Blade Song

chapter Twenty Four

“It’s getting to be a pattern, healing you.”

I woke up in the healing hall. And once more, Es was by the bed. Damon was close by, although I couldn’t see him.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath. No pain. Heaving out a sigh of relief, I murmured, “Oh, that’s lovely.”

“He shattered four of your ribs, child. And I do mean shattered. I had to work bone fragment from your lung tissue. If you’d been human, you might have died, silly girl. Whatever did you do to anger him so?”

Silly girl. Another person calling me silly. Although in this case….I popped one eye open and stared at Es. “I might have shot him through the heart with a wooden arrow.”

“Oh. That would do it, yes.” Her brow puckered and she looked around.

I followed the line of her gaze and saw Damon standing at the far end of the room, head bowed, arms crossed over his chest. He almost looked asleep, but I knew better.

“And here I thought you might have smoother sailing since Annette was dispatched. Jude will make just as bad an enemy, I fear,” she said quietly. Then she patted my arm. “You don’t do easy, do you?”

“Wouldn’t know it if it bit me on the ass.”

“Hmm.” She checked my arm one more time and then nodded to the table. “Drink the teas. I had to do a full healing whether you liked it or not. Between the damage on your lungs, your arm, your body was just too taxed for anything else. I’ll be off, but you call if you need me.”

I didn’t watch as she slipped away.

I couldn’t look at Damon, though, either.

“You killed Annette.”

His quiet sigh drifted through the room.

When he didn’t say anything, though, I looked up at him. “Why?”

“Not much choice.”

He blew out a breath and came my way, all caged, easy grace. Looking at him, I couldn’t even tell he’d been hurt. Faded denim clung to his legs and a black shirt stretched over his chest and arms, the sleeves rolled halfway up his arms. “I was heading into her chambers when Es sent me a text—something about some magic Kori had worked. She’d had one of her witches out there all morning and kept updating me, but the last message…” He paused and then looked at me. “One of the spells caught something from the guy we bought the bow from. There was vampire magic on him. And he was running scared. The vampires around her land aren’t going to be involved in what he was doing. I thought it was a stretch, but Jude seemed pretty damned determined to pull you off this job. Didn’t make sense—other people can do whatever he was wanting done, although I know you’ve got a rep for being a bulldog. I thought maybe that was the problem. You don’t let go. Plus…well, the reason I wanted to have you with me for Doyle was because you’ve got this uncanny way of figuring things out…”

He stopped, flexed his hands. “My gut told me I had to get back there. I walked into the lair and the first thing Annette did was attack. I was fine with that, expected it. Let her go for a few minutes and then begged leave. She wouldn’t. She went at me again, and again. I went to walk out and she called her seconds.” His hands flexed once more and a snarl rippled out of him. “Even if I wasn’t coming after you, I don’t like being a punching bag, although I take it when I need to. I heal and I can handle pain. But if I’d taken it yesterday, I wouldn’t have healed in time to get to you.”

I shuddered as I pictured that—I’d seen those kinds of beatings and felt furious as I imagined him just taking it. “And you call me a silly fool,” I muttered.

“Yeah.” A faint grin crooked his lips. “But I had reasons. Anyway…” He stared at me. “I almost didn’t make it anyway. The seconds were coming in and I told her I wasn’t doing this. She could either have her revenge on another day or she’d wished she’d let me walk.” His voice went flat, still and smooth as the surface of a mirror. “She laughed. The crazy bitch laughed. So I challenged her.”

Storms gathered in his eyes as he stared at me. “And now you don’t need to look at me and wonder if I’m one of those who stand by while somebody is tortured. It’s done, Kit.”

I felt those words in the very heart of me. I wasn’t sure if anything had ever hit me more deeply than that.

“Done.” He blew out a breath and shook his head. “The clan is a f*cking mess and I have to go back by the end of the day to start cleaning out.”

He reached over and caught my wrist, stroked his thumb over it. “Everything is a mess and I’ve got a lot of unfinished business, baby girl.” Then he looked up at me through the fringe of his lashes. “But remember…this is permanent. You got me?”

I tugged on my wrist. As I expected, he didn’t let go. He came closer and I leaned in, pressing my lips to his. “Yeah. I got you.”

“Good.” He lingered there a minute and I wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pressing my face against his neck. “I have to go back. It’s going to be…rough for a while. You know that?”

“Didn’t you hear what I told Es? I wouldn’t know easy if it bit me on the ass.”

He laughed quietly. “You should try easier, at least.”

“Mmm. Might be nice.”

His hand smoothed over my hair and I snuggled closer. “I’m not done here yet. I’ll find the guys involved before I leave.”

“I figured you’d say that. Es is backing you up. She already agreed.”

I nodded. “Kori…” I swallowed. “Kori is dead. Somebody shot her through the heart.”

“I heard.” He pressed a kiss to my temple. “The humans will be running scared now. They’re easy to track like that. It won’t take you long. Still…you better stay safe.”

“Yeah, yeah. You do the same while you’re setting up housekeeping…Alpha.” I smirked at him.

He pressed a kiss to my smiling lips and then he pulled away. The storm clouds in his eyes were heavy and dark as he stood up.

It didn’t bother me too much.

“I mean it…you stay safe,” he said quietly. “Nothing hurts you. You stay safe.”

“I will.” His words echoed inside me as I held his gaze. I still had a job here to do and the protection of the Green Road while I did it.

As he walked away, I drew my knees to my chest and rubbed my thumb over the scars he’d given me.

It was odd, I decided. I had plenty of scars. Most of them unseen, though; scars on my heart that I’d carried for half my life or longer.

But these I didn’t mind having. Not one bit.