Ihear Cassandra's voice the moment I climb the stairs. She's awake. Fuck, she's awake. Good grief. Even knowing she gets exhausted after using her powers, seeing her blackout like that was not the best part of my day.
Rushing down the corridor to our room, I slam the door open, maybe a bit too eager. My wound stretches and burns to the sudden move, but I keep the painful hiss behind my teeth. My dragon helps, his happiness at seeing our mate flooding my veins with feel-good hormones.
Cassandra snaps her head at me. Her dark hair is mussed from sleep,and we need to get her new clothes. This shirt was sexy when I bought it to her, but now it's near shredded. She's still sexy in it, but I'm sure she would like to change.
What I don't like to see is how her eyes are red and swollen. Rage supplants the feel-good hormones, rushing so fast through me I go dizzy. I bare my teeth, looking between the two men sandwiching her, then to the dog. Even he is a suspect. Even he could have hurt her.
Cassandra lays her eyes on me and bursts into tears. Her shoulders shake with the strength of it, and every sob is a knife straight to the slowly-healing wound in my abdomen. My dragon rises, growling inside me, wanting death.
"Who the fuck made her cry?" I roar, slamming the door behind me.
Ren opens a shit-eating grin. "You, sort of."
That makes me stop. I take another look at her. Cassandra turns to me, crawling closer on the bed. "Apollo," she stutters out, her voice breaking. "You're alive!"
I let the plastic bag I carry drop and race to her, picking her up in my arms. Cassandra flings hers around my neck, pressing her chest to me, touching every inch of her body against mine. I inhale her in, my eyelids closing. Her scent intoxicates me, drives me near madness every time. Fuck, I'm so knee-deep in love with this woman I can't even put it into words. Seeing her fine, awake, healthy, is the best thing I could hope for.
Cassandra doesn't let me go, not even an inch, so I don't either. We stay like that, pressed to one another, our hearts beating in tandem.
"Maybe we should take a walk," Ren says, getting up from the bed. He snaps his fingers at the dog, who follows him.
Tristan arches an eyebrow. "A walk? Where?" What a clueless fool. I can't deny he makes me smile. A little.
"Just follow me, Tristan," Ren says with a chuckle, winking my way. The three leave, closing the door behind them with much less force than I did.
It still takes Cassandra a long, warm moment to pull back. She does so only slightly. She stopped crying, and I lean closer to press kisses to each of her cheeks, wiping the tears away with my lips.
"You're alive," she murmurs against my mouth.
"Of course I am." I smile, forcing myself to sound reassuring. "You think that would kill me?"
That could have killed me easily. I was lucky as fuck. The motherfucker had some sharp claws, and I don't know what the fuck are fae nails made of, but he managed to pierce through my skin. My human shape doesn't have skin as strong as my dragon's scales, but I'm still tough. Fucker must have had magic on his side.
Cassandra chews on her bottom lip. "I saw you falling, and I didn't see you after. I was sure you were dead. It hurt so much." Her whole face scrunches in pain and I kiss her nose this time.
"I'm not dead. I'm here."
She sobs once more and I end the space between us, holding her as close as I can. I put her legs around my waist and sit down on the bed, bringing her with me. She stays there, straddled over my hard cock, her face buried in my neck. I stroke her back, letting her ride her emotions, letting them settle. She needs this. She needs this moment to let reality sink in. Things have moved fast, and taken twists and turns through these past days, and she deserves a rest.
We all deserve a rest. I just need to find a safe place first.
My fingers rope through her long, dark hair, and I massage her scalp until her sobs stop and her breathing quivers back to calm, deep breaths. Her body fits mine, molding against me as she relaxes in my hold.
"Everything's alright," I breathe against her, inhaling her scent.
She pulls back, meeting my eyes. "Everything is not alright, Apollo. When we met, I was being hunted by the human police and the New Council. Now, there's the Collector, and Kayn, and Prince probably had some friends who'll probably come after us too. I mean..." She scoffs. "That's just my luck."
My hands scrape down her body to grip her around the waist. "Hey. No matter who's after you, we have each other. Isn't that good enough?"
She cocks her head, dark hair cascading down her arm. "Apollo, don't get me wrong. I love that you're with me, but it isn't enough. How am I going to keep you safe? I barely understand this power."
"First, we keep each other safe. Second, we'll just figure it out. We'll find mages or history specialists. Someone out there will be able to help."
Cassandra twists her lips, looking away. "This is becoming too dangerous. Seeing you getting hurt..."
"Hey." I nudge her chin with my nose so she looks back at me. "We got caught off guard. It won't repeat itself. We just need a safe place to lie low for a while, and then we'll look for someone to teach you some magic."
"You make it sound like it's so simple."