Chosen One (Forever Evermore #6)(126)

Sin brushed hair behind my ear, also keeping a steadying hand on my back, and I noticed he also had some dirt on his clothing, the stuff flaking off on the white sheet over me, the room appearing to be a small cabana, the enormous bed taking up more than half of it. “You see, love, where you decided to…rest…was actually a very dangerous location. Underneath all those pretty flowers surrounding you, the ground was uneven. We raced after you when we heard a splash, and followed the crumpling of the flowers where you had apparently rolled…right off a rift.”

I choked on my water, my hand shaking to where Cain grabbed the glass from me. “What?”

My King was scowling, also wearing some dirt as an accessory. “Luckily, there was a lagoon at the bottom of it.” A hand ran through his neon blue hair. “I was able to pull your body up from the water while Sin and Elder Merrick went down the ravine to retrieve you, but you’d already swallowed too much water, so Elder Merrick gave you mouth-to-mouth until Sin brought me down to get the water from your lungs. You woke up briefly then, but passed back out. By this point, the One had caught on something was amiss…” he trailed off glancing at Elder Farrar in the corner.

The Elder cleared his throat. “He raced like a damn bull through us, saw you down there with the three of them, and apparently, couldn’t reach you through your connection, and,” he waved his hand high, then plummeted it quickly, “he jumped off the damn ravine into the lagoon.”

I blinked slowly. “You’re all lying.” They had to be.

Elder Samson snorted. “No. They’re not.” A dirty expression. “I almost fell off when the One rammed us.”

My King rubbed his chin. “Next…came a bit of a…brawl, I guess you could say.”

“A brawl?”

“Mmm-hmm,” Brann hummed, appearing mighty amused. “From our angle up top, it appeared pretty brutal.”

Elder Farrar snorted, glancing at Sin. “You…are surprising.”

I glanced hurriedly to Sin, wondering…but, he only gave me a look, calming me. “So…” I rolled a finger, glancing at everyone’s clothes, Cain appearing the dirtiest, “what happened during the…brawl?”

King Collins ran a hand through his hair. “Sin, the One, and I, all believed we had dibs on you, our protective nature, and all that shit, since you weren’t conscious.” A shrugged shoulder.

“And?”

Elder Bridges lips were trembling where he propped the wall up. “None of them won the prize.” He flicked a finger to Cain, who was making me take another drink. “While they were fighting it out against one another, he pulled you from the fray, tossed you over his shoulder, and snuck around a boulder and started climbing up the ravine.”

My eyes shot wide as I drank, again glancing at Cain’s previously injured arms.

Sin cleared his throat next to me, rubbing my back. “I did notice what he was doing.”

Dry words from Elder Farrar. “Yes, I believe that was about the time you started to create a mini-avalanche from the side of the ravine until you noticed…they were on said ravine.”

“I stopped it,” Sin stated instantly, then rubbed at his jaw. “Took a punch, too, during it.”

My King cleared his throat. “Yes,” flicked finger, “not really one of my finer moments.”

Sin shrugged. “I buried you. We’re even.”

Elder Samson gestured to Cain. “Elder Merrick made it to the top quickly, and I healed the arm and leg you had broken, probably during your fall.”

“You’re lucky you didn’t break your damn neck,” Cain stated steadily, calmly, as he straightened, carrying the water glass with him, refilling it, and taking the pills King Zeller handed him, making me take those as he eyed me pointedly, navy blue eyes hard. “The next time you’re too ill to carry on, you need to say something, so cases like this don’t occur.”

My face fell a bit, feeling guilty and nauseous and tired. “I knew you all wanted to leave.” I jutted my chin up even though I was feeling none of it. “And I didn’t want to be a pain in the ass, as so many of you have complained about. I’m not weak, but I’m not fully recovered, either. It was hard going, but I managed. For all of you.” I drank the rest of my water, not glancing at anyone, handing it back to Cain. “I’m going to sleep now, so I’m ready for tomorrow.” I lay down grumpily, hiding my face from all of them by turning to face Sin. “Thank you for saving me today. And I’ll try to not let it happen again.” There was quiet for a long moment, no one moving or speaking, so I murmured, “Good night, everyone. Enjoy your night in your own rooms.” Hell, they’d probably all love some privacy.

My King cleared his throat. “This is actually our room.”

I blinked slowly, then lifted my head, peering about the room again. “No way.” It barely fit everyone standing, much less lying on the ground. “There’s not enough room for everyone.”

Elder Bridges sighed heavily, appearing pained. “There are only four rooms to the place, since we’re in the middle of nowhere, and all of them are taken with the rest of our group.”

My head flopped back on the pillow, groaning in frustration. “Sin and I can share the bed.”

My King hummed happily. “It does look soft.”