The Curse (Belador #3)(3)

His heart beat. Again. The thud echoed in his ears every painful time blood pumped through the battered organ.

He grabbed at his chest, struggling to draw a breath. Blinding pain ripped through his insides. His spine wrenched forward as he curled into a ball of misery. Another cramp tightened his chest muscles, squeezing a guttural moan from his dry throat.

Had he really wanted to return to this? Every nerve in his body screamed.

Finally, slowly, the pain in his chest subsided to a throbbing ache, enough for him to draw a ragged breath and hear someone near him.

A soft voice chanted words that made no sense.

Long moments later, he uncurled until he sagged into the soft bed and let his arms fall to his sides. He licked his dry lips and tried to swallow, but couldn’t draw a spit of saliva.

Opening his eyes, he found the answer to the question he’d been trying to ask Kai.

The woman standing next to him was definitely not Evalle Kincaid.

Adrianna Lafontaine’s arms stretched out over his chest, hands turned up, eyes closed and lips moving as words danced off her tart-pink lips. Barely five feet tall with silky blond hair and a robust shape packed into that small frame, the Sterling witch turned heads everywhere she went.

But she wasn’t Evalle.

He suffered a wave of disappointment almost as crushing as the pain racking his body. Kai had said she’d found someone he trusted. That was a helluva stretch, but he did have to admit he was alive, and safe at the moment, thanks to this witch.

When Adrianna finished her chant, she opened her eyes and looked down at him. “You decided to come back?”

He croaked out something that should have been yes.

She moved off to his left, then returned with a plastic bottle of water, lifting his head to let a few trickles fall into his mouth before she laid him back down. “I’ve pulled out every trick I know, but I’ve reached my limit, Storm.”

“I know.” He tried to look past her to see where he was, but the only light in the chilly, dark room was the faint glow from a lamp near his head. He managed to get out, “Where am I?”

“An underground space in Decatur I convinced someone to offer me, then to forget he’d done so once I got you inside.”

She meant she’d used a spell or some other ability.

Over the next couple of breaths, he closed his eyes and searched inside himself for the power of his jaguar, relieved when he felt his animal presence stir to life. With a concerted effort, he forced energy to spread through his chest and limbs, flinching every time the energy struck damage. He had no idea how long he’d lain there, focused on healing, until he expelled a long sigh and paused to rest.

He blinked his eyes open, looking around. “Adrianna?”

She stepped into view and gave him another tiny drink of water. That’s when he took in the unkempt look of her jeans and sweatshirt. Not her usual fashion statement.

Storm said, “Thank you for all of this.”

“You’re welcome.”

Sterling witches rarely did anything without some form of compensation. He owed her and he paid his debts. “I’ll return the favor when you need it.”

“I know.” Confidence had never been an issue for Adrianna.

“Who knows I’m here?”

“I told no one. I figured you wouldn’t want anyone to know where you were since I doubt your guardian would have reached out to a Sterling witch if she’d had another option.”

Adrianna made that valid point without any note of insult in her voice, just stating the facts. Spirits of the light, such as Kai, generally did not interact with witches who dealt in the dark arts. He still had one pressing question. “Do you know what happened at Evalle’s Tribunal trial?”

“They released her the next day.”

His sore lungs relaxed, expelling the breath he’d been holding. So she was free. “She knows I’m alive, right?”

“I doubt it.”

“You didn’t tell her?”

“I took a leave from the agency. I’ve been here with you for three weeks.”

Storm lifted his hand to hold his forehead. “You should have told Evalle. She’ll be worried.”

“Let’s get this straight.” Adrianna put a hand down on the bed when she leaned in close, smoldering blue eyes dark with warning. “I’m Switzerland when it comes to you, Evalle, VIPER and anything else. I have my own set of problems that I’ve put on hold while I played nurse. Your love life is the least of my concerns. Are we clear?”

Kai’s warning to temper his words stopped him from snarling. He didn’t see how hard it would’ve been to just call Evalle and ease her mind, but he wouldn’t unload his frustration on Adrianna. “I understand. I appreciate what you’ve done—”

“I’m sure you do and I want you to remember that when I call in this marker.”

Could she be as coldly calculating as she sounded when she’d spent three weeks caring for him?

His empathic senses roared back to life, detecting the determination of a war strategist. She had a goal of some sort—one that mattered as much to her as his protecting Evalle from the South American witch doctor mattered to him. He was sure of it.

Speaking of Evalle, he asked, “Can you contact her for me?”

“I don’t have a cell phone and I’m not about to go hunt down that Alterant.”