Page 10

MARS

T he first thing I feel is warmth.

The second is a pounding in my skull, like someone’s swinging around a sledgehammer inside my head, trying to crack it from the inside out.

I groan, and the sound scrapes up my throat like rusted nails. My eyelids peel open to a ceiling that barely exists. The roof is so damaged, I can see straight through to the sky above.

Pale blue light slips through shattered beams and twisted metal above, the morning sky mottled with soot and streaks of ash still drifting lazily through the air.

The fire has died down to glowing coals. Smoke coils from it in ghost-thin tendrils, thick with the scent of charred wood, melted fabric, and scorched metal. The kind that clings to skin long after flames die out.

I shift and wince. Every muscle aches. There’s a heavy pull across my ribs, and my neck throbs where I must’ve hit the bar floor. Flashes of rotters and the explosion fly through my memory like a gruesome highlight reel. My stomach churns, dry and acidic. I need to find her .

Across the open shelter, Jace crouches beside the rust-bucket car I thought I’d imagined, but I guess we really drove our way out of the city.

He’s wiping grease from his hands onto a rag that used to be one of my t-shirts.

His face is half in shadow, but I’d bet he’s wearing that same uptight asshole look he wears so well.

Though I notice the way his gaze keeps drifting toward Autumn when he thinks no one’s looking.

There’s something careful in how he watches her, like she’s something precious he’s afraid to break.

That’s interesting, because I haven’t known him to give much of a shit about anyone.

He’s a decent guy who respects those who deserve it, but I don’t think I’ve ever known anyone who he thought was worth his attention.

Autumn sits close to him, and she looks wrecked to put it nicely.

Her hair is tangled and messy, with strands sticking to the sweat on her cheek.

There are shadows under her eyes that weren’t there before, and the bandage on her wrist is a stark white slash against the grime.

I’m glad someone took care of her, though I have a feeling it wasn’t her choice, if she’s still as stubborn with them as she was with me.

Regardless, it’s a relief I didn’t get her killed.

The last thing I remembered was that rotter hand reaching for her. I wonder how we got out.

I don’t know if it’s the way the early morning light shines down on her, but even exhausted and injured, she’s beautiful. More than beautiful. She’s magnetic in a way that makes it hard to look away. The kind of woman who could bring grown men to their knees without even trying.

Meanwhile, Caspian is curled up on the far side of the shelter with his hoodie pulled low over his face, and his long legs drawn up like he’s trying to fold himself into nothing.

He doesn’t look like he slept at all. I wonder how bad his flashbacks were this time.

Even from here, I catch him stealing glances at Autumn when her attention is elsewhere.

Soft, almost reverent looks that he quickly hides.

Interesting. Seems I’m not the only one affected by our purple-haired, molotov-wielding savior. I lick my cracked lips and try to speak. It takes two tries before anything comes out.

“Hey,” the word emerges as a croak, so I clear my throat and try again. “Did the world end again while I was out?”

Jace looks up. “Just the usual amount of apocalypse.” His tone is dry, but there’s relief behind it.

Autumn shifts closer, and I catch a whiff of her scent. Smoke and something uniquely her that makes my pulse quicken despite the pounding in my head. “You’re awake.”

“Think so.” I squint and drag a hand down my face, getting a palm full of sweat instead. “Though I had a wild dream.”

Her brow lifts and guarded curiosity flickers in her hazel eyes. “Yeah? What about?”

I exhale through my nose, head lolling back. “Kissing a beautiful woman. Wouldn’t mind revisiting that one.”

Autumn freezes and color floods her cheeks until they’re bright red. The sight is so damn appealing; I want to kiss her just to see if I can make her blush harder.

Jace smirks from the car. “Something like that.”

My stomach sinks. Wait. I glance back at Autumn, but she avoids my gaze.

Shit.

The realization is sobering. The fog lifts, and pieces fall into place. The bar, the explosion, the fire. Her voice. Her hands. Her lips.

Before I can say anything else, Autumn scoots closer and lifts one hand to my forehead, threading her fingers through my hair. “Easy. You’ve got a big bump. It’s a nasty one. Does it hurt?”

Her voice is soft. Her fingers are cooler than the morning air, soothing the heat that pulses behind my eyes. I lean into her touch. It’s so gentle, it makes something ache in my chest. Not the kind of hurt she’s talking about. “It’s not that bad,” I lie.

My eyes drift shut, but something shifts in my chest, some buried memory trying to break free. That kiss. That softness. The rightness of it, even in my fevered state.

Double shit.

My eyes snap open. I look at her, and I mean, I really look at her.

Same eyes from the dream. Same hazel gaze that sees more than it should.

I follow the line of her cheek to her mouth, and I can still remember the taste, the way she’d responded for just a moment before pulling away.

Her breath catches and she goes still when my gaze drops to her lips.

The silence between us speaks louder than words.

From the corner of my eye, I notice Jace’s hands still on the car engine, but his attention remains entirely focused on us. There’s something almost possessive in his stare, though he’s trying to hide it. And Caspian has gone rigid in his corner, watching us with an intensity that’s hard to miss.

Well, hell. This is going to be complicated.

My eyes move to her wrist, wrapped in a fresh white bandage. I sit up fast. Pain slices through my skull, but I ignore it. “What happened to your wrist?”

That’s a stupid question. I know what happened. I was there, and I saw it. Still, I need to know how bad it is.

Her brow furrows. “Sprained. Rooftop jump. Tried to get away from someone so insistent on keeping me safe.” Her mouth lifts into a smile, and it’s contagious enough to make me smile too, despite the pounding in my head.

She’s got jokes. I like that.

I reach for her wrist without thinking and turn her hand over in mine. The bandage is snug, but her fingers tremble, though I’m not sure if it’s from pain or proximity. Her skin is soft and warm against mine. “I remember now. Does it hurt?”

“A little, but I can manage.”

“You should take something.” I glance around the empty shelter. The only objects in this place are charred or broken. “There’s a bottle of painkillers in my bag. Blue zipper pocket.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not. You’re hurt.”

She opens her mouth to argue, but I cut her off with a look and shake of my head. Damn, my head fucking hurts. “I’m serious, Autumn. Take the meds. They should also help with the swelling.”

Her jaw tightens, and she meets my gaze with a stubbornness that almost makes me smile again. God, she’s fierce. “As long as there’s enough for you, too.”

“There is. Now go take some.”

“Thanks, Mars.” Autumn pauses. “Mars.” She shakes her head with a small smile. “Still can’t believe that’s actually your name.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Says the woman named after a season.”

“Fair point,” she laughs. “What I mean to say is your name is odd, like mine, and I like it. We’ve probably both gotten our fair share of comments over the years.”

“Oh yeah. ‘Is that planet inhabitable, still’ ‘Do you have any little green men in your brain?’ Heard it all.” I shrug, but can’t help my grin. “Could be worse, though.”

“How’s that?”

I meet her eyes and let my voice drop a little to feign seriousness. “You could’ve been named Winter. Cold and harsh. But Autumn?” I shake my head. “Warm colors, transformation, harvest…yeah, you’re definitely my favorite season.”

Her cheeks flush, but her smile widens. “Well, lucky for you, you happen to be my favorite planet. ”

“Damn right I am,” I reply, and the way she chuckles makes my headache fade a little. “Now, let’s get you those painkillers. I’ll come with you.”

I push up from the floor. The room tilts. My foot brushes something strange and I feel off balance. I frown, glance down, and wiggle my toes in my boots.

“Why the hell do I only have one sock?” I ask.

Caspian looks over with a grin he’s trying and failing to suppress, and Jace outright snorts behind his hand.

Autumn’s teeth sink into her bottom lip, drawing my attention back to her mouth and making heat curl in my stomach. Her eyes gleam with mischief. “I may have used it…”

“You what?” I glance down at her feet, but they’re still sockless in her boots.

“Molotov emergency,” she says with innocent eyes that fool no one.

I gape at her. “That was my favorite pair.”

“You have a favorite pair of socks?”

“Of course I do. They matched. Do you know how rare that is nowadays?”

She laughs. It starts out soft, then bubbles out of her, melting some of the tension coiled beneath her skin.

The sound does something to me. It makes me want to hear it again and again.

I can’t help but grin, especially at the sparkle that appears in her eyes when she speaks.

“You know, you never decided if you’re going to be my guardian angel or the grim reaper. ”

The question makes me frown for a moment before I remember her slamming against my chest in her attempt to outrun a city full of rotters, and I smile. “Come on, purple. Isn’t it obvious?”

“You’re my guardian angel because you’re trying to give me the painkillers that you won’t admit you need more than I do? ”

I force my face into a plain expression. “Pretty sure guardian angels have two socks.”