5 | Silver
Idon’t know what makes me do it. It’s terrible timing, and the shittiest place to throw myself at Dante. I know all of this, but I can’t seem to help myself. Maybe I’m crashing after the adrenaline high from jumping out of that window and running through the snow to escape Simpson and his cronies.
Right now, I need to reassure Dante. To feel close to him the only way I can. It’s like he just peeled back a layer of himself and showed he’s not always the cool, collected, confident guy I thought I knew. He showed me his soft underbelly and then looked so wretched about it. I thought he was going to tear out of here without another word and I wouldn’t see him for six months.
I can’t have that.
If I’m honest, I’ve felt this strange connection with him ever since we first met. It was like something between us just clicked into place.
I feel something similar but different with each of the Nexus mages, too. Not just because I’m attracted to them, either. It’s like a part of me recognizes something in them. There’s Roscoe’s sense of adventure and fun, Fabian’s steady strength, and Zeph’s barely contained intensity.
I need them. All of them. However greedy that might make me.
The little groan Dante lets out is so full of need, he has my thighs clenching. His tongue tangles with mine and he drags me closer until I’m wrapping my legs around his waist and feeling his thick hardness press up against my core.
Part of me wants to drag him into the nearest quiet corner and strip, see what else his talent tongue can do.
That’s insanity, of course. Probably the exhaustion and the chaos of this night making me lose all sense.
A memory plows into me and I remember exactly how good it felt to have Dante feed me his blood, how desperately I wanted for him to fill me with his cock at the same time.
Not right now, though. This was supposed to be a peck on the lips. An acknowledgement that whatever wild things he’s feeling, I’m feeling them too.
I pull back, panting. My cheeks feel flushed and my underwear is growing slicker by the second.
I’m a mess.
Then the guilt hits. What the fuck am I doing? I haven’t heard from Zeph since his plea for me to get here. I have no clue what state Roscoe is going to be in when I see him. I should not be wasting time making out with sexy as sin vampires.
“I should get upstairs.”
Dante nods, looking into my eyes with an intensity that could cut steel.
“You sure you don’t want to come up with me?”
He shakes his head silently, like I’ve robbed him of the ability to speak. It sends a little zing through me with the thrill of having power over someone like Dante.
“All right then, I’ll let you know how he is.”
“Thank you.” A soft peck to my lips, like he can’t help himself, and then he steps back. “Text or call. It doesn’t matter what time it is. If you need me, I’ll be here.”
His words fill my chest with warmth as I head to the elevator. Heading inside, I then gape at my disheveled appearance in the mirrored wall. Dante just made out with this? My hair is a mess. I’m covered in my blood and there are grass stains all over me from where I dropped out of the upper floor window.
Doing my best to wipe away the worst of the dirt, I can’t do much about the rest. I reach the med bay floor and head down an endless white corridor. My hands shake as I get closer and I try to keep my cool. No point panicking now. I just need to see him.
Roscoe’s lying in bed, his long, dark hair fanning across the white pillow like a dark halo. On either side of him are Seb and Zeph, who have their attention focused on him, like they’re keeping him alive with the power of their stares.
From my spot just inside the doorway, he looks... peaceful. The familiar laugh lines on his face are smooth. Like he’s a dark angel, resting for the moment.
I summon the final dregs of my magic and examine him for myself. Pulling up my blood magic, I can sense he’s no longer bleeding, but he must have lost a ton of it before anyone found him. He’s hooked up to a bag of spelled blood right now and I briefly wonder if this is the reason Dante didn’t want to come up here. Whether the sight of it would strain his control when he seems to be struggling more than usual.
My hands clench into fists, and I shove them into my pockets. Roscoe’s heart is beating steadily, a little faster than usual, probably thanks to his body working harder than it would typically.
That’s good.
He’s good.
I let out a deep sigh of relief that goes right down to my soul.
He’s here. Breathing. All in one piece. Thank everything that’s holy.
As if he can sense my attention on him, Roscoe’s eyes fly open and my knees feel suddenly weak. I stumble into the room, trying for a grin and failing.
“I came as fast as I could. What happened?”
Oh fuck, my voice is shaky and my eyes are dangerously watery suddenly. It’s like the relief of seeing him has broken past all my usual defenses and I might start bawling any minute.
“Just a minor brush with death,” he rasps, grinning up at me. His smile drops, though, as my eyes well up with tears.
“Silver. No, sweetheart, I’m fine. See? All in one piece.” He waves an arm in the air, like that proves anything. I stagger closer until I’m resting on the side of the bed since my legs don’t seem to want to hold me up right now. “Nearly got gutted by a zombie, but I’m all good and will be back to sweeping you off your feet in no time.”
“Take it easy, dude. Fab and the nurse said you need to rest,” Zeph grouches. “And you—” He turns his scowling attention to me and stands abruptly from his seat. “—you’re all right?” Hooking a finger through my belt loops, he tugs me closer before scooping me into his lap.
Two thick arms wrap around my waist and he sighs into my hair. “Scared the shit out of me when we couldn’t get in contact with you,” he mutters.
“I’m all right.” I sigh, releasing some of the tension I’ve been holding for hours. “It’s been a hell of a night.” I focus on Roscoe again, leaning forward to link our fingers together before shooting a nod at Seb.
“Where’s Fabian?”
Seb rolls his eyes. “He was here. Made sure Ro was stitched up and not bleeding all over the floor, and then he headed off to do some fire-fighting.”
“Possibly literally,” Zeph mutters against my hair.
“What?”
“It sounds like a bunch of the district is on fire. People have decided that tonight’s distractions were a perfect opportunity to let loose and steal things.”
I blink a few times as that sinks in. It doesn’t feel right for Fabian not to be here. The world is a topsy-turvy place and I’m only just scrambling to my feet and it would be a lot easier if I had all three mages with me.
Dante too.
“And what about everyone else? Where are they?”
“Rook and Hanna are upstairs showering. You should have seen the state of Rook’s hands.” Ro chuckles softly.
“He punched a hole through at least one zombie,” Zeph adds.
“Gross,” Seb says with a quiet laugh.
“Luna and the twins are safely tucked up at home, but Fab said he would fetch them on his way back so that everyone’s in one place.”
Huh. It seems like Fabian’s preemptively read my mind.
Right now, it feels as though outside of this room, there’s a storm brewing and I don’t want to get caught in the middle of it. We’re safe here. For now, at least.
We fall into silence. Clearly, I’m not the only one whose energy levels are at zero. After a few minutes, Roscoe’s hand goes limp in mine as he dozes off and a few minutes after that, Seb’s snoring in his own chair.
“I thought he was dead,” Zeph murmurs into my ear, his arms tightening around me. “Thought for sure he wasn’t going to make it back here without bleeding out.”
My chest aches. Not just for the horror and fear of getting so fucking close to losing Roscoe, of having my life be forever dimmed without his presence. But the thought of Zeph feeling that terror of losing his best friend, someone closer than a brother, makes me want to bundle up his heart and keep him protected.
I twist in his lap until I’m able to wrap my arms around his neck. He then buries his face in the sensitive skin between my shoulder and neck, and I feel him shudder as he fights with his emotions.
Fuck tonight. I don’t think any of us got out of tonight entirely unscathed.
I hold my shit together pretty well, for a while, at least. Zeph keeps me in his lap, holding tight like he’s afraid to let go in case I float away.
If I’m honest, I don’t mind it. His touch anchors me in the moment. I think Roscoe getting hurt scared the absolute shit out of him and I’ll do whatever I can to comfort him.
With everyone else dozing around us, I’m finally able to take a moment and reflect on the absolute exploding dumpster fire that was this night.
About an hour after I make it to Roscoe’s room in the med bay, we’re joined by the rest of my family and Fabian, who looks exhausted. His face has a gray tinge to it, and he’s covered all over with a layer of ash.
All the members of my cobbled together family pile into Roscoe’s room, taking seats on any and every surface.
All except one, anyway.
“Where’s Ember?” Una asks quietly. “I haven’t seen him tonight. Is he okay?”
I glance at Luna, who is sitting on the floor with her back against the wall. She’s staring at the side of my face with determination, like she doesn’t want to meet my eye but can’t quite make herself look away.
When I finally catch her expression, I see the barely veiled emotion.
Guilt.
“Did you know?” I murmur the question for her ears only.
Her Sight has always been a strange thing. Hanna always teases her about it and for good reason. Most of the stuff Luna comes out with is no more insightful than the horoscopes you get online, written by humans who wouldn’t know the Sight if it smacked them over the head.
Luna’s sensitive about her Sight though, so I try not to mess with her about it. It would have certainly come in handy, if she had seen Ember fucking me over and lying to all of us for weeks.
She shakes her head and relief pools inside me. I’m not sure how I’d have reacted if she had known something and had kept it to herself. From the look on her face, though, I think she knows more than anyone else.
“I Saw that things are going to be hard. That we’re all going to have some big choices to make. Paths to choose. But I didn’t see Ember doing this.”
That draws the attention of everyone in the room and I have to swallow hard and explain exactly how tonight played out. I also have to explain Ember’s part in it.
“I don’t know how we missed what he was doing.”
“We thought he was knackered after finally having to work for a living and not just coasting through life,” Hanna says. She looks like she wants to tear someone’s face off, and I don’t blame her. The rest of them have been living with him while he’s been lying to their faces every day.
I shake my head. “He was adamant it was a good thing he was doing. He really thinks he’s helping us by getting mixed up with the Bad Vamps.”
“He’s an idiot,” Hanna says. “He made a deal with the guy that wanted you to be a blood slave for him. That’s unforgivable.”
“Don’t forget Simpson poisoned Fabian,” Seb adds. “And released zombies. And nearly got Roscoe killed.”
My head’s throbbing again as exhaustion hits me upside the head. I’d like nothing more than to crawl into bed and hide out for a week, but something tells me that’s not going to happen.
“Why does he think he can get one over on super-powered vamps who don’t have a moral compass? See? Idiot,” Hanna grumbles. “They’re going to use us if they can and then they’ll drain us dry. Either that, or soon enough we’ll all be bowing down to our vampire overlords. How the hell does Ember think he can go up against that?”
“Because,” Ember’s voice says inside my head. “We’re smarter than them. They don’t deserve to rule the city any more than the current city elites. It’s about time we fight back.”