Wicked Waves: Solsti Prophecy #2 (32 page)

The three elves ignored him and stared at Brooke. “Solsti?” they breathed as one, eyes huge.

“Solsti.” Mathias nodded.

The elves dropped to their knees, murmuring, “My lady.”

Brooke opened her mouth and then closed it.
What do I say to that
?
 
She swallowed, her limbs trembling as the adrenaline fled her veins. “Kai?” she whispered.

In a heartbeat, he stood before her and folded her into his arms. “Shh, it’s okay, baby,” he murmured. “I’ve got you. He’ll never touch you again.”

She melted into his strength. Her muscles shook like Jello, but her body sucked in his warmth like a drug. Mathias called her
Kai’s female
. God help her, but those words sounded perfect. He had saved her life again, and she had gotten them safely away from Draven’s prison.

Her throat went dry and her muscles shook harder as emotion rocketed through her.
I need him
.

Jumbled words tried to shove their way out of her mouth, none of them linking to form a successful sentence. “I couldn’t… He…”

“Shh, Brooke.” Kai tilted his head, peering at her face. “We can talk later. Your cheek…”

Images of the fight fast-forwarded through her mind. Her eyes dropped to his arm. His very bloody arm. “You’re hurt, too.” She grabbed his elbow and pulled it close, then wished she hadn’t. Her stomach churned at the layers of torn muscle and the flash of white deep inside. “I…I can see the bone!
 
Kai, this is bad!
 
Really bad.”

“I’ve had worse,” he shrugged.

“You have it worse, right now, my friend.” Mathias voice rumbled next to them. He pointed to Kai’s leg where the blade had plunged in.

Brooke’s stomach threatened to heave again. The wound no longer smoked, but the area around it was black and ashy.

Kai winced as if just remembering it. “Fucking mage’s poison.”

“We need to treat that, like five minutes ago,” Mathias said. “There’s medical supplies at the safe house. We need to get back.”

“You wanna take care of them first?” Kai jerked his head toward the elves.

“On it.”
 
Mathias strode back to the threesome.

“What do you mean, ‘take care of them’”?
 
Brooke asked. “He won’t hurt them, will he?”

“Naw. He’s just gonna scrub their memories.”

“
What?”
Her jaw dropped in shock. “Memories again?
 
How many of you can do that?”

“Very few. You just happened to meet two who have the ability in two days.”

“But why?
 
The elves are on our side.”

“I know, Sprite. But Cale is still out there. Archery skills are one thing. But seeing a brother tortured is something else entirely.”
 
Kai shook his head. “As long as those three know about us—and about you—they’re a liability. They can search for their brothers, but it’s better if they don’t remember us.”

She frowned. Poor Jason. “Does it hurt?”

“No.”

“Can Mathias restore the memories, when this is over?”

“Yes.” Kai trailed his hands down her arms, tangling his fingers with hers. “Would that make you feel better?”

“Yeah. I understand, but this just doesn’t seem fair.”

Kai grimaced. “The definition of
fair
is mutable, Brooke.”

Mathias walked over to join them. “They’re zoned out for the next five minutes. Let’s move before we meet any more friends.”

C
HAPTER
22

T
HE
HOUR
-
LONG
WALK
TO
THE
safe house couldn’t go fast enough. With every step, Kai got closer to cutting off his damn leg just to stop the pain. He didn’t want Brooke to know it felt like a hive of Torth’s infamous fire bees had taken up residence in his thigh. But as they began the slow climb to the entrance of the safe house, he let out a soft curse.

Her gray eyes flashed with concern. “We’re almost there. You can do this.”

Shit
. He didn’t want to look like a pansy in front of her. Then again, she’d seen him after Draven’s men had turned his body into ground beef, and she was still here.
Well, where the hell would she go?
 
We’re in a fucking wasteland.
He shook his head to clear it.

Mage poison was nasty. Every mage created his own special blend, so you had no idea exactly what the effects would be. It could involve anything from withering limbs to a three-day coma. Thanks to his many assignments on Earth, this was his first, and hopefully last, exposure.

They reached the ledge and slipped into the rocky corridor. He gritted his teeth and only now allowed himself to limp. Brooke slid her arm around his waist, and a burst of lilac scent wafted up to him. He inhaled, soaking in her essence. She was better than medicine. She soothed his soul.

Stumbling into the living area, he collapsed onto the leather couch.

“Get his pants off,” Mathias barked as he opened a door in the hallway.

Brooke’s slender fingers made quick work of Kai’s belt and zipper. He lifted his hips to make it easier for her to start tugging his pants down, his vision blurring from the pain. On a sharp exhale, he dropped his weight back down.

“Sorry.” Her voice was soft, her face pinched.

“S’okay.” It really wasn’t okay, but there was no need to make her feel worse about it. He sent up a silent prayer of thanks that she didn’t have to repeat the process with his boxer briefs, since the gash was lower down on his thigh.

She peeled his pants back slowly, stopping when she got to the wound, and leaned in to peer at it. A strand of hair fell forward to tickle his groin.
Damn
. In any other situation, his cock would be standing up to greet her.

“It’s, um, stuck. The fabric is stuck to you,” she whispered. “What should I do?”

The cotton had adhered to the mix of blood and poison.
Great.

“It has to come off,” Mathias said, coming up behind her. “Better to do it fast.”

“Maybe you should do it,” she said in a trembling voice. She scooted farther down the couch, making room for Mathias.

“Ready, man?” Mathias dark form loomed, blocking the fire bulbs overhead.

“Do it,” Kai gritted.

Kai roared in agony as Mathias ripped his pants from the wound. A good twelve inches of black shit covered his thigh, making his skin crusty and bumpy. The puncture welled dark red with fresh blood.

“Now for the fun part.” Mathias grimaced. He dropped a towel across Kai’s groin, then unscrewed the top from a small brown glass bottle. A dropper attached to the lid glistened with clear liquid.
 
“This is gonna sting.”
 
He squeezed three drops into the wound.

Kai arched off the couch and bellowed every curse he knew, and some newly made-up ones as well. His leg felt like it was being filleted with a jagged rusty knife and stomped on by an army. He dug his fingers into his good leg and ground his teeth so hard he thought they’d crack.

“It’s supposed to hurt for a few minutes. Breathe through it,” Mathias said.

Fuck
. This was worse than—
 

“Shh.” Brooke knelt on the floor next to the couch and stroked his hair. She kissed his forehead. “You’ll feel better soon.”
 
Her scent curled around the rampant pain, buffering him. Then the room filled with the sweet siren song of her voice, her soprano so pure it caught his heart in a buoyant aria.

Hell if he could make out any of the words through the splintering riot in his head, but he prayed she wouldn’t stop. Gentle warmth flowed through every nerve ending in his body, caressing him, calming him, bringing him down from that precipice of poison fire. With her garrison of stanzas and notes, Brooke locked his agony away.

His ragged breaths slowed, and one by one his muscles relaxed. He looked into her gray eyes and could have drowned in the affection glowing there.
Affection?
 
What exactly does she feel for me?
 
He reached for her hand and clasped it tightly. Her scent, her touch, her voice worked together to give him a reserve of strength. He tested his leg. Squeezing his quadricep, he prepared for the worst and felt…only a dull ache.

He let out the breath he’d been holding. As she finished the last line of the song, her eyes flicked to his wound before returning to his face. The relief that shone there mirrored what his body felt.

I love you
.

His heart sang the words that his voice couldn’t form. He reached for a lock of her hair and tugged gently, bringing her face close. As her soft lips met his, his blood fired anew with possessive joy. She was his other half. His mate.
Mine.

The sound of Mathias clearing his throat yanked Kai out of his reverie. “Dude, you got no pants on, so I’m gonna get lost.
 
First aid kit’s right here. Your leg still looks like shit, but the worst part is over. You can clean it now. Your arm, too. But we’re staying tight for the rest of today and tonight, to make sure you’re good to go. Both of you.”

Heavy footfalls thudded into the hallway and a door clicked shut.
Shit
. Brooke had been attacked and terrified. Her cheek played the role of Draven’s punching bag, and he had been too much of a nancy to treat her first. What the hell did he know about being a mate?

He sat up fast and the room spun in a lazy circle. The couch cushions became his life preserver. He clutched them in a white-knuckled grip.

“Hey, there’s no rush,” Brooke whispered. She looked at his injured arm, her brows knitting together. “I don’t see bone anymore.”

Kai bit back the urge to tell her where she was going to see another bone pretty soon. Right now, he had to take care of her. “Let me see your face.”

She sat next to him as he inspected her. “It doesn’t hurt that much.”

“It’s already healing.”
 
He grabbed an anti-bacterial wipe from the kit and dabbed at the ragged cut. Next he unwrapped a pair of sterile tweezers and removed a tiny pebble that had been ground into it. She flinched.

“Sorry, Sprite. We gotta get all this out.”

“I know. I’m just being a baby. That knife wound is much worse.”

He set down the tweezers and took her hands. “Brooke, you were so brave today. When that magic barrier came down and I saw that fucker with his hands all over you…I was gonna rip him apart. Starting with his dick. Then setting each limb on fire.”

She stared at him, tears shining in her eyes.

“You’re a fighter. You’re strong.”
 
He kissed her forehead. “Not a baby.”

“I…He…” The haunted look in her eyes broke his heart. “I feel so disgusting,” she whispered. “I just want to get clean.”

“Then let’s go get clean.”
 
He grabbed some gauze and bandages and stood up slowly, still holding her hand. “I don’t think I can carry you this time, though.”

She gave him a small smile. “I wouldn’t let you, you big lug.”

“Big lug?”
 
He quirked an eyebrow.

She gave another tentative smile.

“Come here.”
 
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. The urge to make sure she was okay, to make her world right after what Draven had done, crashed over him in a wave. He’d treat her like hand-blown glass. Guard her like a priceless gem. Hell, she’d probably tell him to knock it off. Not that he’d listen. His woman was tough, but she still needed tenderness.
 
Tucking her to his side, he guided her into the hallway.

Brooke drew warmth from Kai’s body as they walked to the room they’d shared last night. He pushed the door shut and led her into the bathroom.

“Oh
God
,” she said as she caught her reflection in the huge mirror. Scabs and purple bruises covered one side of her face, from eye to jaw, from ear to nose. Fresh tears welled in her eyes as she stared in horror. The memory of Draven’s hand stung again, and she shuddered.

She raised her hand to touch her face, but Kai grasped it gently, moving in close behind her. His nearness anchored her, the heat of his body creating a cocoon of comfort. He found her other hand and wrapped her in a bear hug, both of them facing the mirror.

The mirror. Yesterday’s scorching encounter with Kai, in front of this same mirror, seemed like a hundred years ago. She released a shaky breath as fear loomed at the edges of her mind. Thoughts circled like predators.
What if Kai hadn’t gotten there in time?
 
What if the Serus hadn’t breathed its toxin?
 
What if Draven had…

“You’re beautiful, Brooke.” Kai kissed her hair, pulling her back to the present. “You always have been. You’re powerful, and stronger than you know.”
 

Her watery eyes met his in the mirror. “You saved me,” she whispered. “Twice.”

“You saved me, too. Bet you’ll do it again before this shit’s over.”

She swallowed and sniffled, turning to bury her face in his chest. Kai folded her in close, holding her as tears streaked down her face. He stroked her hair, her back, her shoulders, until her breaths came evenly.

“Remember what you did to that scrub grass when we first got here?
 
Baby, I know you can do that trick on something a lot bigger than grass.”
 
He kissed the tip of her ear.

She met his warm, twinkling eyes. “You’ve always believed in me.”

“Hell yeah. I’ve never seen anything like your power. Someday you’ll probably be able to make it rain. Maybe even make Stroehm look like a jungle.”

Despite the vestiges of fear lurking in her mind, she couldn’t suppress a half-smile. “But I couldn’t defend myself today.”

“You did, baby. You broke that spell.”

“Only because of luck.”
 
Dejection stole her flash of mirth.
The Neshi attack
. She hadn’t been able to help herself then, either.

“No.”
 
His arms tightened around her waist. “Not luck. You’ve been working hard. A month ago, you couldn’t separate water from whatever molecular shit it’s attached to.”