“It’s okay, Nix.” Hiro gently spoke from the shadows at my back. I nearly sagged with relief. My Phoenix hadn’t been on edge, but I definitely had been. Waking up from rebirths could be extremely disorienting. Even more so now that my Phoenix was with me. It was almost like having two sets of emotions to process.
“Hiro.” His name was like a prayer on my lips as I turned my body to face him. He was propped up in bed against the headboard; the covers mussed from where he had been laying on top of them. It was odd to see him without his glasses on; his dark eyes shadowed and heavy with sleep as he blinked down at me. “What happened? Is everyone ok? Where are we?” The words flew from my mouth, and I pressed a hand against my throat as I finished my barrage of questions. My voice was a croak, pulled from my scratchy dry throat. Hiro must have noticed because he jumped up and rushed around the bed to the nightstand to pass me a glass of water that had been sitting there. Pivoting around again, I swung my legs over the side of the bed, aware of how weak I was. I felt my muscles trembling as I slowly stood up, holding on to the nightstand until I knew I could keep my balance. Hiro was by my side in a second, gently reaching out to steady me. I didn’t even mind the touch, I was just so happy to see him and know he was safe.
“Everyone is ok, Nix.” Killian’s voice was nearly as hoarse as mine as he spoke, startling me. I whirled around at the sound, nearly falling over in the process. Hiro’s gentle hands caught me, and I leaned back into his strong chest as I eyed my red-headed Celt, drinking in the sight of him. Killian was sprawled in a rocking chair in the corner of the room; the gray sweats he wore were wrinkled, twisting uncomfortably around his legs. His chest was bare, and his skin looked paler than normal in the shadows. His massive frame was squished into the tiny chair, and I watched as he tried to extract himself from it, unfolding himself one limb at a time. Any other time the sight would have been comical, but right now was not the time for laughter or joviality. “You’re safe and so are we,” he continued, but quickly paused—almost like he wanted to tell me more but changed his mind, thinking better of it. I picked up on it immediately. I wanted to know; I didn’t want to be babied.
“What’s wrong.” My Phoenix ruffled her feathers in my head, trying to soothe me as unease settled into my stomach. I stepped sideways, away from Hiro, so I could see both of them and organize my thoughts. It was hard to think with Hiro’s arms around me.
Hiro and Killian locked eyes, and I put my hands on my hips, narrowing my gaze to a look that demanded answers. It was disorienting to be left out of the discussion they were seemingly having without me. A conversation that was clearly about what they should and shouldn’t tell me. I hated how different this rebirth had been. Instead of being able to see everything that happened around me while I was in the “in-between”, I had burned away into nothingness, unable to see and unable to get back to my body in time to help. That feeling of helplessness was something I never wanted to feel again. Steeling myself for bad news, I pushed them to tell me what was going on.
“Don’t keep things from me. Not now.” My voice came out quiet but strong while my heart was squeezing in my chest. I just knew something was wrong and I was going to get bad news. Oh, God. Please don’t let one of them be hurt… or worse. Killian had said they were all safe, though, right? I hadn’t imagined that, had I? The thought of losing one of them made my stomach twist, and I felt like I was about to retch on their guest room floor. Once my eyes had adjusted to the dim lighting, I had been able to identify where I was; the bland white walls and forest green comforter were familiar to me as the room in their cabin that I had stayed in last week. At least that was one question down.
Hiro reached out, gently leading me back to the edge of the bed. The fact that he wanted me off my feet made the ominous feeling inside of me grow. “If you don’t tell me, I’m going to hurl right here, right now. The anxiety is making me sick.” I sat on the mattress, letting Hiro get me settled the way he wanted. Crossing one arm over my stomach, I tried to hold it’s meager contents in from the outside. Crouching in front of me, Hiro’s dark eyes locked onto my own. “Theo was shot.” The blood drained out of my face. “He’s alright, Nix. It’s a long story, but he’s alright. Practically as good as new; Ryder healed him.”
I swallowed down the bile that had risen. Theo was shot. My Theo. He was shot because of me. A slew of emotions flew through me. I was terrified and worried for Theo. Raging at Michael and angry that the whole situation had happened. Relieved that Ryder saved Theo. Heartbroken that Ryder had to keep using his powers to save people because of me. I was upset at myself for dying and not returning to my body fast enough to be useful and devastated that I had brought this kind of danger to their door.
A soft click was my only warning before a lamp cast a dim glow around the room. I hissed quietly, squinting against the intrusion. The soft yellow light had caused my eyes to burn, and I blinked back tears as I tried to focus on who had joined us in the room.
“It’s not your fault, Nix.” Damien’s tenor was like a balm, helping to settle the rollercoaster of emotions I had inside of me. “None of this is your fault. Stop blaming yourself. You will never be held responsible for someone else’s actions, sweetheart.”
Tears filled my eyes, and I asked the only question that mattered at the moment. “Where is he?” I needed to see him with my own eyes.
“He’s with the Council. We’ve been kind of incommunicado lately while we took care of you. We didn’t want them finding out about you yet.” Damien’s answer wasn’t the one I wanted. I wanted to see Theo right now to assess any damage done to him myself, but I was slightly appeased that he was with the Council. If he was out and about, the chances were he truly was alright. That wasn’t going to stop me from throwing myself at him the second I laid eyes on him. I needed to touch him to gain the reassurance I craved. My Phoenix was in complete agreement.
Damien chuckled. “I don’t think he’d mind that one bit, sweetheart.”
I blushed. Stay out of my head. I pushed that thought to Damien.
No need to shout it. You’re projecting quiet loudly, Nix. It’s like your thoughts are stronger than they used to be. It’s been harder to tune you out these last few days.
Wait. What? Had he said few days? Days?! So many questions were piling up.
“How long was I gone?” Did I want to know?
“It took two days for you to come back.” Killian had freed himself from the tiny chair and was now standing in front of me next to Hiro. His green eyes were piercing and intense as he took me in, his gaze raking over my form. Holy hell. Had he said it took me two days to come back to my body? I’d been dead for two days? My stomach rolled again. That was… gross. I knew my powers had kept my body… fresh—magic and all that—but the thought was seriously cringe-worthy… and scary as fuck. It had never taken me so long to regenerate before. More questions.
“You slept for four more days.” Damien’s voice was a mere whisper at my ear. He had moved in closer, standing on Hiro’s other side. Their gazes were hungry. Maybe not in a sexual way, but definitely in a it’s-so-fucking-good-to-see-you-alive kind of way. Oh, God. I must look awful. Wait. Did he say four fucking days?
I was nearly speechless in shock. “I’ve been out for almost a week?!?” I had never taken that long to revive. Hell, even when Michael had killed me twice in a row, I hadn’t been out for that long. What the hell had he done to me?