* * *
A voice came at me out of the fog. Cold and commanding, it pierced straight through it.
“Anna! Release him!”
It was followed by another with a distinctive accent. Its urgency penetrated where the other had failed.
“Angel, ya gotta let him go. We need him, or we won’t find the twins!”
The twins. Aaron could lead us to them...
I blinked. I had my hands on each side of Aaron’s face. Somehow, he was lying on the cold stone of the alley, and I was on top of him. When had that happened?
“Easy, Angel.” Matt crouched beside me, his eyes glowing green in his human face. He was naked and covered in blood. Everywhere I looked, wicked slices marred his beautiful body.
I released Aaron and reached for Matt. He flinched away, and my hand froze.
He offered me a lopsided grin. “S’okay. Just a few cuts. You should see the other blokes.”
An arm beneath mine—not Matt’s, but Sebastian’s, lifted me to my feet.
I glanced at him in surprise, but he didn’t meet my gaze. The alley beyond him was littered with bodies and blood. The Bellati’s cloak hung in distinctive four-slice tatters, but although he was also covered in gore, I couldn’t see any actual injuries. The soft sound of dripping drew my gaze to his horn, hanging from a woven-hair loop at his waist. Its entire length oozed things I didn’t want to examine too closely.
“Are they gone?” I asked.
Matt snorted. “Half scarpered when they realized Aaron wasn’t going to stick around to help.” He gazed at Sebastian, and although his lips twisted, his eyes shone. “Strewth, you should have seen our instructor here. He was right awesome.”
The Bellati ignored us as he leaned over Aaron, lifting the man’s eyelids, and then shoving his fingers up beneath his jaw. There was no response from the Dire, but Sebastian grunted. “He’s alive. Just.”
“He made me angry,” I whispered.
Sebastian focused on me. “I’m not certain how you were able to do this, but we need him talking.”
I nodded. “You heard what I asked? I don’t think he was lying. He had no reason to at the time.”
“Strewth, Angel, yourockedin there.” Matt beamed with pride.
Sebastian’s pale eyes glowed silver. “You did well, Shade. Now we’ll know what questions to ask. Mainly, when and where Darius be meeting the buyer.”
“If Eras isn’t too far from here, we might still catch the bludgers,” Matt growled.
The Bellati’s mouth straightened. “What we need, be directions.” He gestured to Aaron. “See if you can rouse him.” Then he strode through the scattering of bodies to the bar’s back door. It was designed to only swing outward, without a handle on this side, but Sebastian’s hands glowed briefly before it flew open. He vanished inside.
Matt glanced at me, then down to Aaron.
I couldn’t take my eyes off Matt. Even cut to hell and covered in blood, the man was gorgeous. And naked. His eyes locked with my own, and they gleamed emerald. And it wasn’t just his eyes that revealed his mood.
I swallowed.
He wrenched his gaze away and yanked Aaron’s cloak free—the Dire had a simple, homespun shirt, and breeches on beneath. Matt wrapped himself in the cloak. It covered the mess that was his body—along with a few other things—but a deep slash along his jaw still oozed blood.
I reached out again and froze when he stiffened. But before I could snatch my hand back, he grabbed it.
“S’okay, Angel.” His voice was low and steady, his grip gentle, as if he was calming a nervous horse. “None are bad. Save your strength.”
But I caught the glimmer of uncertainty in his gaze.
He scanned my face before pointing to the deep slice along his jaw. “Maybe just this one, so I don’t look like I’ve been in a war. Last thing we need is to attract the local coppers.”
