Page 59 of Enchanting Her Monsters
My gargoyle’s stone form softens, and he falls a bit more into me before catching himself and pushing up onto his knees.
With my back flat on the concrete floor, I move to roll up and get to Arran and Calder. Flint grasps my shoulders to stop me.
Frantically, I turn back to him, fearing that I’ve missed something else. Is Flint okay?
My eyes search him as his hands grope to check me for my injuries.
“You’re not burned,” Flint says in shock.
“Are you alright?” I ask.
He gives me a quick nod. “He can’t melt my stone.”
I hold out my hands in a silent request for him to help me to my feet. He does without protest now that he’s certain I’m okay.
I run to Arran, but quickly realize I could hurt him if I hug him like I want to. I’m still carried on my momentum, and Maxum catches me by my waist and pulls me to his chest. Flipping me around to face him, I see his shirt has been burned off… and his pants. My eyes search for damage.
He shakes his head in answer. “Demons are hard to burn. Not that phoenix fire doesn’t sting like a motherfucker.”
I spin in his grasp, almost clawing my way to get to my sweet wolf, Arran.
He holds his arms up to stop me. “Give me a little while to heal, my mate. I should probably shift a few times to speed up the healing.”
I’m in shock that he didn’t berserker out for this. But maybe he did, and now he turned back to his human form before I could check on him.
My gaze drops to an unconscious Calder. His chest doesn’t seem to move with a breath. “Guys? Is he…?” I can’t say the words.
Osen’s ghost inside me stills, waiting for an answer.
Maxum drops into a crouch and feels his neck. “Alive. His body is behaving like he’s in a regeneration. It slows down to nothing until he’s ready to reanimate.”
Flint moves so he’s on the other side of Calder’s body. Then he glances up at me. “What happened to him, Heartstone?”
“I think I put the missing pieces of his soul back inside.”
“Stars, you can do that?” Arran asks with awe and concern.
I shrug. “I sort of did it on instinct.”
Arran removes his fire-damaged clothes and shifts into his wolf. My heart breaks at the missing fur from his burns. Tears fall from my eyes, and I bury my face in Maxum’s hard chest.
“I’m so sorry,” I cry. “I didn’t know he’d do this. Hurt you.”
Turning back, Arran’s muscular, naked body presses against my side. “Baby, don’t blame yourself. This isn’t the first time the bird burned me. I’ll be okay in a bit.”
I turn to look into his beautiful glowing amber eyes and find he’s telling me the truth. He’s more worried about me.
Arran strokes a hand softly over my hair. “Besides, you helped fix him.”
“Although he might be more broken until his soul’s returned pieces come to terms with what happened.” Maxum frowns. “He could be a mess for a while.”
I just shoved unhealed, traumatized pieces back into the guy without thinking it through. What if I fucked up any progress he’s made?
Flint gently picks up Calder’s body. “Let’s get him back somewhere safe, where another phoenix can help him through this.”
Maxum glances down at his naked body and says, “We’ll have to make a few jumps before we can return. Hopefully, he’ll stay knocked out until we get back.”
Thankfully, Calder remains unconscious for the entire journey to Amira’s. We also stop by one of their old abandoned safe houses to grab clothes for Maxum and Arran.
