Fangs of Fate (Untish #1)

Chapter 57

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

TATE

Scratchy sheets rubbed against my skin. I opened my eyes and could see an unremarkable white ceiling. Watermarks formed in scattered spots. It was cast in a warm, red glow from the open window nearby. I pulled my hands out from under the blanket and paused. An IV was connected to my arm and I could see blood in it. Was I seriously being tube-fed? I tried jolting upright but was met with instant pain. I turned over the side of the bed and wretched.

“Here.” A bucket appeared, and I puked into it without question. After several heaves, my stomach was empty.

“Take it slow, TK.” TK?

My eyes snapped up and I focused on a swatch of blue hair and steel-grey eyes.

“Shae.” My heart rate slowed, comforted by her mere presence. “What—” My voice was so dry.

“Drink this. It’s doused with medicine, so it probably tastes gross, but it will soothe your throat.” Shae lifted a cup of murky water to my lips.

I drank, at first slowly, and then greedily. It did taste gross, sour even, but soon my throat went blissfully numb, and I didn’t even notice the taste.

She pulled the cup back from my lips. “Blood Tate, I thought you were dead when Anax Mardi brought you in here.”

I closed my eyes. It wasn’t all a bad dream.

“What happened?” My voice was still hoarse from disuse, but the painful sandpaper sensation was gone.

“I was hoping you could tell me that. All I was told was that you were attacked en route and that most of your party didn’t make it.” Her steel eyes searched mine. “You can trust me, you know? I’ve seen some pretty crazy shit this last week.” She moved and her new dragon tattoo danced with her. Did she know? Was she aware of the Untish Tribe?

What could I safely disclose? Shae was my oldest friend, if I couldn’t trust her, who could I trust? And yet, the very knowledge I held could place her in danger…

“Creatures. We were overwhelmed by these grey monsters,” I began. That was safe, in the very least, it should be common knowledge based on the attacks and reports Aether allegedly filed.

Shae nodded, not phased.

“You experienced it too?”

“Yup. A couple of times. Scary shit. But nothing compared to when I saw that anax carrying you, I thought you were dead,” her voice dropped to a whisper. “That was the scariest thing.”

Before I could respond, the door opened, and a familiar set of chocolate eyes came into view.

“You’re up! I knew one bite wouldn’t keep you down. How’s she doing, Shae?”

Vala knew Shae? She walked over and touched my forehead, scrunching her nose as she noted the bowl of vomit sitting next to the bed.

“Good, she just woke,” Shae responded, moving the bowl of vomit to the floor from the end table.

“Yeah, I figured. Girl,” Vala started as she sat on the bed next to me. “When I saw you after Anax Mardi cleared the field, I thought you were a goner. I mean, you were coated in mud and blood and vomit.” She wrinkled her nose on the last word.

“So, vomit is where your stomach gives out,” I teased. She wasn’t afraid of dragons, seethings, and knew so much about magic that I couldn’t begin to guess how. But she wasn’t invincible. Apparently, normal bodily fluids were too much for her to handle.

“Yeah,” Vala giggled, “I may not like vomit, but I can handle my own. Anyway, when you opened your eyes and started blinking, I knew you’d make it. Not that Anax Mardi listened. He was soo worried that we moved double time. He was set on reaching the outpost by dark.”

The outpost. We made it.

“We’re here?” my voice broke on the last word. I was a mess. I didn’t want to be here, serving the guara, and yet I was deeply relieved to be within the safety of its walls.

“Where else?” Vala teased.

“You’re here. You’re safe.” Shae grabbed my hand and squeezed. She was always so reassuring and softer than her appearance would suggest.

“How many?” I leveled my gaze at Vala. “How many made it?”

She averted her gaze and walked over to the window. “This is my first time here at the SO. I was all prepared for desert life in the Eastern Outpost, but this forest is much nicer. Who knew we’d get lucky and end up here.”

“Vala.” I locked eyes with hers. “How many?”

A sigh escaped her lips as she came back over standing behind Shae. “Anax Mardi will want to know you’re up and debrief you on any classified intel from those horrific events. I’ll go let him know.” Her message was clear: I wasn’t supposed to talk to Shae.

I watched as Vala exited the room, swaying her hips as she sauntered out.

“She’s a character,” Shae said, biting her lower, now pierced, lip. “Tell me she didn’t get the best friend spot?” While there’s teasing in her tone, there was also concern. We hadn’t left things good upon our last interaction.

“Never.” I squeezed her hand to reassure. “So, as fate has it, I ended up being forced to enlist.”

“Yeah, how the hell did that happen?” Shae’s eyes widened in her characteristic way as she released my hand and leaned back in her seat.

“I broke the no-kill law and was caught.”

“You what?” Shae said, disbelief across her face. “You, the one who taught me the value of human life, the one with a moral compass to where she can barely feed on vessels, killed someone? I don’t believe it.” If she only knew how many I’d killed recently.

“Yeah, I got a little overzealous, but believe me, the guy had it coming.”

“Mobster?”

“Something like that. But I got clumsy with his corpse and Collin was delivered his head. Soo…yeah. Disciplinary hearing and here I am.”

“Here you are. Metamorphosis at its finest.”

“Metamorphosis?”

“Yup. We’re evolving.”

Indeed, we were. We were also together. That’s what mattered. Even if she volunteered to be here and I was forced, we both ended up in the same place serving the same crappy government fighting dark magic of all things.

“You know, Shae. I’m glad you’re here too. I—” The door opened cutting me off. Aether entered.

My stupid traitorous heart paused a moment. The room’s air charged, and I could feel my skin pebble.

“Glad to see you up. Dokimos Zinger, if you don’t mind.” He gestured at the door. Shae stood, winking at me in reassurance before exiting.

“We need to talk.” Aether sat across from me, his eyes intense and darkening as he looked me over. I gulped, something had changed between us, and I wasn’t sure when it had happened, but the heat between my thighs told me that Aether and I had started down a different path.

What if this is more emotional manipulation? This male was not to be trusted, no matter how my body responded.

I tilted my chin up. “Well, I hope you’re happy.”

“Excuse me?” His eyebrows shot up as his right mouth curved up in a smile.

“Yeah, you tried to incapacitate me. You tried to restrain me and what did it get me? Attacked, bait on a fishhook, you left me there, a statue to be mauled to death.”

I wasn’t fully serious, but I was angry. He had restrained me, and yet, hadn’t he also been the one to step in when I needed assistance.

“My deepest apologies.” The mirth in his eyes was angering.

“This is funny to you?” I questioned, lifting my arm that had tubes coming from it.

“Not in the least.” He sighed, gingerly reaching for my wrist. “This was never supposed to happen. So much of what happened wasn’t…” he stopped, gently rubbing my wrist with his thumb.

Never again.

The air bounced with electricity. I could feel it caressing my back, the nape of my neck. I wanted to lean into it to embrace it.

“Enough.” I shook my shoulders and withdrew my wrist. I was done with the mind fuckery. Done being used. Done being lied to.

“Right.” He nodded. The sensation ended, leaving me cold and full of regret. I was a mess.

“We need to talk.”