Jegudiel (Deadly Virtues 2)
Her family.
Her safety.
Home.
Chapter 29
Whispered voices echoed around her. Noa’s hands moved slightly, touching something soft beneath her palms. She gritted her teeth; it hurt to move. There wasn’t a part of her that was spared from pain. A sliver of fear managed to break through her hardened spirit, and she flicked open her eyes to find an intricately patterned ceiling above her.
She breathed heavily, panic thick in her veins. She couldn’t remember why she was here, where she even was. Noa searched her mind for why she was in pain, and memories of being with Auguste barreled into her like a tidal wave of torture. The garrote, the stake, the flames, the iron maiden … then …
“Shh,” a familiar voice hushed. Noa realized she had been breathing too fast. She pushed through the tightness and discomfort in her pained neck to turn her head. The memories turned to vapors of black smoke as her eyes fell on Diel, lying on his side, his hand covering hers. Noa’s heart flipped as she saw the dark circles underneath his eyes, and his pale skin. He was clean of the blood she recalled he’d had on his skin and clothes, and he was staring at her with concern in his blue gaze.
“Hey,” Noa managed to say, throat feeling like fire. Diel lifted up to his elbow, carefully and slowly. Warmth flooded Noa’s chest when she realized it was to protect her wounds. Her lip trembled, too many heavy thoughts hitting her at once, but she managed to say, “On a scale of one to ten, how fucked up do I look right now?”
Diel’s cheek twitched, but he didn’t laugh. He leaned down to press his forehead to Noa’s. He didn’t speak, but she felt what he was feeling as he touched her, as his labored breathing told her just how close she had been to not making it.
“That bad, huh?”
Diel reared back slightly. “I love you,” he whispered, like he needed to say those words. Like both their lives depended on it. Noa’s heart melted, her racing pulse making her dizzy even though she was lying down. Diel placed two of his fingers on what Noa assumed was an uninjured part of her face. “You’ll never do that again.” His eyes narrowed, and she stilled, a flash of ire wrapping around her as Diel tried to tell her what to do. “Next time, we kill those fuckers together.” The anger seeped from her as quickly as it had built.
Together. They would kill together.
Diel had been caged for most of his life. He loved her and would never dare cage her too.
“Or not at all,” a voice said from Noa’s other side. Noa closed her eyes, recognizing it as Dinah’s. She turned her head, trying to block out the pain it caused. Then she was looking at Dinah. Dinah, Jo, Candace, Beth and Naomi, who all rose from their chairs around Diel’s bedroom to stand at the side of the bed. Dinah gently covered Noa’s hand, careful not to disturb her wounds.
Noa swallowed the lump that rose to her throat. Her sisters looked distraught. Their worry for Noa shone as brightly as the sun on their tired, sunken faces. “How bad?” Noa finally said, aiming for levity with her sisters just as she had done with Diel. She could still feel him lying right behind her, his body heat soothing her as his hand lay protectively on her waist, as if he had to be touching her some way. Grounding him. Anchoring him.
She felt the exact same way.
“One being good or bad?” The gravel in Dinah’s voice told Noa that it had been close. That she almost hadn’t woken up from her injuries.
Noa turned her hand to squeeze Dinah’s fingers. “Good.”
“Then a fucking hundred, girl,” Dinah said, her dull eyes brightening a fraction. “You look like shit. A damn living, breathing pin cushion.”
Despite the fear still lingering in her soul, Noa couldn’t help the burst of laughter that broke from her cracked lips. She winced when a stabbing pain, sharp as a knife, sliced through her stomach. She must have jerked, because suddenly Naomi was beside her, checking her over. Naomi checked her watch against Noa’s pulse, and Noa just stared at her mute sister. Noa’s chest filled with warmth. They were here. She was back with all her sisters. Where she belonged.
Naomi looked to Dinah, and Dinah looked at Diel. “Diel? It’s time for Noa’s pain pills. Will you go and get them, please?”
Noa felt Diel stiffen at the request. She knew he didn’t want to go anywhere. But when Noa turned back to him and gave him a small nod, he took hold of her chin and pressed a soft kiss on her lips before moving from the bed. “I’m not leaving for long.” Noa knew those words were aimed at Dinah, not her.