Page 55 of To Spark a Dragon's Love
I reached for the bat I’d slid under the mattress and closed my fingers around the grip.
Steps sounded in the hall.
“Get his other arm,” Kieran’s deep voice rumbled. Someone groaned.
Malachy.He’s in pain.
I dropped the bat and raced across the room before I realized what I was doing. The shadowy figures were almost at the end of the hall when I pulled the door open, drawn by the tug in my chest.
Moonlight spilled through the open window.
Lucan and Kieran were half-carrying, half-dragging Malachy. Smoke drifted from his exposed back skin, which was mottled where it looked like the scales had formed and burned off.
He groaned again as they turned the corner. His head lolled to the side and his eyes met mine.
Fiery pain slammed into my chest, sucking the air from my lungs. I cried out as I gripped the doorframe to keep from falling forward and bit down on my lips so I wouldn’t make another sound that might wake Harper.
“Stop,” Malachy rasped.
Kieran and Lucan shared a worried look as their feet stopped moving. The pain stopped pulsing inside of me. I wasn’t sure what magic he possessed, but Malachy had done something to make it go away.
His eyes still held mine captive. “I’m fine. Go back to sleep.”
I thought about listening to him. How easy it would be to close the door and shut my eyes; to pretend I never saw a male as formidable as him broken and beaten like this.
But I couldn’t. “No. Let me help.”
“Go to bed, Willow.” Malachy sighed as he sagged against Lucan and Kieran’s hold.
“Not until I make sure you’re all right.” I closed the door behind me.
“I said I’m fine.” He winced as Lucan adjusted his hold.
“You’re a bad liar.” I followed after him. “And you’re leaving a trail of blood on the floor.”
“We should hire a maid,” Malachy bit out as they stopped in front of the last door down the hall.
“I’ll take care of it.” I worried my bottom lip, slipping around the three hulking men so I could open the door for them.
“The chair,” Malachy spoke through clenched teeth as Lucan and Kieran moved toward the bed. They changed course, propping him in the chair across from the fireplace.
Both Kieran and Lucan stepped back, looking everywhere but my face. They probably pitied me. I knew they’d never push their mates away like this.
But the joke was on them. I had no pride.
I brushed past them and kneeled at Malachy’s feet. “What do you need?”
Malachy closed his eyes, resting his head against the chair. “To be alone.”
“We’ll be downstairs. Call out if he wants anything else.” Kieran touched my shoulder and then they were gone. The door closed behind them.
I looked Malachy over, determining the worst of his injuries. He already seemed to be healing. The burns on his skin were fading and the charred scales were disappearing in the black smoke, leaving pink flesh behind.
“Get up, Willow,” Malachy whispered. “I don’t want you to kneel for me.”
Slowly, I rocked back on my heels and stood, trying to test the bond to anticipate his needs and finding nothing. It wasn’t like Ember and Riley said. Sometimes I could feel it. Other times it was muted.
I hated not knowing what to do to help. “Is it always like this?”
