He was absolutely raw, inside and out.
Taking off in the opposite direction from that angel, he found himself at the heavy steel door that opened into the parking lot. With no clue what he was doing or where he was going, he sent it flying wide on its hinges, and marched out into the chilly air, going to the right, heading up the incline, passing the empty spaces that were demarcated with yellow paint.
He went all the way to the back, to the farthest wall, and sat his ass down on the cold, hard asphalt, his shoulders against the damp concrete.
As he breathed hard, he felt like he was in the goddamn tropics - likely the tail end of the needing's effect on his body: Even though he'd been out like a light from the drugs, he had had plenty of exposure, his balls aching as if he'd put them in a vise, his cock still hard, his joints sore as if he had strained even in the morphine haze.
Gritting his teeth, he sat alone and stared straight ahead, into the darkness.
This was the only safe place for him at the moment.
Probably for a while.
When Layla heard shouting, she poked her head out of the gymnasium to see who was yelling - and immediately ducked back inside. Tohr and Lassiter were having a set-to, and that was not anything she had to get involved with.
She had her own problems.
In spite of Autumn's needing, she had stayed down in the clinic for the night, knowing she had spent some time up at the Sanctuary recently, so there was no reason to worry about her cycle. More to the point, however, she had nowhere else to go. Qhuinn and John were no doubt talking to the king and the Primale at the main house, and soon enough she would be summoned to learn of her fate.
Faced with possible exile - or worse, death for aiding a traitor - she had spent the hours upon hours upon hours walking around the edges of the gym's honey-colored floor, passing the bleachers and the benches, and the entrances into the PT suite, and the doors out into the corridor. And then going back by them all again.
Her anxiety was such that it spooled out tension like a wool spinner, the twisted threads reaching up to encircle her throat and winding down to constrict her gut.
She thought relentlessly about Xcor and his second lieutenant. She had been used by them both - but especially the latter. Xcor hadn't wanted to partake of her vein. He had fought it - and when she had overridden him, there had been deep regret in his eyes because he had known exactly what position he was putting her in. The other soldier had had no such compulsion.
Indeed, she blamed him - whatever fell upon her head, it was his doing. Mayhap she would be reincarnated as a ghost and could haunt him for the rest of his nights. . . of course, that was assuming she would be put to death. And if she was not, what was she going to do? Surely they would strip her of her duties herein as well as her Chosen status. Where would she go? She had nothing of her own, nothing that had not been provided at the behest of the king or the Primale.
Continuing on her loop, she confronted yet again the emptiness of her breathing days, and wondered what purpose she would serve in the future -
The door opened at the far end, and she stopped.
All four of them had come to find her: The king, the Primale, Qhuinn and John Matthew.
Straightening her spine, she crossed the gym down its middle, holding their eyes. When she got close enough, she curtsied down to the floor and did not wait to be addressed. Court manners were the least of her problems.
"My lord. I am prepared to accept all responsibility - "
"Rise, Chosen. " A hand appeared in front of her face. "Rise and be at ease. "
As she gasped and looked up, the king's smile was gentle, and he didn't wait for her to respond. Bending to her, he gathered her palm in his and helped her up from her supplication. And when she glanced at the Primale, his eyes seemed impossibly kind.
She just shook her head and addressed Wrath. "My lord, I fed your enemy - "
"Did you know who he was at the time?"
"No, but - "
"Did you believe that you were helping a fallen soldier?"
"Well, yes, but - "
"Have you sought him out again?"
"Absolutely not, but - "
"Did you in fact tell John and Qhuinn where he was when you were leaving town last night. "
"Yes, but - "