Page 103 of Dark Embers

Arya’s eyes snapped open, a flash of furrowed brows and tight lips—anger that I knew was directed toward me for daring to sit again. “What are you doing? Lay back down!”

But I ignored her. She released my hand, but I left it near her face and turned it slowly so that I was cupping the soft skin along her jaw and beneath her chin. She held very still at my touch. Tears still streamed down her face, creating black streaks of mascara along her cheekbones. I absently moved my thumb back and forth, but stopped when I noticed the goosebumps rise along the curve of her neck.

“I don’t know what I would have done...” My voice cracked, so I trailed off and swallowed, pushing the emotions—and the blood—down. “If Ashlyn hadn’t saved you,” I whispered.

Arya’s forehead creased. I wanted to smooth away the concern but didn’t want to remove my hand. Unfortunately, I had to because my left arm was giving out and I needed both arms if Iwas to remain half-sitting. So I let go and braced myself against the concrete with my palm. It was taking a lot of willpower and strength to keep myself partly vertical.

She must’ve seen my struggle because she didn’t look disappointed that I’d stopped touching her. Or maybe she didn’t feel that way about me and was only concerned for a fellow shifter. Maybe she’d barely noticed the sudden distance between us. Maybe she’d do the same and feel the same if she were in a similar situation with Niko or Brett…orKendall.

But her eyes softened as she watched me—perhaps trying to discern my thoughts the way I was hers?

Arya finally averted her eyes and looked down at my chest, but her eyes widened with concern and flashed back to my face. I managed a smile because all that mattered was thatshewas okay. Arya was safe. Arya was here.

A determined look crossed her face, maybe in response to my expression, and she reached out to touch my face, stroking her thumb against my cheek. Maybe she did feel the same. She had to care about me at least a little, right? The bond had to work both ways, if quite unevenly.

But my arms were spent, and I collapsed again onto my back with a grunt. A high-pitched sound came from Arya when I fell back. I fought the blackness again as the pain increased. I winced against it and hissed until it ebbed like the tide and faded to barely tolerable.

When I opened my eyes, all I could see was Arya. She was looking up, shouting something as she hovered over me, but I couldn’t understand the words. When her eyes met mine, bearing the color of the sky and glistening with tears, she asked me something I couldn’t register. Her hair fell like a waterfall,cascading around my face. There were creases in her forehead that I desperately needed to smooth away. She should never have to have such worries in this world.

I cut off her words—words I wasn’t comprehending anyway—and reached forward with my left hand to draw her closer. I twined my fingers through her tangled hair and closed the canyon-sized gap between us with all my remaining strength.

I kissed her.

She didn’t respond at first. Maybe she was stunned. Maybe the kiss was unwanted. But it only took a second before she kissed me back. Her fruity lip gloss mixed with her salty tears and my tangy blood. She leaned her body into mine, but it was a direct hit to the injury in my ribs where I’d extracted the lead only moments ago.

I cried out, breaking the kiss, breaking the spell, breaking the moment.

“Tobias I—” Her hands flew up, waving over my body like she wanted to help but didn’t know how to without touching me. Finally, she dropped them again along with her expression.

“Tobias, I’m sorry,” she pleaded.

But she shouldn’t be. I’d kissedher.

“Caesar!” I heard Niko shout.

“Don’t apologize,” I told her, allowing a small smile to form on my lips in reassurance. But I was spent and fell back again. My eyes slammed closed, and I no longer had the will to attempt to open them.

“Caesar!” Ashlyn choked. She sounded like she was crying. “We’re here!”

I just smiled and hoped that I’d get another shot at kissing that girl again.

Chapter 37

Shea

“Okay, I’ve sent Maya to take a break,” Caesar whispered to me when he finally cracked open the door of the hospital wing after leaving me standing out in the hall, vulnerable, for what felt like forever. “We’ll have the space to ourselves for a while.”

He opened the door enough for me to slip through before closing and locking it. The space looked like the urgent care section of a hospital, with beds sectioned off by curtains that hung from the ceiling.

On the first bed to the left lay a girl with black hair splayed haphazardly on the pillow beneath her head. I recognized her as one of the mean mer girls from the party a few weeks ago, but she looked so much paler, her cheeks sunken rather than full and rosy. Her brows were pinched with some inner struggle I couldn’t fathom.

When I saw the teeth-mark scars on her neck, I faltered. Memories of Julian from the other night invaded my mind, warming me all over. His cool mouth spread over my neck, the sharp sting of his teeth coupled with the caress of his tongue as he sucked, and the way he’d ground his hips between my legs—fuck!

I cleared my throat to stifle the lust that was sparking anew and made my way to the bedside table. Reaching into my bag, I pulled out the grimoire and set it on the table, opening it to the page I had bookmarked with the spell we needed.

“Do we need to light candles or anything?” Caesar asked as I scanned the words to refresh my memory.

I glanced sideways at him. “Please. Candles are for amateurs.”

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