Page 94 of Riot of Autumn

That gets a chuckle out of her, but she starts coughing. I force her to take another drink once she catches her breath.

“Awake for less than a minute and you’re already picking fights?” Archer grins, his smile bright as sunshine as he pops his head into the room. His eyes tell a different story of tentative relief.

“He started it,” Ruby croaks. “Is there a lady present who can help me to the bathroom?”

“I’ll help you, Cube,” I say, guiding her upright slowly, making sure she’s not going to pass back out for another two days.

“As excited as I am about us grabbing each other’s asses in public, I am not going to pee in front of you. And I need to brush my teeth.”

“I wouldn’t consider myself a lady, but I’m here to help.” Miri walks into the bedroom.

She looks just as tired as the rest of us. No one has left my house for long. Only to grab a quick shower and a change of clothes. Between the weeks of stress before Halloween, the amount of magic thrown around in the clearing that night, and the fear that Ruby wasn’t going to wake up, none of us are doing very well.

Despite Ruby’s protests, I hoist her up in my arms and carry her to the bathroom. I leave her there with Miri and pace my room while I wait for them to come back out.

“Man, take a deep breath. She’s not climbing out a window in there. Do you even have a window in your bathroom?” Archer flops down in the armchair in the corner of my bedroom.

Everyone else slowly filters into the room. Lena and Rhys sit on the edge of the bed, Davis leans against the wall by the door, and Zara stands by the bed, petting Axil.

I spin around when the door opens, and nearly laugh at Ruby’s and Miri’s expressions.

“This is normal and not at all awkward,” Ruby grumbles as she hobbles toward the bed. I sweep her back into my arms before she can take another step.

“Put me down. I’m stiff from lying down for so long and need to walk it out.”

“No,” I grunt, sounding too much like fucking Davis as I sit in bed, keeping Ruby in my lap. I prop my back against the headboard and even though Ruby’s grumbling, her body melts into mine.

“Fill me in on what happened? And tell me someone dick-punched Colton before they tossed him back through the veil,” Ruby says.

“Incredibly, it all panned out like we planned it.” Lena smiles, but it falls off her face. “Except for you. What happened with you, Ruby? It’s been nearly two days and we couldn’t get you to wake up.”

Ruby licks her lips. “It was so much power. I couldn’t contain it all, and my body felt like it was going to explode. I can still feel the buzz of it under my skin, but it’s way better than it was that night. What happened after I, uh, passed out?”

Ruby’s head is relaxed against my chest, and she’s bundled in my arms. My thumb brushes back and forth over her warm skin. I’m so fucking grateful she’s awake that my breath gets stuck in my chest. I can’t speak, so I press my cheek to the top of her head and listen while the others explain what happened.

“We tossed them all back into Fairy and closed the veil behind them, using our blood to seal the spell,” Zara says, still petting Axil. “And I did kick Colton in the nuts.”

Ruby barks out a laugh, and then starts to cough. I’m right back with the glass of water, practically forcing it in her face.

“The Queen already stabbed him before I got the chance to repay that favor.” Archer’s lip curls in a snarl.

The stories go on until Ruby’s eyelids droop, and she’s blinking more than her eyes are open. One look at Davis and he understands.

“Alright. Let’s leave Ruby to get some rest,” Davis grunts in his direct, no-nonsense way.

There are a few protests, but now that Ruby’s awake, some of the worry has faded. All our friends give Ruby a hug as they say their goodbyes, then it’s finally just the two of us. Well, three if you count Axil.

I adjust our position so that I’m on my back and Ruby’s snuggled into my side. Her hand is on my chest and she’s tracing her name, even though I have a shirt on and she can’t see her tattoo.

“Are we going to talk about our feelings now?” Ruby murmurs into my side, her voice still raspy.

“I was going to challenge you to a mud wrestling match, but that seems a little unfair, since you can barely walk.”

Ruby huffs. “I can still take you.”

I stroke my fingers up and down her arm, so fucking grateful that she’s awake.

“Hey, Ezra.”

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