Page 20 of The Vampire Oracle
“Oops.” He shrugged, moving to a room off to the side.
My eyes landed on Osiris who was punching a punching bag. He was focused, barely looking at us. But as we were following Kier, his head turned.
Was he looking at me? Would he even look at me?
The room was some type of training relaxation area with a table. Kier and Cozen took their time setting up the room to Cozen’s needs while Beck sat against the wall with me.
“Looks like he’s going to have a new friend,” Beck explained to me.
I snorted. “Whatever makes this go by quicker.”
“You don’t want him here?”
A sigh escaped me. “It’s not that. I just don’t need people getting hurt for me. I just want everyone to be safe.”
“Hurt… Who’s after you?”
“No one in particular, but if someone wants to stay hidden and dead, they have to really stay hidden and dead. That’s the price he made because he wanted to fake his death.”
Beck cocked a brow. “I feel some sourness in your tone…”
Rolling my eyes, I ignored him. I wasn’t sour. It was just not the choice I wanted us to make. He made the impulse choice to die and not return to Ashbourne with me. I was left alone. Maybe, I was a bit hurt. I missed him a lot, but we both had different lives that we couldn’t drop for one another.
Cozen patted the table, and I moved to it, using one arm to take off my shirt, leaving me in just a bra. He barely blinked like he’d seen me like this before.
I lay on the table, letting my dead arm be pulled toward Cozen.
“What the fuck did you do to it?” Cozen groaned.
I shrugged. “Fought…”
He growled, working on getting a closer look and making a list of what he needed. “I don’t know how I’m going to be able to fix this.”
“You’re not,” Kier said. “You’re going to build a new one.”
Our heads snapped to him.
“Even with all the money I have saved and what the academy is giving, I don’t have enough.”
“I’m paying for it,” he announced, hands on his wide hips.
“Excuse me?” My brows pulled.
“I am paying for you to get a new arm. That one is old and can barely do anything in a fight.”
Cozen sighed. “He’s right. It’s rusted and half of the nerve slips are slipping.”
“I can tell,” I muttered, constantly feeling each slip that happened. “But that doesn’t mean you should pay for this. That’s a lot of money, Kier.”
“I know… I’m paying for it, and that’s final. Don’t fight me.”
Our eyes met, and though the gesture was sweet, I couldn’t help but worry about a motive.
His eyes ran over my body before he crossed his heavy arms and left.
Cozen began taking off my arm, which was Beck’s cue to leave, or at least just step out.
My eyes were glued to the ceiling, replaying everything that he said. Kier didn’t like me, or I thought he didn’t. And now he was paying for my new arm.