Chapter 46
Skye
Me
Long story.
Can’t call mentally
I need you
Zephyr
***
Come to me
Me
Long story
Can’t
Don’t call Rafe
Zephyr
I’m leaving in 5 for the train
I breathed out steadily, sinking back into the pillow. It would take about an hour for Zephyr to get to a lightning train, and probably three to four hours after that he’d be getting to the academy.
I opened a new text to Willow to tell her Zephyr was coming for me, but then–
“Skyes,” Zephyr’s voice roused me from my fitful sleep. “Skye. Sweets. Are you okay? Fuck, what happened to your head? And you look like shit.”
I tried to laugh, but whimpered instead. I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Long story,” I choked out.
“What happened to your head?” Zephyr asked again, running his hands over my shoulders. “What do I need to fix?”
“How’d you get here so fast?” I whispered.
“It’s seven o’clock in the morning,” Zephyr scoffed. “You texted me at three.”
“Oh,” I breathed, my eyes growing drowsy again as the fog in my brain began to clear. “Shit.”
“Your head is…Skye, what the hell happened?”
“River,” I groaned. “I let him borrow some telepathy.”
Zephyr’s warm hands stilled on my forehead, and he breathed out sharply before going back to his healing. “Holy shit. You’re an idiot.”
“Fuck you,” I whispered.
“How do you feel?” Zephyr murmured.
I shrugged, not taking my gaze away from the parted curtains. The sunshine wasn’t the reason for my dull headache, so keeping the room dark wouldn’t have helped.
“Everything’s fine. Just your head, right?” Zephyr asked.
“Yeah,” I croaked, then swallowed thickly.
I had no idea what’d come over me last night. I remembered waking up to briefly explain everything to Zephyr, then promptly passed back out. I woke back up to find him in bed beside me, scrolling on his phone.
“I can’t really fix your head, only the nausea. Also…” Zephyr shifted uncomfortably. “You were covered in hickies, dude. And you had fucking teeth marks right near your–”
I tried to laugh, but ended up coughing. “Stop,” I croaked.
Zephyr sat up quickly, rubbing my arm as I settled. “Do you feel any different?”
I shook my head. “Besides the aches, I don’t really feel like I did anything.”
“I can’t believe you. You really trust this guy?” Zephyr whispered harshly.
“Yeah,” I replied. “I think…” I shook my head. “He doesn’t want to hurt me. Something is holding him back, but he’s not bad. His soul is good.”
Zephyr nodded, pressing his palms into the poof of curls on top of his head.
My eyes nearly bugged out of my head.
“Zephyr…oh, my God. Your hair–”
“Oh, yeah,” Zephyr snorted, looking a little embarrassed. “I uh…I cut it.”
The sides were shorter, leaving the top longer. His hair appeared like he was always wearing his poof, now.
“Why?” I whispered.
“I met this creepy old lady on the pier. She told me some bullshit about how hair holds trauma and…well, Willow and Mia weren’t talking to me, and you weren’t talking to me, and…Lana’s not talking to me.” Zephyr squeezed his eyes shut. “I don’t know. Had to get a cut.”
“It looks…”
“Don’t even insult me right now. I didn’t have a Chain full of men hyping me up after the shit with Levi happened, okay?”
“I–”
“I’m happy for you, although this bullshit that keeps happening is a little annoying, but I was alone, okay? I didn’t have anyone there for me the way you did. And…and Lana and Willow–”
“It looks good,” I whispered, weakly reaching out for him. “I wasn’t going to insult you.”
“Oh.”
He leaned over, allowing me to squish his coils.
“There’s something else,” Zephyr said after a few minutes. “Dani isn’t talking to Willow and Mia anymore.”
“Willow’s talking to you again?” I asked, still in a whisper.
The two of us stared at each other. I took a long look at my brother’s face, noting the finest of lines around the corners of his eyes, the faintest crease between his brows that wasn’t going away anymore.
Young as he was, signs of the hard life we’d lived were appearing.
I was sure my recent string of bullshit hadn’t helped.
I’m sorry, I said, surprised it no longer hurt to use my telepathy.
Don’t be, he replied quickly, training his gaze on me again. You were defending your friends. I was being a shithead and threw Aiden under the bus. I’m sorry, Skyes. I acted like that with no care for what you’ve been going through. The shit with Levi, this Royal Chain…the Queen being a bitch.
I snorted. I love you, I said. I don’t blame you for anything. None of it.
Zephyr sighed before turning on his side and opening up his arms, allowing me to curl into his chest.
This fucking sucks, I whispered.
I know. I love you. Everything will be alright.
We stayed that way for a while. I hadn’t taken comfort in my brother in a long time, and I missed it.
He’d always been my safe space in a way my Links couldn’t fulfill.
I was protective over Willow and Mia, but now that I’d had time to reconsider things…
I was realizing how amazing this arrangement could be.
For so long, my brother had been my best friend.
But now…my brother could be with my best friend.
And I could be with her brother. This was the best case scenario I’d never been able to dream up.
I could have my friends and my Chain and my brother.
We would be one, huge family, and now that I was ready to accept it… I was excited.
After some time, Zephyr pulled back and climbed out of bed. “You’re safe to take me home, if you want. The guys should be–”
We both froze as footsteps sounded from the hall. We tilted our heads, listening closely, and Zephyr went invisible for a split-second, looking at me in silent question. I shook my head. I knew everyone’s footsteps. Zephyr didn’t need to hide from this Link.
Aiden pushed the door open a moment later, pausing as he took in the scene.
His warm brown eyes darted from me in the bed, to Zephyr hovering over me.
His nostrils flared, almost like he could somehow smell what I’d been up to, and then he narrowed his eyes before quietly closing the door behind him.
“What happened?”
“Nothing,” I lied.
Aiden and Zephyr stared each other down, two men both ready to defend me by any means necessary.
“Not mad at him anymore?” Aiden asked, keeping his gaze on my brother, who clenched his jaw.
“No.”
Aiden nodded slowly, then looked back to me, then the bedsheets. “What did he do?” he asked darkly.
“Nothing bad,” I whispered truthfully, knowing he meant River and not Zephyr.
I sat up, then slowly sank back into the pillows when my head began to swim. My skull throbbed, and Zephyr watched me carefully, but his expression betrayed nothing to Aiden about my condition. He hadn’t even moved toward me, allowing me to handle this.
“He left you again?” Aiden ground out, and I suddenly had a stunning realization.
Aiden knew River had been here, Zephyr knew River had been here, and yet neither would speak freely in front of the other, just in case I hadn’t shared all the details.
Neither one of them wanted to betray me to the other, and I didn’t know what I’d done to deserve such faithful men in my life, romantic or not.
“He couldn’t stay,” I said, my voice devolving to a whisper. “I think…I think he’s going to do something stupid.”
“Aiden? I’m sorry.” Zephyr said quietly. “I was a huge dick to you and you’ve never been anything but kind to me. And you’re good to my sister.”
Aiden stared at Zephyr for a moment, his jaw tight, but then his shoulders slumped. “It’s okay, man. I was more upset you weren’t talking to your sister.”
The two shared a man-hug while I struggled to sit up again, then they both came to my side to help me. I placed my shaky feet on the carpet, breathing deeply to keep my head from spinning.
“Are we going to tell them?” Aiden asked.
Zephyr looked to me again, his brow furrowed. Aiden seemed to relax a bit at that, happy he was the only one who knew this secret.
“I’m not ready,” I whispered.
Aiden nodded. “Fine, but it’s a good thing Zephyr’s already here. Levi talked.”