Page 2 of The Last Aether

“Draw the blinds,” Phoenix ordered.

A moment later, the light was less. Muted through gauzy fabric. Slowly, the room came into focus. I didn’t recognize the space. It was opulent but cozy. Wallpaper with silvery trees printed on a snowy-white background. Perfectly distressed antique wood furniture. The largest four-poster bed I’d ever seen.

It was the faces that had tears leaking from my eyes and tracking down my cheeks.

“Shit, she’s crying,” Atlas said, his hands jerking away from me. “Did I hurt you? Are you in pain?”

I shook my head, trying to grab his hand again. “You’re here,” I croaked.

Phoenix leaned over me, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “We’re here. You’re safe.”

Kai stroked my thigh, assuring me of his presence too. “We won’t let anything happen to you.”

The tears came faster. I wasn’t dead. And they were here.

The bed dipped and I caught sight of Riven. He wasn’t his typical put-together self. His hair was in messy disarray that somehow only made him look sexier. The sleeves on his button-down shirt were rolled up, exposing muscular forearms, and the shirt itself was wrinkled and rumpled. But it was the dark circles rimming his eyes that had my ribs constricting.

“How do you feel?” he asked, voice gruff.

How did I feel? I tried to get ahold of the tears. Atlas seemed to sense as much, wiping them from my cheeks. As I did a mental survey, I became aware of the deep ache in my chest. As if someone had punched right through my sternum, grabbed hold of my heart, and scrambled my insides. But more than that. I felt a strong tugging sensation in several different directions.

“I—I’m not sure,” I said finally.

Lines of worry creased Phoenix’s brow. “Are you hurting?”

“Not really.”

“Don’t lie,” Atlas growled.

I sent him a small scowl. “It’s not that bad.”

I looked down at myself. They had obviously changed me at some point. I was wearing a buttoned pajama top made of the softest silk. “Am I okay?”

Kai squeezed my thigh gently. “You’re healed. But the repair needed was extensive. You’ll have to take it easy for a few days.”

My hands shook as I moved to undo the top two buttons on my shirt. As I did, I gasped. There was a spider web of cracks along my chest. Fine-lined lightning bolts of silver emanating from where the bullet had struck me.

My gaze jumped to each of them. “How?”

They shared a look.

“What?” I pressed.

Riven straightened on the bed, a little of that mask slipping back into place. “Did you see who shot you?”

“No. It was dark down there and they were wearing a hood. I think it was a man’s voice.” I strained to hear it again in my mind but couldn’t seem to quite grasp it. “I can’t be sure.”

“What did they say?” Riven pushed.

A shudder ran through me.

Phoenix glared at Riven. “That’s enough. Aura’s been through too much for an interrogation right now.”

Riven returned his glare. “We need to know what we’re up against if we have a prayer of making it through this.”

“We’re safe here. We have time,” Phoenix shot back.

“We’re not going to keep the kings off our backs much longer. They want answers.”