Full Moon Rising (Riley Jenson Guardian 1)

* * *

When awareness surfaced, it was once again to the sensation of pain. In my arm, my wrists, and ankles. Burning, agonizing pain

I shifted, moaning softly, trying to escape the heat and yet unable to. Cool cotton caressed my skin as I moved, and it was then I realized I was no longer on the stairs, but somewhere warm and soft. Water touched my forehead, icy against my fevered skin

"It's okay," a velvet rich voice assured. "You're okay."

How could I be okay when it felt like I was lying in the middle of an oven? "Quinn?"

"Yes. You're safe, Riley."

I licked dry lips and forced my eyes open. His face hovered above me, angelic face expressionless but dark eyes lit with fury

"I'm sorry," I croaked, "but I couldn't let you take Rhoan to Sydney. Not until I'd talked to him."

"Don't worry about it."

"Where are we?"

"Still at the farmhouse."

I swore softly and tried to rise, but my muscles felt like water. He held me down easily

"They'll find us," I protested

"If anyone finds us here, I'll deal with them." Though his tone was flat, his expression left me in no doubt as to how he'd deal with them. "For now, you need to rest."

"I can't." I sounded like a petulant child, and that's exactly how I felt. "It feels like I'm on fire."

"I know." His voice was grim. "Rhoan will be back soon."

"From where? Why isn't he here?"

"Hush," he said softly. "Just rest and conserve your strength."

His words were an order my body seemed eager to obey. I closed my eyes, but the burning would not be ignored. I shifted my hand, trying to find a more comfortable place to rest it, and heard the clink of chains. "Why are they still on?"

"Because there's nothing here strong enough to cut them." His mind surged into my mind, a cool force that would not be denied. Sleep, Riley

Against my instincts, against my will, I did

When I next woke, the pain had finally eased. I lay in darkness, and no longer felt like I was under the grill setting in an oven. The ache in my arm had muted, on a par with the pain coming from my ankles and wrists. I shifted, and was relieved to hear only the whisper of the sheets. The chains had finally gone

I opened my eyes. Saw shadows mingling with strings of cobwebs. I blinked, noted the corrugated iron roof beyond the cobwebs, and realized I was still in the shed. The air was dusty, rich with the scent of wood and smoke and vanilla. But overpowering that was the warm scent of spice and leather. A scent I'd recognize anywhere. I smiled and looked left

Rhoan sat in a chair near the bed, his short red hair sticking out at all sorts of angles, his bare feet propped up on the dresser, legs slightly apart. He wasn't wearing jeans, simply black boxers, but he did have a sweater on. Again, it was black. Considering his love of bright colors, finding him in basic black was quite a surprise

His smoke-colored gaze met mine, and I saw the relief there. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever wake."

His voice was etched with tiredness, and I raised an eyebrow. "The wound was obviously worse than I'd thought."

He took his feet off the dresser and walked carefully over. The bed creaked as he sat down. "Worse is an understatement."

He picked up my hand and held it to his chest, just over his heart. The steady beat reverberated through my fingers, and I knew, without his saying a word, just how close I'd come to leaving this life

"Don't ever try and die on me again, you hear? It's not allowed. Ever."

Tears touched my eyes, and I blinked them away. "But it was just an arrow - "