Page 52 of Avaritia

He found a dark enough point of entry, gliding through it before reappearing a moment later, shaking his head. “It’s a narrow crevice in the rocks, too narrow for any human body to fit through. Astrid, you’re no use to anyone if you’re injured yourself,” he added, cutting off her objections.

Astrid swore, pacing back and forth.

“How populated is the area?” Soren demanded. “What are the chances of someone coming across and taking her to a human healer?”

“I believe it’s well-traveled during daylight hours,” I replied, hating the idea of Verity being taken away by human authorities. She’d be so frightened when she woke up.

“Shit, I need to get out of here. If she’s moved to a hospital, we might never find her,” Astrid pointed out.

I cleared my throat. “We’ll be able to find her.”

Soren and Astrid turned to face me at the same time, horror and suspicion written all over both of them.

“You didn’t,” Astrid said flatly. “Tell me you didn’t.”

“I did. Verity is my mate.”

Chapter 17

“Ma’am, can you hear me?”

There were voices all around me, people jostling my aching body, forcing me to move.

“Everything is going to be okay,” a woman said in a voice that was somehow both calming and efficient. Like she did this all the time. I sternly told my eyelids to get out of the way so I could see her, let her know that I was… well, not great, but I’d be okay. But my eyelids weren’t in the mood to cooperate. They felt as though they weighed a thousand pounds each, but it was probably the least of my problems, in all honesty, because at least they didn’t hurt. Everything else hurt.

Was I dying? If so, this was not a comfortable transition to the afterlife and didn’t bode well for me.

There were conversations happening above me, though my focus slipped in and out, despite my best efforts. Someone mentioned the hospital. Okay.

Okay. Not dead.

Yet.

Unless they took dead people to the hospital?

Maybe.

It didn’t matter. I didn’t want to stay here, regardless. I wanted to go home, and home wasn’t here. I had to leave.

After a little nap. Yes, that was a good idea. I’d just take a little nap, and then I’d explain to the nice doctors that I didn’t belong in this world, and be on my merry way.

An irritating, incessant beeping woke me up. Before I’d even opened my eyes, the sterile scent of industrial cleaning solution and fluorescent lights above me gave my location away.

How had I ended up here?

Right. There was an accident. Theon had been there. We’d been perched precariously in a rocky canyon. It was windy.

I swallowed—more out of reflex than need. My throat was parched, and tight with the need to cry, though I was probably too dehydrated for tears. I couldn’t remember exactly what happened to leave me like this, but I knew I’d been feeling unsafe. Wobbly. And the wind had been so scary…

I blinked my scratchy eyes open slowly, taking in the unfamiliar hospital room, complete with bright overhead lights that made my already aching head throb more.

This was not a Shade-friendly spot. There was no way Theon could materialize into bright environment and squirrel me away back to the shadow realm.

That realization spiraled into a slew of other terrifying ones. People were going to have questions for me. Was I considered a missing person? Had anyone filed a report?

And if they had, what was I meant to say?

I forced myself to take a few deep, steadying breaths before I devolved into a full-blown panic attack, the stupid heart monitor filling the room with my stressed-out pulse.