Page 77 of Dark Consequences

And then, suddenly, Raphael’s chest expands as he takes a deep breath and coughs violently.

I pull away with a startled gasp. “You’re alive!”

Raphael groans. His voice is scratchy when he says, “When was I not?”

“Holy shit, man.” Enzo collapses beside us. “You gave us a scare.”

“More than a scare,” Michael adds, coming to kneel by Enzo. “You were dead, brother.”

Raphael looks at us strangely and then tries to sit up. Enzo helps support him with a hand to his upper back. “I was?”

“Yeah.” Enzo nods in my direction. “Your girl saved your life.”

Raphael looks at me. His eyes are red from the salt water, and his face is still pale, but his smile is the same. “You saved me?”

“They helped.”

His brother grasps Raphael’s hand and squeezes. “Don’t you ever do something like that again. I can’t lose my brother. You hear me?”

“Deal.”

Raphael reaches for me, and I burrow into him. He’s shaking, and when I go to wrap my arms around him, he winces. That’s when I remember the stab wound courtesy of Xiao.

“Yeah.” Raphael reads my mind. “Let’s go to the hospital.”

37

Raphael

Turns out that being stabbed in the shoulder and then drowning takes a toll on the body.

By the time we make it back to shore, I’m on the verge of passing out from the blood loss. Once I’m resting on Lily’s lap in the back of the car, my adrenaline crashes, and I surrender to the black.

The next time I open my eyes, I find Lily fast asleep in a chair pulled up to my hospital bed, her head resting next to my hand. My other hand is tightly bound to my chest, and I assume that’s to ensure my injured shoulder remains immobile. I’ll have to wait for the doctor’s report to confirm, but if my arm is still present, it means Xiao’s knife hit nothing critical. But I would happily sacrifice my arm if it meant Lily and Mei stay safe.

The harsh LED light highlights the bruises on her cheek and catches on the cut to her lip. They’ll heal, and it will be the last time she ever suffers the same abuse because if I ever raise a hand to her, it’ll be for pleasure and nothing more.

Lily stirs, raises her head, and yawns wide, covering her mouth with her hand. She hasn’t noticed I’m awake yet. Watching her now feels like I’m getting a rare glimpse into the habits of an elusive, magical creature.

When she finally looks at me, her eyes go wide as she shrieks in surprise. “You scared me!”

“And you saved me.” I smile softly at her, just happy to take her beauty in.

She appears somehow lighter…freer. As if the weight holding her down has finally been cut free. Which, in a symbolic way, it has been. By now, that weight is decaying at the bottom of the ocean floor.

She drops her eyes to my hand. I flip it over, and she slides her hand into mine. “I almost didn’t. You were medically dead there for a moment longer than I liked.”

Every day, I dance on the edge of death, and the thought of surrendering to eternal slumber has never fazed me…until now. Until Lily and Mei entered my world and gave me something more to fight for.

“I’m sorry. That was not my intention.”

“I know.” She looks up, and tears slip free from her beautiful blue eyes. “It’s not fair of me to ask this because I know what you do is dangerous, but if you can try not to die again? My sanity would appreciate it.”

“Just your sanity?” I tease.

Lily chuckles through her tears and uses her free hand to wipe them away before rewarding me with her brilliant smile. “Fine. Mei’s too.”

Before I can tug her to my chest and convince her sanity to appreciate other more…devious things, a knock on the door breaks the mood.

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