After living in a concrete jungle for twenty-three years, being in a real jungle was downright terrifying.
The place teemed with bugs, mostly the blood-sucking kind. I slapped my neck with a grimace. They seemed to especially love me. Besides the insect complications, there were no roads, no maps and, above all, no hospitals. All we had was my healing ability, but I couldn’t fix everything.
Reagan rubbed at her temples for the umpteenth time, her expression slightly pinched. She was exhausted. Why hadn’t I noticed the signs before? Last night, the first any of us had spent under the stars, she had crawled into the tent she was sharing with Nevaeh and stayed there until dawn.
But I had lain awake for hours, listening to the clicks and chirps of nocturnal wildlife, and tried to attune my senses to anything that sounded remotely threatening. Above the rustling of grass and Sebastian’s soft snores, I’d heard her gasp awake, then toss and turn long into the night. Even with Akeno on watch a handful of yards away, I refused to sleep. If she didn’t come to me and let me help her, then I wouldn’t rest either. Now that I knew of her suffering, I didn’t feel right letting her endure it alone.
As morning came and went without incident, I allowed my shoulders to relax their pensive hold. That is, until we heard the rumble of another water source. Before I knew what I was doing, my arms were around Reagan, crushing her to me. She said something against my chest, the sound muffled, but I didn’t release her. I noticed Akeno now stood directly behind Nevaeh. And despite the adrenaline hot in my veins, a grin tugged at my lips.
When he caught me eyeing him, I winked. The soft-spoken spy looked away, shaking his head, but I saw a small smile turn up his mouth. Oblivious to the male prepared to restrain her, the purple-haired rat shifter said, “Nice view of the trees. Are we going to stand here and stare at them all day?”
Akeno’s narrow eyes slitted further. “Depends. Are you going to act feral again when we reach water?”
She whipped around, gaping up at him. “I didn’t—” Her gaze bounced around to the rest of us. “Was I that bad?”
“You really were, little rodent,” Caspar piped up. “I think you might have even bit Akeno.”
Her jaw dropped and the pink wad of gum in her mouth almost tumbled out. “I thought I only scratched—” She looked at him again, her large eyes filling with . . .
Ah crap.
Akeno hastily pulled down the neck of his dark shirt and showed her the mark. “It’s nothing. You can barely see it. No big deal.”
“Yeah,” Caspar continued, unaware of the drama he was causing. Big idiot. “Your human teeth are a lot less pointy than your—”
“Okay,” Sebastian butted in. “I think this conversation needs to end now.” He shoved past the twins and took the lead. I studied his retreating back. Guess I wasn’t the only one noticing things.
“Han you et me ho now?”
I glanced down at Reagan and realized my hand was buried in her soft hair, keeping her face firmly pressed between my pecs. A laugh shook my body and I gently tugged her head back. “I’m surprised you didn’t try to get free.”
Her pale face was flushed, a pretty rose hue gracing her cheeks. “Me too. You’re hot.”
At her words, warmth flooded my stomach. A wicked grin took over my mouth. “Is that so?”
She blinked, then rolled her eyes, swatting my chest. “I’m going to cool down, your hotness.” With that, she followed the narrow trail Seb’s feet had made through the foliage and I scrambled after her, almost stubbing my toe on her boot-covered heel. “You okay?” she threw over her shoulder.
Before I could reply, Malachi appeared out of nowhere. “He doesn’t want you to chase after another merdude. His ego can’t take the hit right now.” I shoved his shoulder and, with a small shriek, he fell into a berry-laden bush. “Yum. Berries!”
He plucked a large black one and raised it to his face. I lunged for him, slapping the fruit from his fingers. “That’s nightshade, you dimwit! Don’t you know anything about nature?”
His bottom lip protruded in a mock pout. “I was raised in the city, man.”
I sighed, helping him stand. “No excuse. You’re Fae. We’re attuned to nature. Don’t you think it would be kind of ironic if a plant killed you?” His eyes widened and I pointed at him, then Micah. “New rule: Whatever you pick, don’t you dare lick.”
They were silent for a moment, expressions serious. But I knew that would end in three . . . I swiveled around. Two . . . Reagan was nowhere in sight. One . . . I left behind the peals of laughter as I searched for blue and black hair in a sea of green.
Navigating a thick patch of vines, one almost tripped me, but I tried to keep my cool. Despite his constant tomfoolery, Malachi was right. I worried she would succumb to another merdude. Or whatever those things were called. Yesterday, when she’d thrown herself at them, what felt like a shard of glass had stabbed my heart. Even though a part of me had known she was acting strange, hearing her demand I let her go—all but implying that I wasn’t enough—had hurt.
Dark thoughts from the past few years had crowded in, reminding me of my many shortcomings. Of course she didn’t want to be with me. Why would she? I was the black demon. A disease. Everything I touched would eventually die.
She’s not your girl, my inner critic hissed.
But you said she was. I—
I lied. You don’t deserve her.
I shook my head. Stop.
You’re a bad apple. You’ll only get her killed.
Enough!
I burst into the clearing, inhaling sharply as I took in the massive waterfall. Water thundered over a rock face, falling in great volume to a deep pool several feet below. Reagan was peering down, her boots on the edge of the slick rock. I itched to pull her back, for a second forgetting she had wings. I paused a moment to clear my head, reminding myself of the words she’d said to me yesterday. As long as my mind and body are my own, they’re yours.
Mine. She was mine. And she wanted me too.
Shaking off my doubts, I came up behind her and tugged on her hair. She craned her neck back to look up at me, a bright light twinkling in her eyes.
My stomach flipped, either with nerves or . . . something else entirely.
Caspar stopped next to us and whistled low. “Do you think there are mer-creatures down there?” When no one replied, he shucked off his backpack, then grabbed the neck of his shirt. “Look away, ladies. I’m getting half naked.”
Reagan snickered. A second too late, I realized his intentions. “Caspar, wait.” But he had already backed up a few paces, sprinting for the cliff’s edge. With a whoop, he cannon-balled into the pool below. “Idiot,” I muttered, searching the water for colorful tails.
“I’m going in.” At her words, everything in me froze. I looked sharply at Reagan as she toed off her boots and dropped her backpack. She grinned at me. “Don’t worry. I’ll leave my clothes on.”
My breathing sped up. She was serious. “Reagan . . .” My eyes pleaded with her to stay. I couldn’t help it. “Don’t.”
She studied me for a moment. “I’ll be fine. I have you.” Then with no warning whatsoever, she leapt over the edge.