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Next, I was in the infirmary with Thea, Almae, Meredith, and Jay watching over me. They kept talking to me, but I couldn’t make sense of any of it. At some point, Thea gave me something to help with the pain and relax me—at least, that was what I thought I heard. Next thing I knew, I fell into a deep sleep.
When I woke up, the sun was up and I was smooshed between Shane and Minsi—they had pushed another bed next to mine so they could be close to me. A smile tugged at my lips, but it was short-lived as a discomfort hit me hard within. Everything in me hurt, a dull and constant pain that seemed buried within my bones and muscles. My head throbbed harder and when I propped myself up on my elbows, my head spun and my sight blurred.
What the hell?
I frowned and thought of last night.
Paimon had tricked me. He had used Minsi, Tyren, and Rue to bait me, and it had worked. But my friends had come to help; Shane had come to help. I gasped, remembering I had taken Paimon’s power—all of it. I hadn’t done it on purpose.
In the end, even wounded, the dragon’s magic burst from me and Paimon was obliterated. We had won.
Wounded! I placed a hand to my stomach, where Paimon had stabbed me. I wasn’t feeling any pain. I lifted my shirt and found only a faint scar. Thank goodness for wolf healing and expert healers and potions!
I gasped again and looked at Shane. He had been there with me when I exploded. And yet … he was here beside. I could hear his deep breathing, the steady, strong beat of his heart. He was fine.
I sat up a little more and glanced around.
Kaz was directly across the corridor formed by the beds, lying on his back, his torso bandaged. He had jumped in and covered Shane, like he had done with me in training.
Tyren slept on the bed beside mine and I sighed in relief. Paimon had hurt him, but he had fought bravely and he was fine now. I could see the up and down of his chest from here.
Then I saw Rue and Ariella in other beds. My heart squeezed. Rue had defended Minsi with all she had, and Ariella … Paimon had taken her powers away. I glanced down at my hands. Did I have her powers now? Maybe I could return them.
I had not wanted the dragon’s magic in the first place. I certainly didn’t want Paimon’s power, much less the power he had stolen from others.
There were more supernaturals in the infirmary—a handful of witches and even a couple of vampires. There wasn’t one single empty bed in the entire room. I wondered … with so many injured, were there any deaths? Of course, there were. War always brought death.
A sudden thought came to mind. What was I doing here with these other people? I should be isolated in case I lost control again. I couldn’t be here and—
“Hey, you,” Shane whispered.
I looked at him, my eyes wide. “Why am I not in my own room, far away from everyone else?”
“There’s a witch’s circle around these beds, and you were given the elixirs …” He pulled his cell phone from the side and glanced at the screen. “Not two hours ago.”
I relaxed a little, but not too much. When Thea or Meredith came to check on us, I would ask to leave. Now that I had all the dragon’s magic, we didn’t know if the witch’s circle would be enough.
Though it had held during battle, hadn’t it? At least, no one here seemed to have been burned by my fire.
A little less worried, I lay back down and turned to Shane.
He reached over and smoothed a hand over my arm. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I was run over by a military tank,” I joked, though there was nothing funny about it. “How about you? Are you okay? Did I burn you?”
Shane shook his head. “Kaz did his thing.”
I smiled. “Good. Remind me to thank him later.”
His brows knotted. “Seriously now, how are you?”
I hesitated. There was no reason to lie. “Everything hurts and I feel like I might faint at any second.”
He ran his fingers through my hair. “What you did last night … it took a lot from you.”
It did. I could feel it. I knew the timetable had moved. If before I had maybe two weeks to live, now I might have five days, at most. With each breath, I could feel the energy sapping from me.
“I had to,” I said. “It was the only way.”
