Page 113 of Ransomed to the World
Annora froze.
Eliana gave her arm a reassuring squeeze. “I’m not sure when we’ll have a chance to talk again, but you need to know the barrier between the realms is thinning. We’re trying to keep the darkness from swallowing the world whole, but it’s a struggle with the world being so out of balance.”
Fuck.
“What do you need from me?” Annora wasn’t sure she wanted to know, but she wasn’t one to hide from her problems. It’s what landed the phantoms in this trouble in the first place.
“You’re doing it by brokering the alliance. Keep fighting for change. Keep stirring up trouble…you’re good at that.” Eliana gave her a cheeky grin.
Annora sputtered out a laugh. “Yeah, I can do that.”
The wards around her darkened, and Eliana leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “Go join your mates. You have much to learn yet, and a world to save.”
Without waiting for a response, Eliana shoved her, and Annora fell back into the darkness.
Annora shifted, then groaned when her body protested like she’d just been through a long torture session with her uncle. She’d dealt with pain most of her life, but this was different, and it went deeper, reaching places her uncle had never been able to touch.
She nudged the darkness, and its reaction was subdued, her bones actually aching when it stirred. Trying to heal was out of the question, the thought of it actually making her want to puke.
“Annora?” Her eyes fluttered open at the sound of Logan’s voice, and she winced when he settled next to her. To her surprise, Prem was nestled in his arms, sleeping soundly.
The sound of rushing feet had her turning her head, and a bright light hit her right in the face. She stifled a groan when the sunlight threatened to split open her skull.
She was lying on a bed, thankfully dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, and she couldn’t help being curious about who had changed her. The guys crowded close, their faces lined with exhaustion, and her throat tightened as she scanned them for injuries.
“Thank the gods!” Logan breathed, his shoulders hitching, and he leaned forward to press his lips to her forehead, then rested his cheek against the top of her head.
Mason settled his hand on her ankle and squeezed, like he could prevent her from sneaking away again. Xander dragged a chair close to the bed, sat, then reached forward and cradled her hand in his, playing with her fingers. Camden leaned over and checked the bandage on her side, fussing over her, his touch lingering against her skin, stealing the pain.
“I’m going to get Valen.” Edgar backed away, avoiding her eyes as he headed for the door, and she stared after him with worried frown.
“What happened?” Annora tried to sit, and both Camden and Xander shot to their feet, grabbing her shoulders to help her upright. Logan plopped the ferret in her lap, then took the opportunity to slip behind her, easing her back into his arms, his legs on either side of her, cradling her gently like he needed the connection just as much as her.
“You almost died,” Edgar snapped as he followed Valen back into the room, fury darkening his eyes.
Valen shooed the others away from the bed, but they only shifted an inch, forcing him to squeeze between them to get close. Edgar remained at the edges of the room, pacing back and forth, not once looking at her.
Valen checked her over with his magic, darkness skating across her skin, the sensation soothing the ragged nerve endings. “How are you feeling?”
“Weak.” It was a struggle to stay awake and alert. She took comfort in petting Prem’s silky fur, and he stirred sluggishly at her touch. She sighed with relief when it was clear he’d be fine, then glanced back at Valen. “Almost human.”
Logan trembled and buried his face in the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent, which seemed to calm him, and he brushed his fingers over her skin, as if to reassure himself.
“Makes sense because you’re close enough to it. You’re lucky you’re so strong or youwouldbe dead.” He clucked his tongue, then nudged the now-tarnished medallion hanging around her neck. “It took the work of both the phantoms and the reapers to stitch you back together. You’ll scar and be sore for a while, but you should heal. If not for your mates, we would’ve lost you.”
Edgar stopped pacing. “What the fuck were you thinking?!” he bellowed, glaring down at her, his normal icy calm completely shot to hell.
Instead of his usual immaculate appearance, his hair was standing up every which way, his clothes were wrinkled and stained, and the dark circles under his eyes made his face look even paler. Bruises colored his jaw, his lip had been busted, and her heart trembled to see the evidence of how close she came to losing him.
She carefully studied the rest of her guys and saw they were in the same condition. Scrapes and bruises dotted their faces and knuckles.
They looked like shit.
And the most wonderful things she’d ever seen.
“I’m sorry I scared you.” Edgar stiffened at her soft words, his eyes wild, just seconds away from shattering. “I couldn’t let him hurt you. I love you too much to lose you. I would risk anything for all of you, and I know the rest of you guys would do the same.”
His expression cracked, devastation crumbling his face, and he rubbed his chest. “Don’t you fucking do that again. I don’t think my heart could take it.”
