Page 37 of Bonded Chaos

The man on the bed ceased thrashing, and my gaze swung to him. His lips parted in a gasp, but no sound escaped. His eyes fluttered closed, and his breathing grew even shallower.

“No, no, no,” I muttered. It was then that I realized I didn’t know the man’s name. “What’s his name?”

“Malesh,” Ryker supplied.

“Malesh, I need you to stay with me, all right?” I said, working hard to keep the panic from my voice.

Malesh didn’t open his eyes, and Ryker cast a worried glance in my direction.

“Talk to him,” I instructed. “Try to rouse him.”

I doubled down on my efforts as I pressed my fingers against the iron tip. I slowly worked my way up the metal until I found a roughened groove.

Malesh jerked underneath me, and a pained groan sounded from his throat.

At least he was responding.

“You’ve got him?” I asked, and both men nodded in agreement.

I exhaled a shaky breath and apologized for what I had to do next, then I yanked on the tip, drawing on my magic for added strength.

The metal snagged on something, but I kept tugging until the resistance gave way.

Malesh, who had been writhing in agony, went still, losing consciousness as the pain overwhelmed him.

“He’s out again,” Riordan called, a note of hysteria infecting his tone.

“Ugh!”

The metal got caught again, and I cursed the gods for making things so difficult. A strand of hair fell onto my face, and I blew it out of my eyes as I worked. With one final pull, the iron tip came free, and I dumped it in the bloodied water bowl beside me.

“Put pressure on the wound,” I instructed, as I turned to grab the brandy.

Pouring a generous amount over the gash, I placed my palm against it and allowed my magic to flow through my fingers. The brandy would stave off any infection, but my magic would knit the skin back together and stem the bleeding.

Once I’d finished, I collapsed against the bedpost, exhausted, and rubbed my temples.

“You’ve got a little…” Riordan said, as he gestured toward my forehead.

Then I remembered my hands were coated in blood. And now, so was my face. I groaned and then reached for a piece of clean cloth to scrub it away.

Once I caught my breath, I leaned forward and placed my fingers against the pulse point of Malesh’s throat. It was weak, but steady. His chest rose and fell with effort, but his breathing had improved, and color had returned to his skin.

“He’s going to be all right,” I declared.

A collective sigh of relief filled the room.

I turned toward Ryker, truly taking him in for the first time since he had appeared. His hair was matted with blood, and the crimson substance was smeared all over his face and arms. There were several tears along the front of his tunic and a small gash on his forearm.

“What the hell happened to you?” I asked before I could stop myself.

Ryker smirked at me. “Worried about me, Cadence?”

I pressed my lips together and shrugged, refusing to give him the answer he wanted.

“Professional curiosity,” I said as I took another sip of the brandy.

Ryker’s large hand covered mine and tugged the amber liquid out of my grasp. He raised the bottle to his lips and drank greedily. And, gods help me, I couldn’t pull my eyes away as I watched his throat bob with each swallow.

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