“They have our table ready.” Croy stated, standing by us. All of them had pristine suits on and they looked so handsome. I felt a bit annoyed that other women could see them like this. I knew that was irrational but it was this little pulse of frustration in my chest. Something in my head demanded that these men stay mine, forever. I wonder if claiming them with a mating mark would help.
“Henry,” I tugged his hand as he put away his phone.
“What’s up, sweetheart?” He offered me an affectionate look as I preened a bit.
“Why is Brigitte Caron a big deal? She offered a personal tour of France next time we are here but the guys are acting weird about it,” I frowned.
Henry’s eyes lit up, “That would be because Brigitte Caron is the wife of the French president.”
My lips popped open as I blushed, “I was talking to the First Lady of France?”
“The very one.” He pulled out my chair as my eyes moved across the room where the woman in question smiled at me. She was next to a handsome man that was making everyone laugh at their small table. I couldn’t help but smile before I clued back into what was happening at my own table. Halfway through dinner, right as they were leaving, the waiter brought over a bottle of champagne that they had bought us.
“She is so sweet,” I chimed as Marco, who was sitting next to me, rubbed my leg. The others had been talking about some trade deal that I partially zoned out of despite their attempt to bring me into it.
“You’re sweeter,” Marco mumbled as I leaned into him, my head resting on his chest.
I frowned after a moment as my stomach felt like a pinched pain hit it. My nails dug into Marco’s arm slightly as my face flushed. The back of my neck felt very warm all of the sudden. I’d never been sick before. Whatever the heck was going on with me right now, did not feel good.
I think I touched maybe a bit of my food and not more than a sip of champagne before we finished and they realized I wasn’t feeling well. My symptoms had progressed pretty quickly and it felt like an odd flash of illness came over me like a wave. What the heck?
“You okay, angel?” Atlas frowned as Croy’s eyes snapped up from where they had been talking to Henry. The table focused on me as I swallowed, shaking my head.
“I’m not feeling very good,” I admitted as Ledger, who sat on the other side of me shifted my hair off the back of my neck, pressing a hand to my slightly sweaty skin.
“Shit, I think she has a fever,” he said, frowning.
Marco looked down at me alarmed as he pressed the outside of his hand to my forehead, my eyes closing as a wave of fatigue hit me pretty hard. Maybe I was just tired? That was possible, wasn’t it? I curled into Marco as they talked in low tones probably arranging for us to leave the restaurant.
“I would prefer to get back stateside, Marco,” Henry said softly, “especially if it’s something supernatural related, we don’t have nearly as many connections here. Getting privacy in a hospital could prove to be difficult.”
“I feel bad,” I mumbled under my breath as Anani helped me up along with his brother.
Croy kept offering me looks and I almost smiled as he decided to just pick me up, my head pressing against his neck as he mentioned how warm I felt. I realized we were taking a different exit, when the waiters led us to a small elevator that looked far more functional.
I sighed into his chest as the motion of the elevator had me whimpering and feeling like I was going to throw up anything I’d eaten. It was so bad that when we exited the elevator I motioned for Croy to put me down before pushing through the glass door onto the service entry section of the Eiffel tower. I sat down on the pavement, putting my head between my knees as I tried to breathe through how awful I felt.
“We need to get her to the jet,” someone said as the warm body behind me let out a rumble. Then Atlas was lifting me into his arms and I felt a bit better, my eyes fluttering shut as he rhythmically smoothed over my hair. The nausea subsided but I still felt dizzy. It wasn’t until we were back out at a dark SUV that I realized we weren’t at the hotel.
“Bella,” I looked up at Atlas.
“Already on the jet,” he assured softly. “Don’t worry, angel. Everything is taken care of.” I believed him.
Exhaustion rolled over me as I realized that something might be seriously wrong. The fluttering inside my chest felt panicked and when I closed my eyes, they didn’t reopen. Sleep completely drowning me.
***
Marco
MY EYES TRACKED HERslow, even pulse as I ran a hand through my hair, her small elegant fingers wrapped around my own. I ran a thumb over the pink diamond and rose gold bracelet on her wrist that somehow only made her oversized t-shirt and boyshorts appearance seem more attractive. Her dark hair was pulled away from her face and the pale tone to her skin had my dragon freaking the fuck out. Henry was taking her temperature every so often as well as her pulse, his medical kit on the bed next to him as he stared at her with concern.
Both Croy and Sai had been kicked out of the room because they’d been way too worked up. Which was very surprising for the first, not so much for the second. The twins looked worried and Atlas... I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Even now he sat in the corner of the room just looking at her with dark eyes making me wonder what he was thinking about. I looked back at Maya and I think I knew.
I was terrified something was wrong with her. For whatever reason, this would be the moment I would remember forever; realizing just how crazy I was about Maya. I’d gone through a lot in the two and a half decades I’d been alive and I’d never felt panic and worry like this. Any cool composure was gone, I needed her eyes to open because they hadn’t since she passed out in Atlas's arms.
When she had died, it had been horrifying. When Lorn had attacked her it had made me beyond furious. So I had no idea why this sudden illness scared me so much, every sign pointed to it being possibly the stomach flu or something similar. But that didn’t stop me from worrying and every moment that passed made me want to try to wake her.
Henry’s advice was to let her sleep but what the fuck did he know, right? I looked at the temperature he had just recorded and I shook my head 105. That wasn’t normal. But she wasn’t human and I knew that sometimes coming into power could result in feeling sick and off balance.