Fallen University: Year Three

“Xero, it’s me. We came to get you out. But I need you to wake up. We have to get you out of here.”

Something in my voice seemed to affect him. He lifted his head with great effort and peeled one eye open. The other eye appeared to have been swollen shut. “P… Piper?”

“It’s me.”

Tears burned my eyes, and I tried for a smile, but I couldn’t make it happen.

He looked awful—so awful that I couldn’t believe he was still alive, in fact—and I didn’t know how to fix him. I was aching to kiss him, desperate for his comfort and my own relief, but it wasn’t the time. I didn’t know what any of the men lost when they charged me up, if anything, but whatever it was, he couldn’t afford it. He was barely hanging on as it was.

“Careful, buddy. We gotcha.” Kingston’s touch was careful as he freed one of Xero’s hands. The fire demon’s arm flopped limply toward the floor, and he would have shattered his knuckles on the stone, but Kingston caught his wrist in time. As soon as he released it, the injured man lurched unevenly toward me as if his core was made of clay.

I caught him around his broad chest, both of us on our knees. He wrapped a shaky arm around me as Kingston freed his other wrist.

With an effort that hurt to watch, Xero pulled back and cupped my face in his hands. His visible eye was cloudy with pain, and his thumbs trembled as they swept over my cheeks.

“Piper,” he whispered again, as if he couldn’t believe it. He let out a shaky sigh and touched my forehead with his.

“You’re okay now.” The lump in my throat made speech almost impossible, but I forced the words out. “We’re getting you out of here.”

He pulled in a shaky breath and touched my lips with his, a tender, gentle kiss. His uncertainty washed away as he kissed me, pouring healing love into my starving body. I knew he shouldn’t do this, that it was too much for him, but I couldn’t break away.

We were both balancing on the fine line between life and death, holding each other over the chasm. I felt his life force igniting mine. Power rippled through my veins, plumping and soothing my dying cells.

“We better go if you’ve got him,” Kai said in a low voice, cocking his head as he listened down the hallway. “I’m hearing shit I’d rather not.”

“Getting some mad weird vibes up here too,” Jayce said nervously. He shot a desperate, impatient look at the dragon shifter. “Kingston. Come on, man! How long does it take to pick a lock?”

Kingston didn’t even bother responding as his face tightened in concentration. A second later, the lock sprang up, and he let out a triumphant sound.

“Done!” He gestured to Xero. “Help me get him up.”

I took one side and Kingston took the other, and we hauled Xero to his feet. He was unsteady and uncoordinated, but if we all worked together, we could move relatively fast.

“Did we come up with an exit strategy?” I asked, glancing around at the men.

They all looked at each other wide-eyed for a moment before turning back to me. “That’s usually your thing,” Kingston pointed out.

“Goddamn it. Xero, are you strong enough to go through a portal?”

I saw the flash of doubt before he arranged his features into stubborn determination. “Yeah, I’m good.”

My lips pressed together. “Don’t fucking lie to me. Did any of you see any openings into the courtyard?”

“Yeah, right before the dungeon.” Kai nodded in the direction we’d come from.

“Show me.”

“No way, Pipes. We can’t go out into the courtyard,” Kingston said firmly. “There’s no way we’d be able to walk through all those demons.”

“We aren’t walking. We’re flying. Hurry up.” That vibe that was bothering Jayce was getting to me too. It was a terrifyingly familiar aura of evil, bigger than a whole army of fiends.

It was pure fucking evil.

Gavriel was close.

Xero found his feet as we headed down the hall, but he was still too weak to carry his own weight. Kingston and I kept him upright until we saw daylight glistening off of the wall up ahead.

“Jayce, take over for Kingston and help me with Xero. Kingston, go ahead of us and be ready to shift. We won’t have much time.”