Page 78

“Atta, wake up.Please.”

Nothing.

He brushed the hair back from her face, cradling her in his arms. “Wake up, darling.”

She began to stir, her eyelids fluttering open. The barest hint of confusion knit her brows before she winced, grabbing at her arm. Sonder helped her upright, inspecting her arm the best he could in the dank space. “You’ve a cut and your arm is covered in lamp oil and glass shards. We need to get you upstairs.”

But Atta’s mouth dropped open, looking behind him. Sonder spun around. “What? What is it?”

“It’s gone.” She stood and ran to the faerie lamp. “Oh no. No, no, no! The faerie is gone!” She put her hands to either side of her face, the gash on her forearm visibly oozing. “It’s going to Inhabit someone else. What have I done? The knot, it was loose, and I tripped and fell, and?—”

Sonder came forward and scooped her up.

“What are you doing? I’m fine! Put me down, Sonder,” she protested as he carried her upstairs.

“You are not fine, you’re bleeding everywhere.”

“But the faerie!”

“We will sort it out.”

“You always say that.” She wiggled free of his grasp before he made it to the sitting room. “I’m fine.”

Sonder snatched her wrist and inspected her arm in proper light. “I don’t think it needs stitches, but at least let me clean and bandage it.”

Atta was looking at the gash with her nose scrunched, most likely realising it was worse than she thought. “Fine.”

She sank down onto the sofa and he returned a few moments later with a med kit.

“I let it get out,” she said quietly while he knelt in front of her and cleaned the cut, wiping the oil from her arm.

“What happened?”

“I wanted to see the faerie, maybe take some notes and begin studying it, but it turned into that vapour, and I panicked. I did think quickly enough to throw some black salt, but it wasn’t much, and when it rushed the side of the cage, I startled backwards and fell.”

“Did you hit your head?”

“No, I don’t think so. I don’t recall a vision, but I must have had one if I passed out.”

He tried to be as gentle as possible wrapping her arm.

“I’m not going to break,” she teased, and he looked up into her eyes.

“You’re all right?”

She held his gaze. “I swear it.”

He could feel the flutter of her pulse in her wrist beneath his fingers where he held her. Her gaze dropped to his lips, just for a second, and the pulse in her wrist began to beat faster. Sonder could feel his blood begin to heat. She was so close. . .

She tucked her bottom lip between her teeth, and he tracked the movement with his eyes.

“Atta.” His voice had gone low, gravelly. Hungry.

And hers had gone breathy. “Yes?” Her breasts were rising and falling rapidly beneath her thin blouse.

“I’m going to kiss you now.”

Her gaze dropped to his mouth again. “All right.”