Page 57 of Riot of Autumn

My fingers are shaking from fear and the cold of the water. I cup his cheeks, sand from my hands rough against his face. He’s so cold. That’s not right. Ezra’s always hot. He doesn’t even wear a shirt half the time. I need to pull him farther from the frigid, lapping waves of the water, but he has to breathe first.

I pinch his nose and tip his chin back, hoping to hell I’m not going to do more damage than good. I’m not a fucking lifeguard. I don’t know CPR. I’ve only seen this shit in movies, but can I really make this worse? I doubt it.

I push two short breaths into his mouth, hating how cold his skin is. How long was he under? No. It doesn’t matter. I refuse to believe Ezra is that easy to kill. He’s a tough bastard. This is not going to be the end of him. If he’s going to die any other way than super old and in his bed as a happy man, then it will be in a spectacular blaze of glory. Not this bullshit.

Reining in my screaming thoughts, I push on his chest, singingStayin’ Alivebecause I saw it on a goddamn TV show. How am I responsible for this right now? Everyone should know better. Ezra should know better. I’m not the savior or the one who fixes things. I’m the one who skates by, and fucks shit up, and says whatever the hell is on my mind without thinking of the consequences.

Tears spill down my face as I blow into Ezra’s mouth again, mentally pleading with him to breathe. To get up and make a joke or pick a stupid fight with me. We have so many asinine things to argue about yet. We haven’t even gotten to the debate about which way the toilet paper should hang, or the right way for a centaur to wear pants. This can’t be the end.

“Dammit, breathe.” I choke on my tears, panic and the CPR making my own breathing choppy.

The sound of Ezra gagging and then spewing water might just be the best thing I’ve ever heard. Maybe I’ll deny it later, because it’s also disgusting, but right now it’s the most wonderful sound in the world.

Water pours from Ezra’s mouth, and I shift him to his side so he can clear his airway. I have one hand clasped on the back of his neck and the other on his shoulder. I’m shaking so hard that my grip on him is the only thing keeping me from falling apart completely.

“Ruby.” Ezra’s voice is full of gravel, and it sounds painful to my ears.

“Shut up.” I aim for light-hearted, but my voice is pure agony. “Just breathe and we can argue later.” I sniffle and release a shaky exhale. I wrap my arms around him and hug him tight enough to break bones.

I haven’t paid any attention to what’s been going on around us. The rest of our friends could be pulverized and lying dead on the beach for all I know. When Davis appears at our heads, I nearly start bawling. Holy shit, I need to get it together. I don’t think I’ve cried since grade school. Now is not the time to lose my fucking head and fall apart.

“We need to get out of here,” Davis snarls, but I don’t take offense. He always sounds pissed off, even when he isn’t. Right now, though, he has every right to be angry as a cornered cat.

“Help me get him up.” I hook one of Ezra’s arms over my shoulder, but he’s practically dead weight. Plus, we’re both soaking wet and fully clothed, not to mention exhausted. Neither of us is exactly light on our feet right now.

Davis crouches down and ducks under Ezra’s other arm, and together we get him to his feet. Ezra grumbles that he can walk on his own, but I’m not letting go of him. Lena appears a few seconds later in Archer’s UTV, pulling up so fast I don’t think she’s going to get stopped before she runs into us.

She only just manages to avoid running us over. Davis and I toss Ezra in the passenger seat and then we hop in the back. Lena takes off before my butt’s even in the seat.

“Is everyone okay?” I shout over the rush of wind.

All the windows are down, and the whip of air is quickly taking me from freezing to popsicle-level cold. My clothes are soaked and covered in sand. My body is shaking, and I don’t know if it’s from the adrenaline, the cold, or a combination of both.

“We’re all okay. I think Rhys may have jammed a finger or two when he punched the Duke, but I can heal him later. Archer was able to distract them with his shadows, and some random guy with long hair jumped out of the water and started throwing punches. We got away as soon as possible.”

Is it the guy who was in the water? The dude who keeps hanging out at the diner, and who told me to use my magic tonight?

“This is fucked up. We need to figure out how to get rid of these assholes,” Davis barks out, his phone in his hand as he frowns down at it. His fingers move across the screen. If I had to guess, I’d say he’s checking in with Miri.

How many times are we going to get away from the Fae without someone getting seriously hurt? Although, Ezra almost drowning is pretty fucking serious. My teeth start to chatter and my heart somersaults in my chest, as the reality sets in of what could have happened tonight. Ezra could have died. Those bitches could have snuffed out his fucking bright as hell light just because…well, I have no fucking clue. Because they’re assholes who don’t want to be told no?

Davis drops his coat over my shoulders, and I give him a nod of thanks. I can’t speak because if I open my mouth, I’m not sure what will come out. A pathetic wail, or I might confess to Ezra how much he means to me. I’m not sure I’m ready for that in general, but I definitely don’t need to say it for the first time in front of Davis and Lena.

Ezra has a blanket wrapped around him that Archer must keep in his UTV for, who the hell knows what, an impromptu picnic? At least Ezra doesn’t seem to be faring as badly as I am with the temperature.

“We’re closest to my place. Let’s just go there,” Ezra rasps, his voice still sounding rough. Probably from all the sea water he inhaled and then spewed back out.

Davis is tapping on his phone, likely telling the others where we’re headed. Is it bad that I don’t want them all to descend on Ezra’s house? I’m sure they’re just as worried about him as I am, but for once in my life, I want some peace and quiet. I want to make sure Ezra’s okay. That he’s taken care of. To do that, I need to physically touch him. I don’t trust that my eyes aren’t playing tricks on me and he’s really okay.

We’re the first to arrive at Ezra’s house, which makes sense since we were already almost here before Davis told everyone else. Lena rushes around the UTV to help Ezra out, but he makes a frustrated sound at her fussing.

“I’m capable of getting out of a seat all on my own.”

“Glad to hear it, Ezra. I was going to heal you, but maybe I’ll just let you feel like crap for that.”

Ezra drags his hand over the top of his head in a familiar move. The motion triggers something in me, and I barely suck in the sob that almost sneaks free from my mouth. I bite down on the inside of my cheek as I get out of the UTV, and head inside. Something about that gesture, Ezra’s nervous tick, jars loose the last piece of me that is holding everything together.

He could have died. Those Fae dicks almost killed him tonight. One fucking moment he’s here and full of life and sarcastic comments. In the next, he could have been gone. Erased from the world, from my damn life.

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