Group Negotiations
My eyes burned, my ankle throbbed, and my skin felt so sensitive, it was as if I'd been gently boiled, but I woke with a start and with a certainty.
"Ezra!" I cried.
Warmth followed my back as I sat up straighter, the support of solid muscle, and a breath cascaded over my shoulder. "Here, sweet girl," he rasped.
The room was a little blurred and foggy, but we weren't alone. There was another figure to my right by the door, and a third to the left, but looking made me dizzy so I shut my eyes.
Carefully, fingertips rested against my shoulder, their touch relaxing and sliding down as I sighed and fell back into Ezra's chest. He was here. Had he been the whole time or…
"You're not supposed to be here," I said, and then grimaced at myself. Ezra only chuckled.
Another hand settled on my left knee, thumb brushing once. "He is now, mon coeur."
I forced my eyes open, reaching out, moaning a little as Auguste's hand lifted from my knee to take my hand in a tight, but comforting grip. Pale, perfect eyes black and expression tight, my gentleman vampire. He scooted closer, leaning in to press his forehead against mine.
"I am taking care of Mr. MacKenna's membership," Auguste murmured.
Ezra rested his bristly chin against my other shoulder, and I took a slow breath in and out, relieved to find their closeness easy rather than overwhelming.
"Not that Mags would dare throw you out now," Auguste added to the other man.
"Not that it would've worked if she had tried," Ezra muttered. "Though I barely made it back in time."
"What was in the water?" I asked, my voice dropping as I shuddered. I didn't want to believe that Magdalena had known what she was sending me down to meet.
"Water wraith. Skilled at illusions."
It took me a moment to place the voice, and when I searched the room, I finally found the hulking shadow through the doorway to my dining area. Mr. Tanner.
"Magdalena is dealing with the situation now," Auguste bit out. "Jonathon and I were on our way here to take you to the city tomorrow evening, and he's tended to you."
I was squinting at Mr. Tanner's shadow when he rumbled again. "Your eyes will heal soon. Better not to strain."
"Then you should come closer so I can see you," I said, but he grunted and remained in the darker room.
Which left the figure by the door. Black suit and pale skin. Booker.
I patted the bed and let my eyes fall shut again as I hear Booker's steps thunk closer, the bed creaking under his weight.
"Can't swim," Booker said, the words grating in his throat.
There was a giggle, bright and a little dizzy, and it took me a moment to realize it must've been mine, of course. Booker couldn't swim. He was made of marble for goodness' sake, he would sink. I caught my breath before hysteria took over, wiggling back against Ezra's warmth to sit up straight.
"Tell me what happened."
Ezra's arms circled around my waist, thick bands of comforting muscle, invisible but reassuringly present and familiar.
"I kept my word to Madame Mortimer and stayed outside the bounds of the ward. But I kept close, and…wards are a funny feeling. An urge to turn the other direction a bit. So I knew when they kept cracking in different places. I was coming just to tell her myself when I saw you and Booker heading downstairs and I…"
My lips curled slightly and I tipped my head, rubbing my cheek against Ezra’s. "Couldn't help yourself from following?"
He hummed his agreement. "Kept back on the stairs until I heard Booker bellowing for you. He was up to his eyeballs in the water when I got there, but he listened when I told him to go get Mortimer."
"I couldn't get away from that thing no matter how hard I tried," I said, frowning.
"Ah, well, that was part of the charm from the witch—I can't be caught. To be honest, I didn't really know it was working until now."
Auguste cleared his throat. "It may be that the beast was concentrating its effort on Esther. Regardless, I am very grateful you were nearby."
Booker grunted his agreement, and Ezra helped me shuffle to my stone golem, Auguste careful to keep my ankle propped up.
"Oh, Booker, you're soaked!" I gasped as I reached around him in a hug. I pressed my lips to his cheek, smiling into the kiss as his hands helped themselves to a brief squeeze of my ass. "Thank you for trying to rescue me and for getting Magdalena. Lord, I feel sore!"
My whole body seemed to tremble with any effort to move, and all three men on the bed with me were quick to rearrange me back into my reclining position. Out from the shadows stepped Dr. Underwood, bright hair gleaming under the lamp as he came to join us, a little glint of green remaining in his eyes.
"That's the strain from trying to free yourself," Underwood said, his eyes tracking quickly back and forth over my face. "It didn't seem that anything else was sprained, but tell me if there's any more pain."
"Come here," I murmured, and Auguste traded places with the doctor quickly. I smiled at his worried face, leaning forward. "Jonathon."
Dr. Underwood, Jonathon, sighed and his hands reached up to cup my face, drawing me in for a gentle kiss against my lips and then up to my forehead. The door to my bedroom opened at that moment, and I recognized the feminine sigh, or guessed who it came from at least.
"Esther, I'm so dreadfully sorry," Magdalena said from the doorway, a tray of tea in her hands and a weary, frazzled expression on her face, hair sticking out at odd angles. "You must know, I had no notion—"
"Of course not," I said with a shrug, although I'd considered dark versions of the event while in the water.
"That was not the gentleman I thought was coming at all. It was an absolute deception and I—" Magdalena gasped and the tray rattled, Booker rising to take it from her. "I'm in a bit of a panic. Something's terribly wrong, and I—"
"Perhaps this might be better discussed elsewhere," Auguste said, and I was surprised by the aggressive look on his face, the way he glared at the woman and stood with his arms crossed over his chest. He'd seemed angry, but I hadn't realized it was with the Rooksgrave's Madame.
Magdalena straightened, her own face hardening and chin lifting. "A wraith entered the grotto. I will determine how, and how it made itself an introduction via our personal communications. There will be no unfamiliar visitors until I am certain I have Rooksgrave back under—"