Heart's Desire

Chapter 42 - Monty

As Ambrose tends to the wounded and my mom converses with the Fae, I hold Kit in my arms, vowing never to let go of him again. He leans against me, limp with exhaustion and relief, and shivers with the aftermath of adrenaline.

"I'm fine," Dane grumbles, swatting Ambrose's hands aside as the other man crouches next to him, trying to get a look at his wound. "Help someone who needs it."

"If you'd like to bleed to death, you may do so on your own time," Ambrose snaps. "Though I suspect your Mate will have something to say about it. Now, hold still."

Dane glowers, but allows him to treat the tears in his flesh. A moment later, Ambrose sits back with a sigh, brushing auburn curls out of his face with bloodied hands.

"That will have to do for now. I'll need the rest of my strength for Martin. He's in a bad way, but I can't help him until he Shifts."

"Take him to Sasha's," Dane says, pushing himself to his feet. "It's less than a mile, if you cut through the meadow to the south and follow the stream."

"I'll show you," Sasha volunteers. "Ophie should come too. She sprained her ankle pretty bad when Jake caught up with us."

"Where is that bastard, anyway?" Dane asks, glancing towards the entrance of the canyon. "And the rest of Ferrault's guys?"

"I knocked one out cold," Darius says, shifting his grip on Martin's unconscious form. "Frey and Noah beat the shit out of the two that had Martin. They fucked off back to the starting line, I think. As for Jake and One-Eye..."

He glances at Sasha, and she grimaces.

"They caught me an' Ophie at the creek — the one dad likes to fish at. They might've killed us, but..."

"I came along," Ambrose interjects. "Jake must've thought I was easy prey, and came right at me. Turns out I'm too hot to handle — unless you know how." He winks at Noah. "Hope he didn't mind cremation."

"Ambrose!" Noah hisses, mortified.

"Sorry," Ambrose flinches. "You know how I get when I'm tired."

Noah softens and rests a hand on his back. "I do. I'm just glad you're alright. What about the other guy?"

"One-Eye? Er..."

Ophelia shrugs. "We were fighting in water. I guess he forgot to breathe."

"Great." Dane rubs his brow. "So now what? There's still guys with guns guarding Julian and the kids, and Dad. Not to mention Elena and Selene."

Our mom straightens her shoulders. "Dane Hunter, do you imagine your mother would go all the way to Faerie, broker a treaty with the Summer Queen, and come back with only three Fae? It's taken care of."

"Oh." He slumps, obviously relieved to relinquish the hero role, despite his tough-guy act. Some exhausted corner of my brain wants to laugh — nothing like having your mom save your grown-up ass — but I just give Kit a little squeeze, instead.

"You okay?" I ask.

He looks up at me, his eyes wide in the dark. "No," he whispers. "But I think I will be, now."

"Good." I kiss his forehead. "Me, too."

~ ☾ ~

It takes a while, but eventually everything gets sorted out.

While Darius carries Martin back to Sasha's, accompanied by Ambrose, Ophelia, and Sasha herself, the rest of us head back the way we came, to meet up with the remainder of our enemies.

The three Fae lend me, Dane, and Kit their outer robes for modesty and warmth. Then they quickly fashion a makeshift stretcher from branches, and force Stefan and Ferrault's other men to Shift and carry the Dire's body as proof of his defeat.