Page 76 of All's Fair in Lion and War
Ava watched the exchange between them, acknowledging a newly forged friendship. Liam was part of their family now.
Whether he knew it or not.
27
Lorelei
The tub water was beginning to cool off, but Lorelei didn’t really have the strength to climb out yet. She wasn’t sure how long that would take…maybe a few days. She’d be a wrinkled blob if she waited that long and the water would be ice cold.
A chuckle slipped out.
No one would leave her in this tub for days.
Footsteps sounded on the other side of the bathroom door. Light. Two people. Female. Not shifters. She could hear and smell all of that, but she didn’t recognize their scent.
“May we come in, Lorelei. We’re here to help.”
Magick-Benders.
Relief washed away the fear in her heart.
“Yes.”
The door opened and two very slim women entered the room. They were hungry and gaunt like she was. Like all of the women Rivian had stolen and kept.
“I am Mira, this is my sister Dyna.” The women were both dark-skinned. The one called Dyna was a little lighter. Both had dark shiny curly hair and the same rich honey-brown eyes.
“Lorelei, but I suppose you already know that.”
Mira nodded and gave her a smile that said not to worry, but Lorelei was worried.
About everything.
About how much her body hurt. About what was really going to happen between her and Saul. Whether he would still want her after all the trouble she’d brought down on him and his family. She still hadn’t seen him since they’d gotten to the cabin.
“We were given some clothes to give you. Ava said they should fit.”
“Ava’s here? Do you know if anyone else was hurt? They never found where we were being hidden, did they?”
“Everyone is safe.” Dyna spoke this time, her tone also calm and reassuring to the fear and worry skittering around like a swarm of insects in Lorelei’s brain.
She nodded. That was good. She was glad everyone was safe. That none of Rivian’s warriors had disturbed the women and the infants from the Tribe here in the town.
“Can we help you out of the water? It would be easier for us.” They both approached slowly, hesitantly, like they expected her to jump out of the tub and snarl at them like a lunatic.
“Yes, please. But, I’m not sure I can stand on my own.”
They each stepped up and took an arm, supporting her surprisingly well for their small stature. Her wounds were still seeping a little bit, but not as bad as when she’d first gotten into the bath.
“That big man out there was right. I don’t know how you stayed conscious with injuries like this.” Dyna put a hand over the mangled skin on her stomach. As bad as that wound looked on the outside it was ten times worse inside her abdomen where he’d shoved his razor sharp claws.
The burn of the magick made Lorelei hiss, but she kept her composure.
Mira was supporting most of her weight while her sister worked on the stomach wound.
“It should’ve killed me. I actually don’t know why it didn’t, except that I remember wanting to see Saul. That was the only thing that kept me conscious.”
The female nodded her head. “A mate connection can be very powerful.
