A Light in the Flame (Flesh and Fire #2)(21)

Gods, he was…terrifying in this form. Beautiful. Primal.

Orphine’s rough-scaled muzzle nudged my arm. “Hi,” I croaked.

She crouched over me, aiming at an entombed god that remained standing as Nyktos lowered to the ground.

Fine shivers broke out all over me. I could feel his stare on me as he stalked forward, catching the god before the draken could.

Nyktos gripped the fallen by the head and ripped him in two. Straight down the middle. With his bare hands.

Good gods…

Dropping the still-twitching limbs and limp pieces on either side of him, his wings snapped back, shattering into faint shadows as he stalked forward. The eather-pierced darkness faded from his flesh, but the shadows were still gathered beneath, swirling violently.

I thought that maybe I should sit up or do something, especially as Orphine backed off, bowing her diamond-shaped head. Nyktos was so going to be angry with me, and I’d just seen him rip a god in two with his bare hands. But all I managed to do was rise onto one elbow and…that hurt, sending a bolt of pain through my shoulder and arm.

Nyktos crossed the remaining distance between us too fast for me to track. Shadowy wisps bled into the air around him as he knelt. Only a hint of his eyes was visible in the pools of silvery essence.

I drew in a shallow breath, but it did nothing to ease the faint trembling invading all my limbs. “I think…there’s something wrong with me.”

The shadows stilled under his flesh, deepening as the eather pulsed through his eyes, momentarily erasing his irises once more. His arm lifted.

My breath caught as his warm fingers touched my cheek, sending a faint energy shock through me. “Because you just tore apart a god with your hands, and I found that…kind of hot.”

A ragged laugh came from someone, and I heard Ector mutter, “For fuck’s sake…”

Some of the hardness went out of Nyktos’s jaw. “You’re hurt.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Liar.” His fingers slipped from my cheek. He peeled the bloodied collar of the robe aside and cursed. The shadows went wild beneath his flesh, and I saw the faint outline of wings beginning to form behind him for a moment. But when he turned his head to the bloody boots nearing us and said, “Bury our dead and burn the rest,” there was nothing there.

Nyktos moved astonishingly fast once more, folding an arm around my shoulders. I winced at the fresh wave of pain. He halted, his skin thinning and features sharpening. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay—” Shock flooded me as he worked his other arm under my knees and lifted me into his arms, cradling my unwounded shoulder against his chest. “Y-you don’t have to carry me.”

“I have to carry you.” He started walking.

Heat crept into my face. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not, Seraphena.”

“I’ll be fine.”

Nyktos stared straight ahead, a muscle ticking in his jaw.

“My legs work,” I told him, starting to wiggle, but the burst of pain stilled me, making me dizzy.

He glanced down. “Tell me how fine you are again.”

“I can walk,” I muttered, closing my eyes because even being carried caused the torn muscles in my shoulder to throb to the point where it wasn’t the dizziness that worried me but the nausea.

“I can feel your pain. Taste it.”

“It’s really…not that bad,” I forced out, pressing my forehead against his chest as the shivers increased. I was so damn cold. “And there’s…more important stuff to deal with.”

“I’m dealing with the most important stuff right now.”

I heard a door open, and then someone spoke in a hushed voice that faded out. Or did I fade out? I wasn’t sure. But, for a brief second, nothing hurt, and my mind was blissfully empty. I wasn’t thinking about what I’d seen out there. Who I’d seen.

“Davina,” I said, “She’s…”

“I know.” His voice had quieted.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

“As am I.”

I breathed through the burn of sorrow. “What…what about Lethe?”

“Lethe is fine.”

Relief rose. “But what of the wounded—?”

“I don’t give a shit about any of that right now,” he interrupted, his tone harshening. “You’re shivering.”

My eyes flew open as I tilted my head back. His gaze met mine. The essence had abated, leaving his eyes a sterling silver, and the shadows beneath his skin were now faint. “That’s not true. You give a shit. And I’m just cold.”

“You’re too cold.” A door slammed shut behind us as he strode into a chamber I thought was one of the many unused receiving areas of the main floor. “Just this once, can you stop arguing with me?”

“I’m not arguing.” I clenched my jaw to stop my teeth from chattering.

A chair scraped across the stone floor as we neared the fireplace, following us like a loyal hound. I began to wonder if I was seeing things. “You are almost always arguing with me.”

“No, I—” Flames roared to life, an intense silver before fading to a deep orange and red. “Was that you?”

“Yes. Impressed?”