Page 74 of Hex
Surprisingly, she’s not thinner than before, and her clothes actually look quite expensive.
Grinning so wide it hurts my cheeks, I run toward my best friend. Trouble is, killing the Dei just took more out of me than I initially thought and the dizziness comes on quickly.
Two feet away from giving Danika the longest hug in existence, she suddenly gets taller…only, she isn’t taller. I’m on the ground, my body having given up, and my mind is the next to go as I black out.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Hack
“One minute she was fine, the next she was down for the count.” I frown at the sound of Pierce’s voice so close to my bed. And if he’s talking, that means someone else is in my fucking room, listening.
My first instinct is to sit straight up and tell my brothers—who obviously have no boundaries—that my room is off limits when I’m lying in bed with my chosen. Screw that, my room is a no-go zone at all times.
The problem is that opening my eyes proves to be difficult, so bolting up to a sitting position is outright impossible. When I take in a deep breath, though, the sweet scent of strawberries brings me a sense of calm and peace. Still, those fuckers need to leave.
“Yeah, well, after the stunt she pulled on me, I’d say karma gave her a hip check.” Who the fuck are they talking about? Even more surprising is that someone pulled one over on Slash? Nice.
“Shit, I think he’s awake.” Pierce again, and now that I’m fully awake, I notice the slight panic and whole lot of worry in his voice.
“Wh—” I must have been asleep a long ass time for my throat to feel so tight and scratchy, but I try again. “What’s going on?” I sound like I’ve been swallowing gravel for months.
“It’s about fucking time, Hack.” The relief in Slay’s voice belies the harsh comment.
“Welcome back, brother! You scared the fuck out of us.” This time I’m able to pop open an eye and I immediately find Slash, who’s speaking just inches away from my face. “So, shit got real but—”
Then it all comes flying back, my memory serving up a slew of images, one more worrisome than the rest. Panic makes my heart race as I fling off the sheet across my body to look at my stomach. When my hand slides over nothing but smooth skin, I breathe easier.
“How did you heal that?” Maybe I was wrong in assuming the sword was angel steel but damn, I’m not usually wrong when it comes to shit that can kill us.
“We promise to tell you everything, but first I need to check you out to make sure you’re all good.” I frown as Pierce tries to prod and poke, but the only thing that matters is my chosen lying right beside me. The last thing I remember is Sage’s disappointed face morphing into panic and desperation after I killed the professor. I broke my promise to her and I’ll have to grovel like a motherfucker until she finally forgives me.
But first, she needs to wake up.
Ignoring Pierce as he brings the stethoscope up to my heart, I turn my whole body to curl it up against Sage at my side, bringing her flush against me.
“Go away, I’m fine.” Taking Sage’s hand in mine, I bring it to my lips and smile, expecting her eyes to flutter open. Nothing happens, so I do it again. And again. “Sage?”
“Um, that’s what I was trying to tell you.” I hear Slash but my body is frozen, staring down at Sage, who looks like she’s in deepsleep. Worry and anger and heart-stopping fear create a new emotion I can’t quite put my finger on.
My fear isn’t that she’s dead. Clearly, she’s not, because I can feel her lifeforce inside me. But this lethargy, this coma, this unresponsiveness scares the fuck out of me.
“What’s wrong with her?” I don’t take my eyes off her when I ask, just in case she wakes up and I miss it.
“So, you know how you used to whine—ow!” Slash’s complaint follows the distinct sound of a slap to the back of the head before Pierce takes over the conversation with his more diplomatic story telling.
“What Slash is trying to say is that Sage found out where Danika was being kept prisoner—”
“No, I told her, then she put a literal spell on me and it was not in a flirty kind of way.”
I frown, my hand going to Sage’s beautiful cheek where I wipe away imaginary tears and try to make sense of Slash’s account.
“None of the shit either of you are saying is answering my question.” This time I do turn before sliding my feet to the floor and standing. The dizziness that hits me tells me it’s been a while since I’ve been upright but I ignore it, my glare hitting Slash, then Pierce, and back to Slash. Slay has apparently left my room.
Wait a fucking minute…
“We found Danika,” Pierce says at the exact moment I look around the space, my mouth falling open.
“Are we in Dei Samhain’s lair?” I call it a lair because he’s the Dei of the underworld and it’s also where he fucks without constraints. Then my head whips around when the truly important information registers. “Danika’s here?”
