Page 92 of The Last Aether

Riven winced as I twisted in his hold, and I instantly stilled. He pressed his lips to my temple, breathing me in. “You smell like Heaven.”

“Riven…”

“He’s good, Aura,” Atlas assured me.

“You saved me.” Riven stared down at me in wonder. “It shouldn’t have been possible.”

My hands moved to his T-shirt, lifting it up, needing to see the wound. I gasped as I took him in.

The corner of Riven’s mouth kicked up. “Looks like you and I are going to be twins for the foreseeable future.”

The spiderweb of silver looked almost identical to mine. My fingers gently traced the metallic lightning bolts and Riven tensed beneath my touch. I snatched my hand away. “Did I hurt you?”

He shook his head. “The opposite of pain.”

My cheeks heated as my body remembered how it felt when one of my bond touched my marks.

“You’re really okay?”

Riven brushed his mouth against mine. “Thanks to you.”

Kai kneaded the back of my neck. “What about you? Do you feel all right?”

I nodded. “I don’t really know what happened. Just that I could feel Riven fading and I needed to stop it.”

Can you hear me?

Riven’s voice rang out clear as day in my mind.

It’s like you’re speaking right next to me.

Riven gave me a tentative smile. “Whatever happened, I think it deepened the Quintessence bond between us. I could see your dreams when you were out, feel when you were anxious or hurting.”

“How long was I gone this time?”

Atlas frowned. “A little over forty-eight hours.”

I scanned the room, searching. “Where’s Phoenix?”

The guys shared a look.

I struggled to sit up in bed. “What’s wrong?”

Atlas wove my fingers through his. “He wasn’t in a good place. He needed to burn off that anger, so he left to hunt his brother.”

“He left?” When Riven was healing and I was unconscious?

Riven moved in closer. “It’s what he does. How he deals with his emotions when they’re overloading him. It’s not because he doesn’t care.”

I knew that Phoenix cared. That he loved me. Loved all of us. But it didn’t change that his actions hurt. “When is he coming back?”

Everyone was silent for a moment.

Kai picked up his ministrations on my neck again. “When he finds Aiden. He needs to remove the threat. Too much happened for him to be able to just let Aiden go.”

My stomach twisted. “He went alone?”

“He didn’t want anyone with him,” Atlas explained.