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He stepped forward and the ground beneath her feet filled with soft grass, bloo with flowers The air warmed and swayed around her ankles

He’d done that for her--changed the setting so that she’d be more comfortable Nika could feel his inborn need to see to her coh she had no idea why he would care

"Nika," he repeated "Can you help me?"

"Help you do what?"

"Get back to Sibyl I don’t kno to find her"

Nika nodded "Take my hand"

She braced herself for the touch, steeling herself against the grating sensation on her skin But it didn’t come He took hold of her hand and it didn’t hurt

"Follow , but her instincts were strong, so she listened to them "Close your eyes"

Cain did, and Nika leapt up, pulling him with her She led him out of the deeper parts of his mind, toward the surface The farther they went, the harder it got, but Nika kept pulling

In the distance, she could see the shi up out of a swi pool She saw Sibyl seated beside Cain, and her own skeletal for her, as if it could see her spirit gliding through Cain’s body

Maybe it could

Weariness dragged at her, like claws around her ankles, pulling her down Nika gave a swift kick, and finally, Cain’s head broke the surface

She heard his gasp of breath, felt his powerful body shudder as he sucked in air But there was none for her Nika still had to find her way back into her own body, and it was a long trip

As tired as she was, as fast as her strength was fading, she wasn’t sure she was going to be able to make the whole journey

At least she’d wakened Cain and given him back to Sibyl

Madoc couldn’t rid hio back to Cain He’d been there only a fewfor hio back

Maybe his buddy had taken a turn for the worse

Grief grabbed Madoc by the throat and he fought to breathe as his heavy boot steps pounded through the halls He reer feel it coursing through hi hireat warrior

He pushed open the door to Cain’s new suite and went back through the dark living roo fan of Sibyl’s, but he’d suffer through the creepy girl’s cold stare long enough to check on his friend

The first thing he saas that Cain ake He was sitting up in bed and Sibyl’s tiny ared her back for only a second, before he gently pried her hands away

The second thing he saas the sick look of fear coating Cain’s rough features Since Madoc couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Cain afraid, it freaked hiood reason

Nika was in his bed Lying next to the fucker She was icy white and unnaturally still, her left hand red and blistered

Rage crashed around inside Madoc, sla into his ribs until he was sure they’d crack He couldn’t lose her He’d fought so hard to free her froath he could lay his hands on, and he sure as hell hadn’t done it so she could die on him now

"What did you do to her?" His voice careen eyescame out The man had been unconscious for days and his throat was likely a tube of sandpaper

"He didn’t do anything," said Sibyl "Nika offered to help" She scrambled from the bed and fetched hi enough to stand up on her own"

Madoc went to Nika’s side and pressed his fingers against her slender neck A faint pulse beat below the paper-thin surface of her skin

She was alive

He wanted to feel relief, but all he felt was the need to pound his fists into Cain until she woke up

Like that would help

Madoc was afraid to touch her e to feel the warers was too much to resist He s the thin blue lines of the veins running along her teht me back," whispered Cain His voice was shredded tatters of sound, but he got his point across "I felt her getting weaker She pushed rab her, but she was already gone"

Gone

The word echoed in Madoc’s head like a gunshot blast

Gone

No fucking way

"Get out," he barked

Cain gave hi his body between Madoc and Sibyl as he led her fro on his feet, barely able to stay standing but that was just too fucking bad He deserved whatever he got for doing this to Nika

The door shut behind the hiather her up in his ar so hard he’d break her for sure