A sudden brush of wind caught the sphere, slowing it, but we still landed way too fucking hard. Ezra grunted loud as his entire backside slammed against the ground, my body on top of his and crushing his front as gravity smashed me into him. His breath released against the left side of my face, even as all the air rushed from my own lungs, my arms flying past his body on either side to smack onto the ground. All the Elders next to us were lying on the bottom of the sphere, the same as us, sprawled every which way. No one moved, or like me, was probably able to breathe, all the air just gone from my lungs as I stared blurrily up at the sky in a daze.
Dizzily, I lifted a bruised and shaky hand and pounded on my chest a few times until I wheezed, coughing hard as air filled my jarred lungs. I felt a gentle squeeze on my hip, the barest pressure, and I shook my head hard, remembering I was lying on top of my husband. I rolled, sadly not quickly because the world kind of spun, and heard some of the Elders begin to stir as they also coughed air into their lungs. Moving like a drunk over Ezra, I stared down at his face. He was blinking repeatedly, like he couldn’t see, and his wide lips were beginning to turn blue. “Aw, shit.” His chest wasn’t moving, and if anything, it looked like some of his ribs might have broken from his body cushioning mine. “Antonio, a little help here!”
Instantly, I tilted his head back and pressed his chin down, opening his mouth wide. I sucked in a large breath and lowered my mouth to his, blowing out hard, pushing air into his lungs. And yeah, he had some broken ribs, the way his chest lifted with the air. “Antonio, goddammit! Get over here and fix him!” His heart was still beating, but he wasn’t breathing yet, his eyes starting to close, so I blew more air into his lungs. “Fucking breathe!” I pushed more air in, and I shouted, “Ezra!”
Antonio’s glowing hands were suddenly on Ezra’s chest, and I heard popping sounds erupt inside him. Ezra’s eyes did fly open then, and after I blew air into his lungs once more, he inhaled sharply and started coughing hard, groaning a harsh curse when I heard a particularly vicious pop. I grabbed his hands and held them down, having to use quite a bit of my Shifter strength to keep him from knocking Antonio away from his work, but I kept my face directly over his and pressed my Shifter soothing power into him.
He calmed some, staring up at me and muttering breathlessly, “Elder fucking air Elemental.”
I nodded, and my lips pinched as he grimaced. Apparently not just his ribs were broken, because Antonio moved down his body. “Yes, you can kick his ass once you can walk again.”
Ezra blinked slowly. “I suppose you’re correct.” Another slow blink. “Walking would probably be the minimum requirement for kicking someone’s ass.” He jerked at something Antonio did, but he didn’t try to fight my hold. Then, amazingly, he chuckled a little, sounding drunk. “Did you give me mouth-to-mouth?” He licked his now red lips. “Yes, I believe you did.” His resulting grin was sloppy, his words slurred. “Can you do it again while I’m coherent?”
None of the Elders was really moving to stand. In fact, Elder Zeller still appeared to be out. He appeared badly injured, but if he wasn’t dead, his unconsciousness was a blessing.
I met my husband’s gaze. “Shh. Don’t talk.” I glanced back to Antonio. He had dried blood down the side of his cheek, but other than that, he didn’t appear to be harmed. “I think Ezra may have something wrong with his head. Possibly a concussion.”
“He’ll be fine in a few minutes, if it’s only that,” Antonio muttered, eyes on his work. “And besides, he’s talking and awake, unlike his father, who I need to check on.”
“What’s the matter with my dad?” Ezra griped loudly, sounding a bit better.
I sighed when Antonio moved to Cahal. I started feeling over Ezra’s head, making sure his skull wasn’t depressed anywhere. Just because I couldn’t smell any blood on him, it didn’t mean he wasn’t injured there. “Antonio’s fixing him up. Don’t worry.”
I paused in my exploration of his head when I heard his Vampire make a definite purring sound. “That feels good.” He tilted his head more into my hold. “And the view’s even better.”
I glanced down, then I slapped my hand over his mouth. He was staring at my breasts. “Good grief.” Damn concussion.
“You’re going to have to give me mouth-to-mouth again if you suffocate me,” his voice was muffled behind my hand, then I felt his lips curl against my palm, “Never mind. Suffocate me.”
Unbidden, a chuckle escaped. “You’re un-freaking-believable.” I removed my hand from his mouth. He looked kind of adorable lying there with a silly grin on his face. “Try to be quiet.”
“I’ll be as quiet as you want me to be,” he purred.