Page 18 of Reverence

I managed a weak nod, a hum escaping my throat. “I’m taking you to the hospital.” His voice was firm, leaving no room for argument. “Just hang on.”

As my vision slowly cleared, I caught sight of the deep frown etched across his face.

For once, there was no arrogance in his expression.

No smugness. Only concern.

The life-threatening situation had momentarily made me forget that I hated the man carrying me towards the car.

I didn’t remember leaving the hotel room. I didn’t remember making it downstairs.

I barely remembered the journey from the hotel to the car.

My mind simply couldn’t process everything that had happened.

Ares muttered something into his phone, but despite straining to make sense of his words, they blurred together beneath the persistent buzzing in my ears.

“God damn it.”

He ended the call and slid into the backseat with me, draping an arm securely around my shoulders.

I leaned against him, too exhausted to care.

At some point, my eyes slipped shut.

The last thing I remember was the sound of Ares’ voice somewhere above me.

Then the world faded into nothingness.

“What happened?”

Kehlani rushed to my side, nearly crushing me beneath the force of her warm hug.

“I told everyone else to stay put. I didn’t want to overwhelm you.” I smiled, feeling a wave of gratitude wash over me for my friends.

“I don’t know. Something I ate must’ve come into contact with some kind of nut. It’s my fault. I didn’t specify my allergies.” My voice was still slightly hoarse.

She pulled back, looking at me with clear disapproval.

“Even though you didn’t mention it, nut allergies are extremely common. That was gross negligence on the hotel’s part.”

This side of Kehlani rarely made an appearance unless she was in a professional setting, and honestly, I hadn’t realized she could be this intimidating.

“Why do I feel like that’s your occupation speaking?”

“It is.” She nodded. “But it’s also concern and frustration. What if Ares hadn’t been there? This could’ve ended very differently, Amala.”

I’d completely forgotten about him until she mentioned his name.

“I’m okay, though. So let’s not go down the negative hypothetical road.”

“I’ve already contacted hotel management. They saw Ares carrying you.” My eyebrows shot up.

“When I return, I’ll be having a word with them. I’m assuming you don’t want me to take legal action?”

“No.” I shook my head. “The last thing I want is to deal with that kind of administration right now.”

“Well, if we’re not going the legal route, they’ll definitely need to offer some form of compensation. They know as well as I do that the situation was life-threatening.”