Chapter 42 #2
“We have to get help.” I turn to Kade. “Is the SUV working?”
He frowns and shakes his head. “Part of the car melted because the fire was so hot. And the sat-phone burned as well. We have no way to contact anyone.”
“It’s okay,” Becks says, trying to shrug off Titus. “I have room to shift here. That will help heal the damage until someone comes for us.”
I shake my head. With the shape Becks is in, I’m not convinced that’s going to be enough. “I’ll shift and carry you down the mountain.”
The corner of Becks’ mouth kicks up in a mischievous grin. “Are you saying you’re going to let me ride you?”
Someone, I think Imogen, snorts a laugh, and my face heats. Reaching out, he brushes his thumb over my cheek. “I love that I can still make you do that.”
I’m about to tell him no, he’s not riding me, and I’ll carry him in my talons, when the sound of an engine cuts through the early morning, freezing me in place.
“Someone’s coming,” Ensley says, and we rush around the burnt remains of the cabin.
I’m instantly on alert, unsure whether whoever’s arriving is friend or foe. After the night we’ve had, I’m ready to take out anyone who threatens me or my friends.
My hands light on fire with hardly a thought, but when a black Jeep Wrangler appears and the passenger door opens before it’s even stopped and Locklyn jumps out, I douse the flames.
She sprints toward us. I expect her to go to Ensley or Becks first—they are her best friends—but instead she plows right into me. Her arms wrap around me and she crushes me in a hug, her body shaking with the force of her sobs.
Taken off guard, I stand woodenly in her embrace.
“I thought you were dead,” she says, her voice watery and thin.
I lift my arms, hugging her back, running a hand up and down her spine as she shakes, trying to soothe her. “Oh, no. I’m okay. I’m here.”
She pulls back and her eyes are red-rimmed and her face puffy and blotchy. She’s been crying for some time. Swiping a hand across her eyes, she wipes away her tears.
“We knew something was up. We captured one of the vampires, and after some motivation . . .” She cuts her gaze over to the Jeep, where Talon is getting out.
“. . . he confessed they knew I was a decoy. By then, we couldn’t reach you.
We’ve been driving for hours. The whole time I thought we were going to be too late, that when we got here you’d already be gone. ”
A fresh wave of tears fills her eyes and pours over. “We just met. The thought of not getting a chance to make up for all the years we lost—” Locklyn just shakes her head, unable to go on.
My heart goes out to my sister. For what the last few hours must have been like for her.
“You don’t need to worry about your sis,” Imogen says. “She can take care of herself.”
Locklyn glances over at Imogen, and then back at me, a question in her gaze.
I shrug. “The demon’s dead. I killed it.”
Her brow furrows as she glances at the others, taking in our disheveled appearances, before looking back at me, confusion clouding her gaze. “But . . . how?”
Ensley steps forward, giving her best friend a side hug. “Well, you see, your sister is a phoenix.”
Locklyn’s eyes widen, her mouth opening in awe. “Those are real?”
Imogen snorts. “It’s not like she’s the first mythical shifter in this group,” she says, her gaze veering to her cousin, Talon, the ice dragon.
When I catch Talon’s eye, he looks less surprised than his wife, giving me a lopsided smile. “Welcome to the club. It’s very exclusive.”
“Wow,” Locklyn says, giving her head a small shake. “I never would have, but then after all . . .” She opens and closes her mouth a couple of times before finally settling on, “I’m just glad you’re safe.”
“Me too,” I agree, but then turn to Becks.
He’s leaning against the melted remains of our SUV for support. A gentle smile rests on his face as he watches us, even as his skin remains pale from blood loss, making him look like a strong wind might knock him over.
“We can catch up later, but right now we need to get Becks to a hospital.”
“I’m really all—” Becks starts, but I cut him off with a raised hand.
“I don’t want to hear it. You’re going to get checked out, and that’s final.”
His eyebrows rise and his smile turns wicked. “I’m not going to turn down an opportunity to get checked out.”
Seriously?
I roll my eyes. If he’s making jokes like that, he can’t be on his deathbed. Even so, I’m not going to feel better until I know for sure.
Talon and Locklyn’s ride only has four seats, so we agree to leave Ensley, Titus, Kade, and Imogen behind, promising to come back with a larger car to get everyone shortly. Despite his bravado, Talon has to help Becks into the back seat of the Jeep.
I catch Locklyn staring at Kade and Imogen right before I climb into the car after Becks. They’re holding hands as Imogen chats animatedly, retelling how she helped me destroy the demon, while Kade watches her with his usual unreadable expression.
“I have so many questions about that,” she says with a shake of her head.
A laugh bursts from me, and the heaviness that’s weighed on my chest since last night’s attack eases just a little.
“You and me both,” I say with a grin. “Good thing we have all the time in the world now.”