Page 59 of First Offense

“Oh my gods, you’re alive!” I replied, actually happy to see her. I wasn’t sure what cell she lived in or why it elated me so much to realize she was okay, but I felt a little lighter knowing she’d survived that inferno. Probably because she was the only one here I could call a friend. Sort of. Not really.

Gods, I hate this place.

“I don’t die easily,” Raven responded.

Novak used his grip on my wrist to tug me toward the cliff. Auric must have agreed, because he pressed me forward with his hand on my back, the two of them manhandling me in their own way.

For once, I didn’t want to yell at them. Their presence was just too soothing to fight. Instead, I found myself leaning into them as we stopped near the edge, their eyes locked in some sort of understanding.

“Clyde?” Zian guessed as he approached with Sorin and Raven right behind him.

Novak dipped his chin in confirmation.

“Useful pet. He warned Raven, too,” Zian said. Then he huffed a humorless laugh. “Right. Because you told him to.”

Novak grunted, which I supposed was his version of an affirmative, before drawing his thumb along my pulse and sliding his palm to mine. I should have stepped away or dropped his hand, but the heat of his skin sizzled along my nerve endings, caressing me in a manner I didn’t really understand.

“You smell infected,” Raven said as she eyed Auric, her nose scrunching.

“And you smell like a wet dog,” he returned. “Your point?”

Zian growled. “Watch it.”

Auric rolled his eyes. “All Noir smell like wet dogs.”

Novak extended his wings to give them a subtle flutter and arched a brow.

Auric’s hand tensed against my back.

I cleared my throat, suddenly uncomfortable with the staring match between them. They seemed to be doing this more and more, as though they were taking each other’s measure without words.

A muscle ticked in Auric’s jaw.

Novak’s gaze narrowed. Then he abruptly looked at Raven. “Heal him. Now.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Uh, hard pass. He’s an ass, and I don’t take orders from you.”

“Wait, you can heal?” I asked, impressed. “That’s a very unique gift.”

“For a Noir? Yeah, I suppose it is,” she drawled.

“I meant for anyone,” I clarified.

“But especially for a Noir,” Auric added, his voice holding a note of interest. “That’s considered a divine gift. Interesting that a Fallen would possess it.”

Raven rolled her eyes. “Are you questioning my goodness,Nora? Oh, but of course you are. White-wing superiority.”

Her comment reminded me of what she’d said the other day. “You Fell at birth. How?”

“What?” Auric asked, his eyebrows drawing down. “That’s impossible.”

“So is becoming a Noir without sinning, yet Layla’s here,” Raven returned, lifting a shoulder. “Oh, but I’m guessing you don’t believe her, which is why you won’t believe me either. Right.”

“Prove your purity by healing him,” Zian suggested. “I’ll enjoy the shock on his face.”

“Personally, I’ll enjoy watching him accept the help of a Noir,” Sorin added, sounding amused. “We’re all beneath you, after all. Right?”

Auric’s feathers ruffled, his chiseled jaw hardening even more.