Page 55 of Kingdom of Chaos (Creatures of Chaos #2)

Thirty-Four

I suggest going back to the warehouse to train, but Talon vetoes the idea, saying that as much as I need the practice, I need rest even more. I’ll be no good to anyone tomorrow, whether it’s for training or fighting, if I don’t get some sleep.

With everything going on, I don’t know how I’m supposed to sleep, but I relent.

Imogen plans to use her undercover status within Kerrim’s ranks to try to dig up any information she can about Ensley.

There’s still a chance, however small, that if she figures out where they’re keeping her, we could mount a rescue and revert to the original plan, giving me more time to prepare. It’s a long shot, but it’s something.

When we go to hail a cab back to the hotel, Titus hangs back, saying he wants to walk to blow off some steam and clear his head. The swelling around his eye is already going down thanks to his enhanced healing, and the gash on his ribs has stopped bleeding, but he still looks bad.

When I suggest that walking through the city in his condition might cause a scene, he gives me a look and says, “Trust me. Humans in this city have seen worse. No one will even blink.”

I’m not sure that’s true, but there’s a haunted flicker in his eyes that makes me pause. A fraying around the edges, like he’s just barely holding it together.

I sigh and say softly, “We’ll see you later.”

Talon and I don’t speak on the short cab ride to the hotel, but everything that’s happened between us hangs in the air, heavy, steady, and impossible to ignore.

The silence continues when we arrive, but as we walk through the lobby, Talon places his hand on the small of my back.

It’s such a simple gesture but it calms me, reminding me I’m not alone, even with everything crashing down around us.

When we return to our adjoining rooms, I start toward the girls’ side, but Talon catches my hand and gently tugs me toward him. He runs his hands up and down my arms, slow, deliberate strokes that leave a trail of goosebumps, zings of electricity chasing the path of his palms.

“Cold?” he asks, noticing my reaction.

I could lie to save myself the embarrassment, but I meet his gaze and slowly shake my head.

One side of his mouth lifts in a knowing half smile, but he doesn’t press. He searches my eyes and asks quietly, “Are you okay?”

It’s such a simple question but it cracks the fragile shell holding me together. My throat tightens, and I feel the sting behind my eyes. I shake my head again, this time more shaky, more honest. Words won’t come.

Talon’s hands still on my arms, then slide upward until they’re cupping my face.

“Come here,” he murmurs, drawing me into his chest like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

I don’t resist. I fold into him, the tension I didn’t realize I’d been carrying unraveling in his arms.

“I won’t tell you everything’s going to be all right,” he says honestly. “But I will promise to be there every step of the way. Just like I have been from the beginning. I won’t let you face any of this alone.”

His words pierce straight through me, not because he’s telling me what I want to hear, but because he isn’t. He’s giving me raw honesty, and somehow that’s more comforting than any pretty lie could ever be.

It reminds me that Talon has been there from the very start, even back in the first Chaos trial, when he saved me after Jules left me for dead in that underground cavern. Since that day, we’ve been saving each other.

I soak in the comfort he’s offering, then lean back just enough to meet his eyes. I need him to see how serious I am about what I’m about to say.

I didn’t lie when I told him he’s been under my skin since the beginning. What’s blossoming between us now started as a seed that was planted that first day, slowly growing ever since. I just didn’t realize it until now.

“I want you to promise me something,” I say softly.

Talon tilts his head as he gazes down on me. “What?”

I take a deep breath, not sure how he’s going to react.

“I need you to promise that you’ll do whatever it takes to protect Ensley and Becks tomorrow night, even if it means sacrificing me.”

They’re my family. If anyone should make it out alive, it’s them, and everyone else who’s risked so much to help.

Titus, Talon, even Imogen. If they all survive and make it home, then it’s worth it.

Even if I don’t.

“I’m prepared for whatever happens tomorrow,” I add. “But I won’t be able to focus if I’m worried about them.”

Talon goes still. His shoulders tense; his eyes flash with a mix of anguish and restraint.

Slowly, he closes the space between us, resting his forehead against mine as he exhales a shaky breath, like I just asked him to tear out a piece of himself.

“I get that they’re your world, but you need to understand,” he says, leaning back to cup my face with one hand.

“They may be your world . . . but you’re mine.

And because they matter to you, I’ll do everything I can to protect them.

Even if it means risking my own life. But I can’t, and won’t, promise to put their lives above yours. ”

I huff out a frustrated breath, already knowing this is as close to a promise as I’m going to get from him.

“Must you be so difficult?” I mutter, which earns me a crooked grin. “Well, at least promise you’ll save yourself. That if things go bad, you’ll get out.”

“No can do, Freckles,” he interrupts gently, his smile softening. “Just like you’re wired to protect the ones you love, so am I. If you go down, I go down with you.”

The breath catches in my throat. He didn’t say the words, not exactly, but the meaning is clear.

That was an admission of love.

Talon’s gaze drops to my mouth in a silent question.

And Creator help me, I want to answer it.

But a small voice in the back of my mind whispers caution, because if we start kissing again I’m not sure we’ll stop.

With everything looming ahead, and Becks’ grief-filled face still looming in the forefront of my mind, I don’t know if my heart can handle that tonight.

But I want him to. More than I should.

And yet . . . I don’t.

He must see the conflict in my eyes, because instead of closing the space between us, he leans in and presses a chaste kiss to my forehead.

Even that simple, innocent touch sends my heart into overdrive, leaving me dizzy with everything I’m trying not to feel.

“Get some rest,” he says and then his hands fall away from me as he takes a step back.

I miss his warmth instantly, and have to stop myself from swaying toward him. I have to steel myself. As much as I want to lean on Talon right now, I need to stand on my own two feet, because tomorrow, no matter what he or anyone else says, I’ll be facing off against Kerrim on my own.

“You too,” I say.

Turning away from him, I enter the empty room I should be sharing with Ensley and Imogen, and shut the door behind me.

I toss in bed for what has to be the tenth time, trying—and failing—to get comfortable enough to sleep. I knew shutting my brain off tonight would be a struggle, but with every minute that ticks by, my anxiety only climbs higher.

If I’m not sleeping, I should be practicing. And if I’m not practicing, I should be sleeping.

Instead, I’m doing neither, just lying here, wasting time I don’t have.

Maybe a glass of water will help?

Who am I kidding? I don’t think anything short of a partial lobotomy is going to help me fall asleep tonight, but I suppose I can still give the water a shot.

With a huff, I throw the covers off and stand. I’m padding my way to the bathroom when I notice a low glow coming from the guys’ room.

Is Talon still awake? Maybe Titus is back.

I walk over to the connecting door and knock softly. No answer.

I should probably leave it at that, but I’m more awake than I should be, and definitely too curious, so I crack the door and peek inside. The room is dark except for the bathroom, where soft light spills out from the open doorway.

I’m about to close the door and resume my mission for water when something clatters onto the tile, followed by a sharp curse.

Talon .

I’m through the door and moving toward the bathroom before I can think better of it. When I reach the open doorway, I freeze, my brain momentarily glitching.

Talon stands there in low-slung joggers, twisting awkwardly to reach his lower back.

So. Much. Bronze. Skin.

So many muscles. So many ripples.

Am I drooling? I might be drooling.

I’ve seen Talon shirtless before, more than once, but now that I know how he tastes, my body reacts like someone turned the volume all the way up.

I should say something. Announce myself. Instead, I swipe beneath my mouth in case I actually am drooling, mildly impressed to find I’m not.

Talon sighs in frustration and straightens. Catching my reflection in the mirror, he turns, and that’s when I see it.

The gashes across his ribs. The bullet wound on his side.

Still not fully healed.

I couldn’t tell before, the way he was angled, but now it’s obvious. He was trying to rewrap his wounds.

Seeing them clears the fog from my head, snapping everything into focus.

“Why aren’t those healed yet?” I ask, my voice sharper than I mean it to be.

I think of how fast Titus recovered, his eye already improving just an hour after the fight. Talon’s a matured creature. Wounds like those should be faint scars by now, if anything. It’s almost as if he’s healing at the rate a child would before coming into their magic. Or a human.

Taking a step forward, I take a better look at his wounds. Thankfully, they’re not life-threatening. But they’re still raw. Too raw.

“You’re supposed to be asleep,” Talon says, rubbing the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable.

“Right, like I could sleep at a time like this,” I shoot back. “I’d need an elephant tranquilizer just to take the edge off. But don’t change the subject.” I gesture at his ribs and lower abdomen. “What’s going on here?”

Talon exhales slowly. “It’s not a big deal.”