Kissed by Krista Street
Chapter 11
~ WYATT ~
I sat at Avery’s bedside in the healing center. An hour had passed since we’d left the fae lands. It was daytime on earth, evening drawing near, and the autumn sunset shone through the windows.
Nicholas stood near the far wall, having come to the healing center when he heard that we’d returned.
The rest of the squads were in various rooms on the ward. We’d nearly filled the damn place with the extent of our injuries.
Farrah held her hands over Avery, doing another assessment. The scent of the healing witch’s magic tickled my nose when she floated her palms up and down my mate’s body. She’d tried to treat me, too, but my burns were almost completely recovered—my skin pink and new—so I insisted that she focused on my mate.
“Anything new?”
Farrah frowned. “No, she’s just sleeping. Her body is probably healing.”
I peered at Nicholas. Once again, his contribution had helped us. If he hadn’t remembered that scroll containing the information about the Elixias Mountains . . .
“I owe you a sincere apology.”
He cocked his head at me.
“I’ve been wrong about you. Even though we haven’t retrieved the poisoned beverage, I believe you when you say that you didn’t compel my mate. And you were right about what you said in the library. About how I’ve treated you. It hasn’t been fair, and I’ve treated you as a scapegoat. I’m sorry.”
The vamp’s eyes widened for the merest second, then he dipped his head. “Apology accepted.”
“So all is well between us?”
He gave a curt nod. “All is well.”
A sharp intake of breath lifted his chest just as Farrah fiddled with the IV in Avery’s arm.
Avery’s eyelashes fluttered open.
Farrah grinned. “Well, hello, Ms. Meyers. It’s good to see you joining us again.”
Avery blinked, then pushed up on the bed, confusion evident on her features. “Where am I?”
“The SF headquarters.” I sat forward more and reached for her just as Nicholas pushed away from the wall.
The urge to touch her, comfort her, and soothe her nearly overwhelmed me, but I stopped an inch short of her hand when I saw the fear in her eyes. “We brought you back here after you moved us all to safety in the Elixias Mountains.”
Her lips parted, then her gaze shot to mine. She scanned my face, then my body. “The burns.”
“They’re healing. I’m okay.”
The worry pinching her brow faded even more when she saw Nicholas. “You’re alive too.”
The vampire nodded, a smile curving his lips. “I am.”
“So you didn’t kill Nicholas?” she asked me. Her face scrunched up. “My memory is still fuzzy, but I distinctly remember your rage when you entered the Whimsical Room.”
My jaw tightened. “No, but I almost did.”
Her gaze whipped back to Nicholas.
The vampire shrugged. “He beat me up, but we’ve had a heart-to-heart since then, and all is now well.”
She licked her lips. “What about everyone else? Are they okay? Did they all make it out? I tried to put everyone together, even those who’d—” She inhaled. “Even those who died. Did I forget anyone? And Charlotte?” Tears welled in her eyes. “I didn’t see her there, does that mean—”
“Charlotte’s fine.” I gripped her hand, no longer able to hold myself back.
“And you didn’t forget anyone,” a male answered from the hallway. Everyone’s attention shifted to Wes McCloy as he strolled into the room. He crossed his arms over his chest. “You prevented a lot of bloodshed by what you did, Ms. Meyers. The SF owes many lives to you.”
She glanced at me, her eyebrows drawing together.
“This is General Wes McCloy. He’s in charge of the entire Supernatural Forces organization.” I guessed her confusion was because she didn’t remember him.
“It’s, uh, nice to meet you,” she said haltingly to him.
His expression gave away nothing as he addressed Farrah. “She’s still suffering from amnesia?”
“Yes.” Farrah clasped her hands. “It appears so. Avery, do you remember me?”
Avery frowned. “Of course. You’re the woman who came to see me at the inn in the capital and did those funny scans on me.”
“But before that? Do you remember me from before that time?”
“No, I don’t.”
My jaw locked, and I once again wondered if her memory would ever return.
“At least her memory’s stayed intact since the alignment,” Farrah murmured to Wes.
He grunted, then pulled out a chair by my side so we both faced Avery.
Nicholas edged toward the door, but before he left, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of Avery’s head. “It’s good to see you well and safe. As for what happened in that room between us—”
“We don’t need to talk about it. I’d rather just forget. It was awful and unfair, and we were both victims.”
Her declaration was like a blow to my chest. Nicholas truly hadn’t lied about being drugged.
“Where’s Marnee? Has she been caught?” Avery’s winged eyebrows drew together.
“No, not yet,” I replied. “We found her SF suit discarded on the shore of the Adriastic sea, but it will most likely be months before we find and apprehend her.”
“Will she be punished?”
“Definitely.”
Nicholas pulled back, then squeezed Avery’s hand. “Don’t worry about her. She didn’t succeed.”
Avery gave him a fleeting smile before the vamp departed.
Before, I would have lunged at him for even daring to touch her, but now . . .
I saw that his concern was genuine and not based entirely on his vampiric lust, and he hadn’t lied. He’d been a victim of Marnee too.
Gods. I’ve been so wrong about him.
After Nicholas left the room, Wes gave Avery a once-over. “Are you up for answering a few questions?”
My hackles rose, my inner wolf letting out a low warning growl. My mate had just been through a horrific ordeal. Rest, food, and safety were what she needed now. Not an interrogation.
Wes cut me a sharp look. “This is standard procedure, Major Jamison, regardless of whether or not she’s your mate.”
I took a deep breath and reined my temper in. Wes was right. Questioning victims immediately after an attack was the norm. The sooner we asked, the more likely it was they would remember specific details. If we waited too long, details began to fade, or if the trauma was too great, they never remembered at all.
I gave a curt nod. “Fine. Continue.”
Avery shot me a pointed look as Wes’s lips quirked up in an amused smile. As if he needed my permission to continue. But as for Avery’s annoyance . . . I frowned, remembering what Nicholas had said in the library, about a wolf’s protectiveness toward his mate also being his downfall.
Smothering was the word the vampire had used.
Gods, did Avery truly feel that way about me?
“Avery,” Wes began quietly. “Did you stop time again to bring the SF members to that safe location they woke up in?”
She pulled the sheets up more, then gave a single nod.
“We all thank you for that.”
“It was the least I could do. Everyone was fighting to save me. I know some died.”
Wes’s eyes grew hooded. “Yes. Three members died there. Their families will be grateful they have bodies to bury. Another thing we can thank you for.”
She cast me a wary glance, probably wondering where this was going.
“And I see you also brought an unidentified victim back,” Wes continued.
Avery abruptly bolted upright in bed. “The goddess! Where is she? Is she here?” She frantically looked around.
Wes and I shared an incredulous look.
“She’s the goddess?” I asked.
Avery nodded frantically. “She’s Verasellee, the Goddess of Time, just like the scrolls said. Lord Godasara lured her to the fae realm two thousand years ago and tried to take her power, but she cursed him and threw her power into the galaxy. It attached to the Safrinite comet and other magical events, like the alignment, and was then given to me. I’m holding her power for her, but it’s not mine. It’s hers. I need to give it back.”
Silence descended on the room so swiftly that the only sound was the slight hum from the air ducts.
“That is more information than the scrolls revealed. How did you learn that?” Wes asked.
“From the goddess and the elf lord.”
“You’ve spoken with the goddess?” My eyebrows shot clear to my forehead.
“I . . . not really, but she’s come to me in my dreams. She’s shown me her memories from the past and tried to warn me about the ritual. She’s in a dormant state now, but her mind is still active.”
Projecting. So the goddess does that too.
“Okay,” Wes said slowly. “How about we start from the beginning. Tell us everything you know, and we’ll see if we can get to the bottom of exactly what’s happened to you, the goddess, and Lord Godasara.”
Avery licked her lips again, some of the panic leaving her face. “Okay, I will, but first I need to see Verasellee, so I can know that she’s okay.”
