Page 10

CHAPTER 10

Sage

“I don’t think—” Onyx shot a worried glance at Ash.

And there it was.

“Talking about what happened could upset you,” Ash said, his voice soft as concern filled his gaze. It was clear he didn’t want to leave me out, but he also wanted to protect me.

“Not knowing will upset me more.” I brushed my fingers along the unscarred side of his jaw. It was just a whisper of a touch, but it drew a flash of longing in his eyes. “I need to know how many men are still out there and who I should be wary of.”

In truth, I was wary of everyone. Ash was the only one who made me feel safe. And while in the beginning I thought I could trust Lord Quill and Talon, they’d proven they’d do whatever Rider said.

And Lord Rider… I definitely didn’t trust him.

“All right,” Onyx said, surprising me with his agreement. “I’ll call Talon to join us since he’s already involved in this.”

Onyx strode to the bedroom door, leaving it wide open. “Can you guys come in here?”

Guys.

Plural. That meant it wasn’t just Talon who was going to step into the room.

My stomach churned at the thought of facing Lord Rider again after he’d made me run the trail until I threw up. I wasn’t even sure how I felt about Lord Quill. But Lords Rider, Talon, and Quill had come to my rescue. They were all involved in what had happened and I wasn’t going to be able to avoid them.

Onyx returned to his stool as footsteps approached, and I braced myself for Lord Rider’s glare.

Talon entered first, and, as always, I was struck by his otherworldly beauty. His long white hair seemed to shimmer and the delicate gold earring capping his pointed ear glinted in the soft fae light. I fell into the mesmerizing swirl of his pink, purple, blue, and gold eyes, and the heat in my mating marks flared so strong a moan bubbled in my throat.

I bit it back but couldn’t stop the memory of his magic— or rather the memory of the magic of the shadow trapped within him from rushing through me. Hot and achy. Desperate yearning desire.

Lord Rider stepped up behind him, and a chill snapped through my remembered need. He was taller than Talon and his chest broader. His shoulder-length black hair was half tied back in a topknot which only emphasized his rugged beauty, the three silvery scars that slashed across his cheek, the intense look in his silver eyes… and his scowl.

Swell.

Onyx opened his mouth to say something but the door in the sitting room, the one on the far side of the room, opened, and a woman entered with Quill behind her

The woman had long golden hair that shimmered like Quill’s as if she were perpetually in sunlight. It was woven into a complicated hairstyle that was mostly twisted and plaited on her head with a few long tendrils curling over her pale blue robes.

Then the woman stepped aside, revealing all of Quill, and everything within me stalled. My breath caught in my throat and his gaze locked with mine, drawing me deeper and deeper into his emerald eyes.

Great Father. It didn’t matter that I knew he’d do whatever Lord Rider told him. The compulsion to look at him, to not take my eyes off him, was overwhelming. I couldn’t even try to avert my gaze, my inability to ignore him was just as strong as it was the day I met him.

And just like that day, I needed to not fall into the trap of his eyes, his essence, whatever it was that made Lord Quill so compelling.

Ash had said Lord Quill didn’t have any magic, but I begged to differ.

His golden hair and sculpted, almost boyish face, possessed power, and it took everything within me to ignore the burning in my mating marks and tear my gaze away.

It’s just his beauty. Nothing more.

“Hello,” the woman said as she strode through the sitting room and into the bedroom, her pale blue robe swirling around her with each step. “I’m Zinnia, a healer.”

“Welcome magister,” Onyx said as he rose from his stool and stepped back, offering her the stool.

She sat and her gaze quickly slid over me before her kind eyes met mine. “Quill said you needed healing. May I?”

“I ah…”

All the tales said a fae with healing magic could know everything about a person with a single touch. That was why I knew I had to avoid Flint, the healer at the Black Tower, at all costs. One touch and he’d know I was a girl.

One touch now and would Zinnia know I was human?

“It’s all right, Sage,” Ash murmured, his warm breath fluttering against my cheek. “It won’t hurt.”

That wasn’t what I was worried about.

“I-I really don’t want to trouble you,” I stammered.

It was a stupid excuse because Lord Quill had already troubled her by dragging her here, but it was the only thing I could think of.

“Can you remove the bracelet instead?” I lifted my arm and showed her the intricately wrought silver bracelet trapping me in the Garden. “It’s keeping my spirit in the Garden. I’m sure I’ll be fine once I’ve returned to my body.”

Zinnia frowned. “It’s not that simple. Injuries sustained in spirit form manifest on the physical body. They won’t simply disappear when you return. And I’m a healer. I can’t influence artifacts.”

Crap.

I had to let her touch me.

My lieu time was only a couple of days and it would take longer than that for the rope burn on my wrists and the cut on my cheek to heal. And while the shirtsleeves of my guard uniform were too long, I couldn’t guarantee they wouldn’t rise up and someone wouldn’t notice.

Lord Rider would know immediately who I was the second he saw my new wounds.

I swallowed at my rising panic determined to keep it down and prayed Zinnia wouldn’t notice I was human. “All right.”

The healer offered me a soft smile that I was sure was supposed to make me feel better, then turned to the guys. “You should wait in the sitting room.”

Lord Rider’s expression darkened and he grunted before turning and storming out of the bedroom. Talon, Lord Quill, and Onyx followed, while Ash’s grip tightened around me as if he didn’t want to stop holding me.

I didn’t want him to stop holding me, either.

But I also couldn’t afford for him to learn I was a human. There was a slim chance I’d be able to convince Zinnia not to say anything, but that would only work if the guys weren’t in the room.

On top of that, I had questions about these frustrating mating marks that I didn’t want Ash to know. Just thinking about him hearing my questions made my cheeks heat with embarrassment.

I met his dark gaze. “I’ll be fine.”

“I know you will.” He brushed his lips against my temple, sending desire surging through my veins then slipped off the bed and settled me against the headboard propped up by the pillows.

His shoulders squared as if it took effort for him to walk away, but he still strode from the room and shut the door without looking back.

I dragged my attention back to Zinnia, my pulse pounding.

I could do this.

I could convince her not to say anything.

Everything would work out and I’d wake in the Black Tower feeling great.

Except I couldn’t feel great. I had to have a bruise on my cheek where Ambrose had punched me, and I needed to look — or at least act — like I’d run on the trail for hours.

“So ah…” I grabbed the edge of the blanket and started to pull it away.

But Zinnia placed a hand on mine. “That won’t be necessary.”

“Oh. Right. Of course.”

She could heal me with just a touch. She didn’t need to see my injuries.

Damn it. I was giving myself away and she hadn’t even used her magic on me.

“Just relax.”

“I ah… Could you?—”

Zinnia took my hand in both of hers before I could ask if she would only partially heal me, and a soothing warmth rolled up my arm and seeped into my body. All the tension and strength in my muscles vanished, and I sagged back against the pillows even as my fear of discovery grew.

Please. Please. Don’t let her realize…

My eyelids fluttered shut and I strained to open them. I had to keep watching. I needed to know the moment she discovered the truth.

But throbbing in the back of my skull melted away — I hadn’t realized how much it had hurt — and I floated on warmth and comfort. Then the warmth started to soothe the pain in my cheek where both Wells and Ambrose had hit me.

Shadows, that felt so good, so?—

Panic surged through me.

Shit. I had to keep the bruise. The men in the Black Tower would ask questions if it were gone. I had to stop this.