Page 60 of King’s Kismet

“Stop—” I began, only stopping when I heard a distraught sob.

Sloane gazed down at me, her hand twisted in Briggs’ t-shirt as he held her. She released a shaky breath as she scrambled from his arms, falling to the ground with no strength to catch herself.

“Stop crying, Love,” I rasped, a cough causing me to wince as my throat ached. “That’s not the kind of tears I like to see.”

She put her hands on my cheeks, her touch too cold against my skin as she trembled. Tears pooled in her eyes as she tried to smile, though her nostrils flared as she attempted to tame her emotions.

“I killed you,” she whispered, gasping for air.

“Aye, I know,” I told her, though that wasn’t true.

I couldn’t tell her everything until the guys left. I needed to explain while we were alone, so she could listen without interruption.

Sloane rested her forehead on my chest, her breathing short and shallow. “Don’t ask me to do that ever again.”

“I promise, but I don’t feel like I’ll need to. I think it worked.”

Her head snapped up, eyes blazing as she glared at me. But her frustration fizzled out almost immediately when I gave her a weak grin. I held my hand out for her to take, wondering if maybe she wouldn’t.

She gently laced her fingers in mine, and I fought not to show the bite of pain from her touch against my healing skin. I wouldn’t pull away from her now. Couldn’t if I tried. And I wouldn’t let her go, even if she hated me after I told her everything.

“What worked?” Stone demanded. “What exactly were you two doing?”

“Palmer wanted to get rid of the tracker the angel put on him,” Novak explained to the demon. “I didn’t think it was worth mentioning. They seemed like they had it all under control.”

“We did,” Sloane mumbled as she rested her forehead in her free hand and squeezed her temples. “Until he died.”

“The audacity of you, Palmer,” Novak called theatrically, though he narrowed his eyes as his voice filled my mind. “Tell her.”

I cut my eyes away from him. “I will.”

She studied each of us, one after the other, as she took a steadying breath. “You do not get to die. Ever. Any of you.”

“It’s like she cares about us or something,” York whispered to Novak.

“I fucking do,” she muttered, then her thoughts rolled across my mind. “I contemplated strangling my vampire and my druid for trying to find any humor in the situation. Mild strangulation; nothing too severe.”

“We know, Love,” I acknowledged, confirming that I didn’t deserve her since I continued to lie.

As I tried to sit up, I limply swatted her hands away. But I smiled at her, attempting to show her I was healing quicker than normal. The relief on her face was instant, and yet another thing I wasn’t worthy of.

“Be creative with the vampire, Love,” I whispered, wondering if she knew I could hear her thoughts. “He’d like being choked, and then ye’d be frustrated all over again.”

I was thankful the conversation was moving along, because I needed the reprieve to tamp down my doubt and uncertainty. If she heard me before I confessed, I wouldn’t get the chance to explain the situation without her anger at play.

“That’s true.” Novak nodded, though I was sure he was replying to my thoughts as much as my out loud statement. “I would, but I wouldn’t leave you frustrated for too long.”

“Fine,” she agreed, narrowing her eyes on the vampire. “You can go without sex for an undetermined amount of time, and York can be strangled.”

York turned his head, confused, as he waited for her to elaborate. “Why am I getting strangled?”

“It’s mild,” she admitted. “Nothing life-threatening.”

“You still didn’t answer the question,” he pointed out.

Her thoughts spilled from her mind, though I couldn’t be sure who was hearing them other than me. “I was thankful they weren’t mentioning what a wreck I was right now.”

And we wouldn’t…