Page 22 of Rebel
Not again.
The dangerous red haze that I’ve kept under control for so long rears its head, exerting pressure in my brain. And then the world bleeds red.
XAVIER
I didn’t think a Trad could move so fast, but this one is in half-shift mode, tail ripped through pants and sweeping the floor, face ridged with scales as he lunges for Lore.
My body ceases up, frozen, motionless, stunned by the sudden attack but on some level expecting it, but then Lore hits the ground clutching his face, and the paralysis breaks, because Lore is like a brother to me, and no one hurts him on my watch.
Vex is big and powerful, with a decade of fighting experience under his belt, but I’ve taken down bigger in the field. My lighter body mass is deceiving, and I’ve used this to my advantage against opponents on several occasions. I move whip-fast and grab Vex from behind in a grip that should be unrelenting, but that damn tail smashes into me, propelling me back into a tray of implements and on my ass.
“Fuck!” Vex has gone insane. “Stop. Do you want her to die?”
The Trad pauses, fist pulled back, ready to lay another blow on Lore.
Lore, the nerd, the brain. Not a fighter, although he can defend if he wants to, but right now, he’s stunned and staring at Vex dumbly.
“Back off, Vex.” I stand, hands splayed. “Back off and get the fuck out. Lore’s the only one that can save her. You hurt him, she dies. Get it. And if she dies, it’s on you.”
The Trad stumbles back, his face a picture of torment as he stares at Rogue, and then he barrels out of the room.
Lore stares at me from the floor, and anger surges up my throat. What the fuck is he doing? Why the fuck is he just sitting there?
“Fix her. Fix them both, or I swear, Lore, it’ll be my fist in your face next.”
He opens his mouth to speak, but I’m already turning away. Fuck this helplessness. Fuck my lack of science knowledge. Kicking ass won’t save her now. Only medical intervention can. I take a heaving breath, and then haul my friend off the floor.
“Tell me what I can do to help?”
11
“Oh, crap, my head.” I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling.
Ceiling?
Tide? The fucking bug that bit me and then the figures running towards me. The guys had found me. I sat up and then yelped as pain lanced through my head.
“Shit, Rogue, lie back down.” Xavier appeared at my side, his familiar sweet scent washing over me. The bed depressed as he scooted on beside me. “You’re safe now.”
“Tide?” I scanned his face for the bad news, and his expression clouded then became stern.
“He’s alive, thanks to you. Lore managed to detox him, and he’s recovering in the med bay under surveillance. That was some nasty poison in the claws of whatever sliced him. But Lore managed to concoct a detox cocktail with the meds we have here.”
I lay back against his shoulder. “What bit me?”
He shrugged. “We have no idea. But it was venomous.” His grip on me tightened. “You’re lucky the anti-venom we had here worked or …” His voice cracked. “Tide said you carried him up a rock face?”
I nodded. “He was hurt.”
“So, then you must have carried him down it again.”
“Yes.”
He peered down at me in wonder. “You saved his life, Rogue. You’re … I can’t even begin to tell you how much that means.”
“I wasn’t leaving him to die, Xavier. That isn’t who I am. That isn’t what teammates do.”
He opened and then closed his mouth firmly. “Get some sleep. I’ll be back in a little while with some food.” He kissed the top of my head and then slipped off the bed and out of the room.
