A door somewhere burst open, wood splintering against the wall. There were shouts—some recognizable but sounding so very far away. The prince rose with a rush of chilled air. He seemed to collapse into himself, and where a man once stood, there was only a raven.
The creature spread its majestic wings, like two feathered arms. The raven rose to the ceiling, disappearing out of my sight, and that . . . that one word cycled over and over in my scattered thoughts as someone hit the ground next to me. The voices increased, and I thought that maybe it was Ren beside me, that maybe he was the one touching me so carefully, but all I could hear was that one word the prince had whispered.
Halfling.
Chapter Twenty Three
Time . . . time moved strangely for me. I had no real concept of it. All I became aware of at some point was that I'd been moved from the rough carpet and placed on something much softer. A bed maybe? Then I'd eventually heard a low beeping that was persistent, ticking away in the background—a heart monitor. Once I managed to open my eyes—my one eye actually—through my blurred vision I was able to make out the off-white drop ceiling and low lights. There was a distinct antiseptic scent permeating the air. Dumbly, I realized I must've been in a hospital, and if I was here instead of headquarters, then things were serious, but I was too tired to chase that thought.
I had no idea how much time passed like that, when I would become aware of my surroundings for a few moments here and there. Once I thought I felt Ren near me. Another time I thought I heard Val's laughter, but that thought didn't make sense to my addled mind. There were reasons why I hadn't heard Val's laughter. And then there were other moments when I woke up and the only thing I could think about was what the prince had said to me.
Halfling.
This time, though, as I crawled through the darkness, I was about to pry one of my eyes open, and when I blinked, bringing the ceiling back into focus, I didn't fade away immediately.
I drew in a deep breath and winced as dull pain radiated up and down my sides. I tried to swallow, but my throat felt raw like I swallowed a mouthful of nails. The more moments that danced on by, the more pain I became aware of. My face hurt. Hurt like I'd run face first into a brick wall then motor-boated it. My jaw ached, so did my left eyeball—like my entire eyeball. A steady throbbing emanated from my right wrist. A fire burned bright in my ribs.
Waking up sucked. God.
I wiggled my fingers, relieved to find that they worked. Next, I would attempt my toes, but before I could do the system check, there was movement in the room.
The bed dipped slightly, and then I saw the most beautiful green eyes, two emerald jewels plucked out of a mine and placed behind thick lashes, shining out from a striking set of features that I'd come to . . . love. My heart started racing, and the beeping matched the pace. I loved him. I did. Somehow it had happened in the mix of all of this.
"Hey," he said softly, staring at me like a man who never thought he'd be holding this conversation. "There you are sleepy-butt. You gonna stay with me this time?"
I focused on him with my one eye as emotion built in my throat. What put me here, in this bed, lingered in the back of my mind, not forgotten, but just . . . there. "Hey," I managed to croak.
A relieved smile appeared on his face, softening the dark shadows under his eyes. His hair looked like he'd run his hand through it many times. He stared at me a moment then reached for the stand next to the bed. "You thirsty?"
I started to nod but realized that wasn't a smart idea. "Yeah."
Ren poured water from a pitcher into a plastic cup. "Okay. Just a little." He slipped one hand carefully under my head and lifted, bringing the cup to my lips. The cool water stung my mouth and throat, but it was like swallowing heaven. He pulled back before I could chug it like a college drinking game. I glared at him with one eye.
"Slowly." He laughed, his eyes lightening. "I don't want you to get sick on top . . ." His jaw flexed as he thrust those fingers through his hair again. "On top of everything else."
Everything else—my aching face, battered ribs, but I was alive and that shocked me, because I'd felt something serious break inside me. Something really bad. My brows pinched.
"God, Ivy . . ." Clearing his throat, he leaned down and kissed me gently on the tip of my nose. "I haven't spent one moment not freaking the fuck out. I thought . . . when I saw you in that room . . ."
The raw pain in his voice hurt to hear. "I'm okay, I think."
"You think?" He laughed outright at that, his laugh deep and throaty. When he lifted his head, I thought there was a sheen to his eyes. "You're in the hospital near your house—Kindred Hospital. We couldn't keep you at headquarters."
After another slow drink of water, I managed to get my tongue working. "How . . . what's happened?"
"Ivy." He carefully brushed back a wayward curl as a look of deep pain sliced through his features. "Do you not remember?"
"I . . . remember." I settled back against the pillows, strangely exhausted despite the fact I had a feeling I'd been playing Sleeping Beauty for a while. "What day is it?"
He didn't look like he wanted to answer at first. "Saturday night."
"What?" I started to sit up, panic exploding like buckshot, but he gently pressed down on my shoulders.
"It's okay. You need to stay in this bed. Just for a little longer. You were hurt pretty badly, Ivy." His hands lingered.
"But . . ." I glanced around the room, seeing that we were alone. "But the knights—the prince, they got out."
He shook his head. "Strangely, it wasn't the giant apocalypse that we thought it would be. The Order—what's left of the Order—has been on patrol every night since then. We haven't seen a single knight or that motherfucker. David and a few are heading to Flux tonight, but I have a feeling they aren't going to find anything there."
My thoughts were sluggish, trying to follow what he was saying. "That doesn't make sense."
"No, not really, but wherever they are, whatever they're doing, they are in hiding." He smiled at me, but the act didn't reach his green eyes. "We were able to get the gate closed again."
I let that sink in, but what stayed at the forefront of my thoughts was what he'd said. What's left of the Order. "How many did we lose?"
Ren cast his gaze to the side, the muscle along his jaw working. "Sixteen."
Oh my God, I couldn't even . . . I squeezed my good eye shut. The rising sorrow nearly made me wish I was still swimming in that darkness. "Have you all found her . . . Val?" It hurt even saying her name.
"No. No one has seen her either, not even her family."
God, what had she done? My thoughts roamed back to seeing her at headquarters. "She was carrying something, Ren. She went there for a reason. She had something covered in black."
Ren nodded slowly. "I know. Remember Merle mentioning some kind of crystal? David had one stored in a room on the third floor, among other weird shit. I don't know what the importance of the crystal is." He looked away, his shoulders rising with a deep breath. "David hasn't said what the hell it is, and I have no idea."
I thought about the room that David never allowed anyone in, but how had Val known it was there? To be honest, I'd forgotten about the crystal the moment I learned about halflings.
"I figured Merle might know, but I haven't . . . well, to be honest, I haven't really cared about that right now. I've only cared about you," he said, and my gaze drifted over him. His brows furrowed as he wrapped his hand around my left one and squeezed gently. "I know you don't want to hear this, but I want to kill her for doing that."
Yeah, I didn't want to hear that.
"You could've died and I—" He cut himself off, and when I reopened my eye, he was staring at the space near me, at the monitor. "I wouldn't know what to do."
My breath hitched. "I'm . . . I'm here." It sounded lame, but it was all I could say.
His gaze flicked to mine. "You are, but you should have never had to face the prince—any of that. What were you thinking?" He swallowed. "Going after him was like putting a loaded gun to your head."