digging around, check some of the books again, but so far, I’ve got nothing,” my brother continues, and we both know it’s a real possibility we won’t have any leads too soon.
All we know is, a new war just landed on our doorstep.