Chosen Fool (Forever Evermore #5)(85)
Sin was rapidly scooping me into his strong hold, crushing me against his chest. “Are you all right, love?”
“Hurts…tired…” I mumbled, letting my head roll to rest against his shoulder.
King Collins’s right hand was on my forehead, running gentle fingers through my sweaty hair, but his contained fury was barely masked. He barked at Roselle, “Can a Mage help her with any of the lingering pain?”
Roselle stated simply, “She is very young to have done what she just did, but what she’s experiencing will fade in time.”
King Collins’s eyes glowed down on me. “It’s possible you should have taken the help.”
I blinked blurrily. “I wouldn’t have known if I could protect you all, if I were alone in the future, without attempting what I just did.” I closed my eyes. “Sin…bed…”
“Okay, love,” Sin whispered, hefting me closer against him.
“I’ll inform the One what’s happened,” Reese stated, before a flash of white light erupted behind my closed eyes.
A soft afghan was draped over my body, and efficient hands were tucking it in around my body inside Sin’s hold. Directly next to me, King Collins mumbled gruffly, “Keep her warm.” More tucking. “And maybe make her some soup if she starts to feel too ill.”
Sin’s words were dry. “I know what to do, seeing as I’ve been taking care of her for the past twenty-three years.”
“Just remember the damn soup,” King Collins muttered. I started to doze, sleep taking me under as shivers racked my body. But I still heard him as he pulled the blanket up close to my neck. “And if she gets worse, tell me immediately.” A snap of fingers accompanied by clipped words. “And don’t forget the damn spirit guards, since she’s not able to protect herself.” More snaps. “Frost. Farley. Get your asses over here before they leave.”
“I think he’s got it,” King Zeller stated calmly. “Let’s go have a drink, Jack.”
King Collins added, “Wait, one more thing—”
“Yes, it’s time for that drink,” King Zeller interrupted, his voice sounding slurred as I went under, unable to stay conscious a second longer.
I was down and out for five days. It was embarrassing as hell. I just laid in bed, my entire body aching like an elderly Com’s. My joints were inflamed. My muscles throbbed like they were torn. Even my short fingernails hurt.
And I had a headache to end all f*cking hangovers.
Sin also informed me that I was a whining baby.
He did make me soup though, between massaging my aching muscles. While keeping the blinds down and the curtains closed. And he supplied me with endless aspirin. And kept everyone out of the room.
He was my Sin. And it was obvious he needed a break by day four.
When I blinked open my eyes and groaned, holding my head, I was staring up into brown patient eyes gazing down on me. King Collins sat on the side of the bed. His lips slowly quirked, and he kept his voice low in the darkened room. “Sin went for a drive…and he was still wearing the same clothes he had on four days ago.” My blink was sluggish, and I stared at the aspirin and water he held. “He told me to give these to you when you woke up.”
“I haven’t been that bad,” I grumbled, but I moaned when I lifted my arms to take the medicine and water from him. His eyebrows lifted, and I mumbled, “Whatever.” I blinked, staring at the pill and water. “Can you help me sit up so I can take these?”
His lips didn’t even twitch as he stated steadily, “Of course.” Bending, he placed his arms underneath mine, carefully lifting me until I was upright enough to take the pill. My hands shook as my body recoiled from the movement, while my head pounded a fierce beat at my temples. “Easy, easy,” he crooned, holding my back steady. He quickly grabbed my hand over the glass before I spilt it all over myself.
I guzzled it, completely parched.
After he placed the empty glass on the nightstand, he helped me lie back down. He pulled the blanket higher on my shoulders, leaning over me, and brushed hair off my face with careful strokes. “Was it worth it?”
“Yes,” I murmured, my eyes already closing again. His scent was comforting. “I can do it on my own now.”
He hummed quietly. “Doing it on your own isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
I sighed, but I found my head leaning toward his touch. “Shut up.”
A soft, deep chuckle. “You are one unique Prodigy.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Being ill, I missed the sedated spirit using my Primal Diamond to track Philip Masterson.
And the champion being shot in the head.
The One had pulled him back through the ether when he felt the spirit’s life force falter, but it had been too late. He was dead at the shot. His suicide mission, what he had begged me for after I had double-checked he was sane, he had gotten. A quick death for a noble cause.
The One had obtained the information we needed from the pull and instantly informed the Royals in the room. Philip Masterson was in Miami, Florida. The One left shortly after in respect for the dead, taking the man’s body back to the Temple and trusting the Royals to do what was necessary.
Before the mission I’d handed over the Primal Diamond to Sin with a direct look. I wasn’t sure how Sin had managed it, but somehow in the mayhem when the body had been pulled back through, he had retrieved it. The spirit had duct taped it to his hand so there was no chance of dropping it. Without remorse, Sin had returned the Primal Diamond to me, stealing from the dead.