“Yes, sir.” The Dominion captain saluted.
“Let’s go to the house.” Héctor pulled me against his chest. “I need to tend to my lamb.”
I needed to tend to them, all of them. It was my turn to take care of my men. After that, I’d visit my friends here. I was relieved that they were safe and in good hands now.
The five of us teleported to Héctor’s house at the edge of the campus.
Despite suffering from severe wounds, all four of them insisted on inspecting me. I knew how protective they were. It would eat up more time and energy to fight them over this. So I let them.
Only when they were sure I only had bruises and minor cuts—they also insisted on bandaging me first—were they relaxed enough to check their own wounds.
Axel, who was in better shape than the other demigods, brought in two vials of elixir while the others lounged around the couch, unwilling to move an inch.
“They’re all we’ve got left now,” Axel said.
“Give one to my lamb and the other to Paxton,” Héctor said.
“Are you crazy?” I shouted. “Axel and I are the only ones who came out of the battle intact.”
They’d forced a vial of elixir down my throat after I’d recovered from battling Paxton. If I’d known how few doses they had, I never would’ve accepted it.
“You’re spent,” Héctor said. “You used up all of your power. You need energy.”
Fatigue sank into my bones, but I wasn’t bleeding like them.
“I can feed from you later,” I said, my face flushing.
“Rosebud can feed from us,” Zak agreed. “Héctor, you look like shit. The archdemons not only cleaved part of your wing, they laced their blades with the most potent venom from Hell.”
“They were hellbent on taking out our fiercest warrior to weaken us,” Paxton said in a tight voice. “It’s no longer about checks and balances between the two halves of Earth anymore.”
“Ares wanted the demons to murder Héctor,” I said, fury burning in my soul. “They’ll all die.”
“They will,” Axel said softly, yet fierce flames burned in his golden eyes.
He handed Héctor a vial of elixir that looked like a vial of blood.
“It’s a wonder you can still stand, old boy,” Axel grunted.
Zak glanced at me as if he credited me for Héctor not collapsing.
My Héctor had nearly lost a wing. It pained me to see his wing draping behind him like that. I had felt his agony through our bond. Even now I could still feel his agonizing pain, though he hadn’t groaned once.
“You need to take the elixir now, Héctor,” I insisted, studying his pale face before darting a frantic gaze at Zak. “It’ll purge the poison, right?”
“It will eventually,” Zak said.
“What are you waiting for?” I demanded. “Drink it now.”
Héctor smiled. “My lamb is concerned about my wellbeing.”
He opened the seal of the vial and emptied the liquid into his mouth.
Then he swayed. I rushed to him. Axel caught him from his other side and let the death demigod lean his weight on him.
“I need to regenerate in the basement,” Héctor said, sweeping his gaze from me to Axel. “Feed my lamb.”
He then staggered toward the stairs that led to the basement. I wanted to follow him to take care of him, but I knew how damn proud all the demigods were. They didn’t like anyone, not even me, to see their vulnerability.