Page 10 of Petrified

“I was asleep,” I tell him, sliding my hand under the back of his shirt and rubbing slowly between his shoulders. “That’s generally when people move without asking permission.”

Lev mutters something into my chest that I don’t bother making him repeat. The tension under my palm is still there, though, tight through his shoulders even while he’s draped over me like he owns the space.

I shift farther into the couch and the ache beneath my ribs catches enough to make my next breath shorter. Lev’s head comes up immediately, but before he can ask, I catch him behind the neck and pull him down until his mouth is close to mine.

“It aches,” I tell him. “That’s all. It isn’t getting worse, and nothing is turning back to stone.”

“You said you were fine yesterday while half your body was decorative.” Lev narrows his eyes at me, but he lets me keep my hand on his neck. “Your scale is clearly fucked.”

“That’s why Gerald has a healer waiting.”

Amand’s phone is already in his hand. “He wants us there in about twenty minutes. He said the scan should tell us whether the weakness is from lingering petrification or actual damage.”

Lev pushes himself upright so fast that his shirt rides halfway up his stomach. “Actual damage wasn’t one of the options anybody mentioned yesterday.”

“Because yesterday we were slightly more focused on getting Rowan’s lungs to work again.” Amand catches Lev’s ankle when he starts climbing off me. “You have time to panic after you put pants on.”

Lev looks down at himself, apparently remembering he stole one of my shirts this morning and never bothered with anything beyond boxers. “I’m not panicking. I’m being appropriately hostile toward new information.”

I catch the hem of the shirt before he can escape completely and pull him back down far enough to kiss him. He makes an annoyed sound against my mouth that lasts about a second before his fingers slide into my hair and his body settles against mine again.

The bond catches quickly enough that Lev shifts farther over my lap before Amand reaches across and closes a hand around his ankle. “Not today.” Lev looks ready to argue, but Amand tips his chin toward my chest. “You can wait until the healer clears him.”

Lev pulls back from me and looks between us. “Both of you are deeply irritating when you cooperate.”

“You like us.”

“I tolerate you because moving would be inconvenient.”

I tighten my arm around his waist. “That sounds convincing.”

His mouth twitches despite himself, and some of the tension finally eases out of his face. He stays where he is for another minute before Amand reminds him, for the second time, that boxers don't count as pants if we’re leaving the house.

Lev gives him the middle finger without looking away from me. “You’re very controlling for someone who spent yesterday laughing at a medical emergency.”

Amand picks his tablet back up. “You were funny until you weren’t.”

“That’s not the defense you think it is.” Lev pushes himself off me anyway, muttering about betrayal while he heads upstairs.

By the time we reach Essence, I’m tired enough to stop pretending the scan is unnecessary. The ache has settled deeper beneath my ribs, and the stairs take more out of me than they should. Lev notices somewhere around the second landing and immediately slows, but instead of saying anything, he hooks two fingers into mine and keeps pace beside me.

Amand looks over once. I know that look. He’s noticed the same thing I have: Lev is trying very hard not to make this worse by fussing out loud.

Gerald is waiting in his office with one of the agency healers and a scanner already set up beside the desk. Lev spots the equipment first and points at it before anyone can say hello. “If that thing has a needle hidden in it, I’m leaving Rowan here and waiting in the hall.”

The healer looks between us. “You’re not the patient.”

“That has never stopped medical professionals from becoming creative.”

I catch the back of his shirt before he can inspect the scanner himself. “Sit down before she decides you need to be sedated.”

“For what?”

“General purposes.”

Amand takes the chair beside mine while Lev stays on his feet, close enough that his leg brushes my knee when the healer starts the scan. He doesn’t move away when I catch his hand, and by the second pass over my chest, his fingers have threaded tightly through mine.

The healer adjusts the scanner and goes over the same area again. Lev sees the change in her expression before I do. “What did you find?”