Awaken Me Darkly (Alien Huntress #1)(68)
Author: Gena Showalter

Dropping the whip, Dare sank to his knees in front of her. “What have you done?” he said, brokenly. “The whip was laced with Erolan. Even Atlanna cannot withstand such a poison.”

I didn’t answer him. The war was over. Except for the missing children, the case was closed. I’d done my duty, just as I always had. Why didn’t I feel victorious?

Dare jumped to his feet. He glared down at me, but he didn’t say another word. He simply scooped Atlanna up in his arms and quietly strode from the chamber. I let him go. She was dead, no longer a threat, and I couldn’t bring myself to do more. Hopefully, in the coming days, Dare’s mind would clear from her monstrous influence, and he would come back to me.

Right now, I had to find my friends. My strength slowly draining, I moved from the room. Only two guards were stupid enough to try and stop me. Because of my loss of energy, one managed to knife a wound from my sternum to my navel. When they were unconscious from my chokehold, I battled past the pain and stanched the flow of blood with a scrap from one of the women’s gowns. I stumbled through the rest of the house, finding Jaxon and Kittie inside a cell. I disabled the lasers, and Jaxon was able to pick the lock.

They rushed through the doorway, then ground to a halt when they saw my blood-soaked shirt.

“Are you okay?” Jaxon asked.

“I’m fine,” I managed. “Someone else’s blood,” I lied. “Help me find Lilla and Kyrin.”

Ten minutes later, Kittie called, “In here. They’re in here.”

My footsteps were slow, but I made my way inside a bedroom. Lilla stood over a large, bare bed, staring down at an unmoving body. She slowly turned and faced me. Tears ran down her cheeks.

“He is dying,” she whispered brokenly. “Kyrin is dying.”

CHAPTER 25

Jaxon and Kittie dragged Kyrin outside to the vehicle where Ghost and Terrence Ford awaited us. Ghost had his thigh wrapped with cloth, and I knew he was going to be okay. But Kyrin…I was fighting to stay calm. I desired this man, this alien, maybe even loved him. Yet he’d been wounded so badly, he might not survive.

“I called for backup and medical,” Ghost admitted weakly. “Be here any time now. Told Jack the whole story.” His gaze zeroed in on my stomach. “Mia? You okay?”

“I’m fine,” I said. Trees and sky swam before my eyes. Concerned faces faded in and out, and their voices seemed so far away. For one brief moment, flashing lights and sirens penetrated my senses.

I collapsed.

I don’t remember the drive to the hospital. I just know that when I opened my eyes, I’d lost my clothes, and several doctors were standing over me, examining my abdomen.

“You’re going to be okay,” one of them said.

“I hurt like hell,” I said, my voice raspy.

He grinned, causing his mustache to twitch at the corners. “Understandable. But you’re healing faster than anything I’ve ever seen.”

Within the hour, they had me stitched up. I refused pain medication. I needed my head clear. “Take me to see Kyrin,” I said. I had to see him, had to know how he was.

The doctors and nurses ignored me.I refused to be ignored. I screamed profanities at the top of my lungs until one of the nurses ran to get me a relaxant. Before she returned, Jaxon rushed into the room. Dallas followed, his progress slowed by a cane. His light blue eyes still gave me pause. If anyone else had noticed, they hadn’t said anything to me.

“Is everything okay?” Jaxon demanded, weapon drawn.

“Hell, no,” I said. “Where’s Kyrin?”

“Is that what all the commotion is about? He’s here,” he answered, putting his gun away.

“Is he alive?” I probed, my hands clenching, my stomach twisting.

“Yes,” he evaded.

Everything inside me relaxed, rejoiced. I couldn’t help but smile. “Take me to him,” I said. “Please.”

He gulped, looked away. “Maybe—”

“Please, Jaxon, Dallas. I’m begging you here.”

Jaxon glanced at Dallas. Dallas glanced at me, those lines of tension still firmly etched around his mouth. “You’ll be happy to know Ghost is healing nicely,” Dallas said.

Fine. They didn’t want to take me, I’d take myself. With my wound shrieking in protest, I ripped the IV off my arm, shoved myself from the bed, and plopped into a nearby wheelchair.

“Stubborn as always,” Dallas said. “Help her out, Jaxon, before she kills herself.”

With a sigh, Jaxon grabbed the handles of the wheelchair and ushered me to Kyrin’s room. Dallas hobbled beside us.

Jaxon said, “Damn, I’m glad this is over.”

“Me too,” I whispered. “Me too.”

As dread and hope mingled inside me, we entered Kyrin’s room. I glanced around, noticing that Kyrin was the only patient. He lay stomach down on the bed, his chin tilted toward the door, toward me, his eyes closed. Lilla stood vigil beside him, just as she’d done at Atlanna’s.

A tear—my own freaking tear—slipped down my cheek. I hadn’t cried in so long, the single drop stung my tear duct. God, it felt so good to see him alive. I’d thought all my tears dry, but now, seeing him, I was unable to stop the torrent of emotion that flooded me. Relief. So much relief. Happiness. So much happiness.

“There’s something you should know, Mia,” Jaxon said.

“Don’t,” Dallas said, cutting him off. “Not yet.”

Lilla said softly, “She has a right to know. He’s dying, Mia. Kyrin is dying.”

My joy instantly shriveled, but I gave no outward reaction to her words. I didn’t believe her. I wouldn’t believe her. This man, my man, was not going to die. I wouldn’t let him. Slowly I rose from the wheelchair and hobbled to the bed.

“Leave us,” I said to the men, not even glancing behind me.

Dallas patted my shoulder, then limped from the room with Jaxon at his side. They shut the door behind them. My tears trickled free at last.

“What are we going to do?” Lilla asked. “I cannot live in this world without him.”

“He’s not going to die,” I said through clenched teeth, gazing down at him. His skin was pallid. His cheeks were hollow, and there were blue shadows under his eyes.

“Look at him, Mia. How can he survive?” Lilla caressed his brow with loving fingers. “When we were children, it was he who cared for me. He who taught me how to use my powers. His love has always given me strength.”