Page 13 of Vayn

I ran a hand through my dark hair as I watched Dread. If he didn’t make a move soon, I’d do it my damn self.

I’m ready now, Dread said.

To my shock and amazement, my Dread shadow, the vessel that carried most of my fear, anxiety, and suppressed emotions, lowered his head and pressed his lips against our charge’s forehead. The gesture was so fucking tender, it drew a gasp from me and my other three shadows.

None of us had ever seen Dread like this. None of us had ever behaved this way. We were shocked silent. Jealousy coursed through me. I gritted my teeth and ignored it as Dread kept his lips pressed against our charge’s forehead. I sensed his determination to keep his negative energy from flowing into her.

Soon, her body relaxed. Her hand fell to her side. Her brows were no longer drawn together. Though her eyes were still closed, they were not squeezed shut. Her pain flowed over me. I was expecting more. What she was feeling was nothing more than a paper cut to me. Yet, it had made it hard for her to stand.

Her pain tolerance is too low, Rage observed. What she’s feeling is nothing to us.

She’s not an ancient like us, Charm reminded us. We’ve had our wings ripped from our backs and survived. We can endure much more than our little cursed one can. That doesn’t mean her pain is any less than ours. To her, this is agony. It’s our duty to rid her of this discomfort.

As her guardian, I guess it’s my duty to keep her from being in so much pain that she can’t attend classes. I’m just doing what any guardian would do. Nothing more. Nothing less. If I keep telling myself that, I’ll actually start to believe it.

“That’s enough,” I told Dread. “Her pain is gone.”

I expected Dread to step away from her. He didn’t. Instead, he kept his lips pressed against her forehead and raised his hand to gently caress the side of her face.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I yelled. He was touching her in ways I hadn’t. Who gave him that right?

Healing her, he whispered.

“We can’t heal others,” I reminded him through clenched teeth.

We can heal her, he murmured against her forehead.

I opened my mouth to tell the fucker off, then I felt it. More of her pain washed over me. But that’s not all. I also felt her bruise against my side. I raised my shirt and stared down. The bruise that once decorated her side was now printed on mine. What the fuck? My healing abilities kicked in to heal me, and the bruise quickly faded.

I glared at Dread, wondering how the hell he was doing this. None of us had ever been able to heal anyone outside of ourselves. I inhaled sharply when a bruise formed on my thigh. I stared down at my mate’s shapely legs and watched her bruise fade away. He wasn’t healing her. He was absorbing her pain and her wounds.

This was an ability we’d never had before. A chill raced down my spine as I recalled one of my brethren who’d been able to do this to someone else. Like me, he hadn’t had the ability to heal others. Yet, he’d been able to absorb a certain female’s wounds. In the end, he’d saved her life while almost losing his own.

Yet, he hadn’t felt any regret because that female had been his mate. Mate. The word echoed through my head, filling me with trepidation. This little cursed descendant who was part human could not be my mate. I don’t have a mate, neither do I want one. Especially not a frail human who can’t handle minor bruises.

“Step away from her, Dread,” I growled.

My shadow reluctantly stepped away from her. My charge’s brown eyes fluttered open. Her gaze scanned the room. Thankfully, she could not see us.

“Vayn?” she whispered.

I tensed. Dread remained in front of her, not moving. Her eyes darted left then right, proof that she could not see us. Does she sense us? Her hand moved to her thigh as her eyes continued searching for a sign of us.

“I don’t have the ability to heal,” she said. “This must be your doing, Vayn. You and your shadows.”

I don’t want her to know it was me who helped her. I took a step back, calling for my shadows to return to their abyss. They obeyed, even Dread. I continued walking backward, eyes never leaving her. Part of me wanted to stay. That part of me was twisted in the head. She was half-human, for crying out loud. She’s the reason I’m a Fallen.

She was the reason I’d lost my wings and the majority of my abilities. She was the reason I was trapped in this body that couldn’t contain all my energy. She was the reason I was cursed to live on this Earth, breathing in the foul stench of humans almost daily. She was the reason my heart started to race as I watched a smile drift across her beautiful face.

“That’s okay,” she said. “You don’t have to show yourself. I just want to say,” she paused. I resisted the urge to move closer to her. “I just want to say thank you for healing me and for being my guardian.” Her voice dropped to almost a whisper as she continued. “No one has ever taken care of me before. Thank you, Vayn.”

I clenched my fists at my sides. No human had ever thanked me before. Hell, no cursed descendant had ever thanked me, either. I’m not in the habit of doing things that lead to thanks. I wanted to tell her she could keep her gratitude to herself. However, something inside me was pleased with her thanks.

That something inside me was also angry that this small thing I’d done for her was the first time someone had ever taken care of her. Something inside of me wanted to protect her and show her she was worthy of being cared for, even though she was just a weak human.

Because of that something inside me, I turned and teleported away from her presence, away from her intoxicating scent, away from her very curvy, very naked, and very wet body. Away from everything that was Destiny Porter, the half-human hybrid, who just might be my ma... I shook my head to clear it. I couldn’t even think the word. She was not that. There was no way she could be that.

Because that would hurt worse than losing my wings.