Page 49 of Stone Seduction
Flying off and running into a fight did not serve him well. Along with those other feelings, the bond between us constantly reminded me of my duty to him. If I wasn’t by his side or protecting him, I was failing.
Man, this sucked. Really pissing sucked.
I passed out the moment we entered the tower, tumbling into a Luke dream. My hand in his, running through a meadow ona beautiful sunny day. Frolicking like something out of a movie montage.
I craved this rapture. Fingers entwined, happy to stay in this field of imagination for a while. But it soon faded away once my heavy eyelids peeled open.
Gods, my head. There was no pain but I was groggy to the max, my brain trapped in molasses.
I blinked to clear away the last traces of sleep, soft lights in a gray ceiling coming into focus.
And water in my ears.
Water?
As my senses came back online, I flexed my fingers and toes, moving my head slightly to the side. It didn’t move much, held by some sort of brace, but enough to see the beautiful face of my sister. Her beaming smile melted away some of the grogginess.
“Eden…” I managed to say, my voice raspy.
There was a buzzing in my ears until her clear voice filled them. “It’s okay, Cookie. I’m here.”
I almost broke down.
Almost.
“You’re safe now,” she added. “There’s some tiny buds in your ears for you to hear me while you’re underwater.”
“Underwater?” It took a lot of energy to speak.
Eden approached the edge of the pool.
Yeah, a pool.
“Take it easy,” she said. “You’re safe now, on the mend. We got some G Steroids into you to fight the poison. You’re now in some super-duper magical bath to make you better.”
G Steroids helped with the healing process in gargoyles. They were highly effective and dangerously addictive. They weren’t used flippantly, only when our natural healing needed enhancing. Or if we were dying from monstrous jellyfish poison.
“I’m not sure how this magic works,” my sister added, crouching by the edge of the pool. “But apparently it heals in tandem with the steroids. When I carried you here, there were dark veins all over your body. I thought…” She sighed, shaking her head. “Nope. Not going there. You’re going to be fine.”
Her smile always broke the dam holding back my tears.
“Dane…” I managed.
“He’s over there.” She pointed to the north of the pool.
I couldn’t lift my head to see, but I smelled his minty aroma.
“Thank the gods…” I whispered, my teeth hurting.
“The other knights are all safe, too. In other pools. You were all so lucky.”
Others were hurt? Shit.
“Rest now,” Eden soothed. “We’ll catch up soon.”
Anger found its way back to the surface as I remembered the list. “Billy…”
Her own fury flashed in her dark eyes. “Don’t…” She cleared her throat. “Don’t worry about Billy. Focus on getting better.”
