My cheek brushed against his. “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. I thought you were lost to me.”
He buried his face into the crook of my neck, inhaling deeply. “You brought me back.”
“I don’t know what happened.” Maybe I did have something to do with Dash waking up, or maybe it was coincidence, or maybe I willed him awake. I didn’t care how. All I cared about was that he was alive. “How do you feel?” I asked.
He took a deep breath as if taking stock of his body. “Okay. Better than I should be after being stabbed. How long have I been out?”
I studied his face, needing to make sure he was as truly okay as he claimed. “A few days.”
He struggled to sit up and teetered a bit. “Water,” he croaked.
I rushed out of the room and returned with a glass in my hand. He drank like a camel, and I took that as a good sign.
“Did I imagine Ryker shifting from a bird?” he asked, memories of the events coming back to him.
My lips twitched. “No, that happened.”
“I was afraid so.” His arms wrapped around me, drawing me closer. “So I guess this means I am not going to die.”
“Don’t you ever scare me like that again.” I held onto him until I was certain I could keep it together. He didn’t seem to mind.
“Did I really get stabbed?”
“You fainted too,” I added.
“I didn’t faint,” Dash rebutted, insulted. “Falling unconscious from a mortal injury is entirely different.”
I grinned. “You ever scare me like that again and I’ll stab you myself.”
His lips curled against my hair. “You know, you could just tell me you love me.”
I pulled back to stare into his face. “What makes you think that I’m in love with you?”
His grin said it all.
Chapter Twenty-Two
It didn’t take long for Dash to gain his strength back. I suspected Celeste’s healing hands had something to do with that. However, it didn’t really matter to me how it happened, only that he was better and we would be leaving soon.
Dash parted my hair and tugged on the end of a curl, drawing me out of my reverie. He peered into my eyes. “A penny for your thoughts?”
“Are there even pennies anymore?”
“Good point.”
I could have stared at him for hours. He was so beautiful. So fierce. “Dash?”
“I know what is on your mind, Freckles, but you don’t need to worry. I’m fine. I swear it.”
“I was so scared.”
Dash rubbed his hand over the stubble covering his chin. “I know the feeling. It strikes me every time you’re in danger; it makes my heart stop.”
I dropped my forehead onto his shoulder. “It was so much worse than that.”
His arms settled around me. “We can’t stay here, not much longer.”
“Ryker never came back,” I mumbled, picking at a strand of thread on his shirt.
The front door to the cottage swung open, bringing in a gust of wind that blew the ends of my hair and swept in someone else. “Really, Red, you doubted me?”
“Ryker.” I sighed, stepping out of Dash’s arms to give him a hug of relief.
Dash scowled as Ryker’s golden gaze shifted to him. “Welcome back, my friend.” Ryker held out a hand.
Dash eyed the Night’s Guard before he shook his hand. “You and I have much to discuss.”
“Don’t tell me you plan on grilling me too. Charlotte has already chewed my ear off.”
Dash tried a smile. “She’s amazing, isn’t she?”
Ryker’s lashes swept up, and he met Dash’s stare. “You’re a lucky fool, but then you already knew that. Luck hasn’t always been on your side. You’re due for some good fortune.”
“Then let’s hope it lasts long enough for us to make our way out of the marsh.”
Ryker nodded. “At least you haven’t lost your common sense. The Night’s Guards are on the move. They will be on Celeste’s doorstep in due time, as the commander has ordered us to expand our search to the edge of the Heights.”
Dash and I shared a strained look. “Have you recovered enough to travel?” There was no denying it was rough in the Heights. I felt apprehensive about his strength, having been so close to almost losing him. I wasn’t willing to take chances where Dash was concerned.
“I’m fine. The wound has completely healed,” he said like a true guy.
“Just do me a favor: don’t ever get stabbed again,” I pleaded; my heart couldn’t take it.
Laughter flickered in Dash’s bright eyes. “I don’t have plans to ever repeat the experience. You killed the guard who stabbed me.”
I stared at the fibers on his black T-shirt. “I didn’t have a choice. It was either him or you. I will choose you every time.” The lengths Dash and I would go to, to keep each other safe were deadly.
He hooked a finger under my chin, lifting my face. “I’m only sorry it wasn’t me who ended his life. It should have been me.”
He didn’t want me to carry the guilt of taking a life. “I would do anything to protect you.”
“And I you.”
Ryker sniffed, rubbing at fake tears under his eyes. “That was beautiful. A Titanic worthy moment.”
Dash gave Ryker a sideways look. “Isn’t it time for you to grow wings and take flight? She doesn’t need you when she has me.”
Oh boy, a power struggle was coming on.
“Whether you like it or not, Slayer, you wouldn’t be standing if it weren’t for me. So the way I see it, you owe me.”
Dash snorted. “I think this makes us even or have you forgotten?”
I laid a hand on Dash’s chest, mostly for show. If he decided to actually use his muscle, there was no way I could stop him. “You guys need to calm down. We’re on the same side here.”
“Red is right,” Ryker agreed.
“Red?” Dash echoed, his brows slamming together, clearly not liking the nickname Ryker insisted on using.
I put pressure on his chest.
“They know you were in Hurst,” Ryker said, wisely diffusing the situation with a distraction.
“Shit,” Dash muttered.
Oh, God. Star. My hand curled against Dash’s. “Star,” I breathed. “Will she be all right?”
Dash nodded, his fingers interweaving with mine. “Cyan will keep her hidden, but we need to leave in the morning.”
Dash and I curled up on the bed in Celeste’s spare room, the one I’d been sleeping in when forced to leave Dash’s side. Lying down alongside Dash, exhaustion hit me like a giant wave. He was right about resting for the night and leaving tomorrow. I wouldn’t have lasted more than an hour before I started tripping over my own feet.
“Just how close did you and Ryker get during your time in the Institute?” he asked as he brushed through my curls.
My fingers doodled lazy hearts over his chest. “It wasn’t like that. We’re just friends. He was the only person who didn’t try to kill me.”
“Ryker definitely doesn’t want to be just your friend.”
I lifted my head, resting my chin on his heart. “And how would you know that?”
“The way he looks at you,” he said, peering deep into my eyes, searching for... what? A sign that I had feelings for another guy?
I scoffed. How did Ryker look at me?