Page 46 of The Guardian (Dark-Hunter 20)
Margery brought a tray of medical instruments over to the bed. "You might want to go finish eating now, hon. He should be out for a while."
Lydia wouldn't put money on that. Not from what she'd seen of his stamina. "Or he could wake up in a few minutes and reach for your throats again. If you don't mind, I'd rather stay like I promised. He doesn't trust easily and I don't want him to stop trusting me, you know?"
Margery's glance went straight to Carson before she caught her slip, then quickly turned it back to Lydia. "I do know. But if you're squeamish, you might want to face the wall while we work."
"That I will do."
Carson brought her a chair.
Sitting down, Lydia listened to them as they started patching Seth up. She would have commented on the germs, but then given Seth's immortality it probably wasn't that big a concern.
"So how long have you two been doctors?"
Carson laughed. "About a hundred years for me. Margery, a little less."
Margery snorted. "A lot less. I'm human and I've been working with Carson for over a decade, but haven't had my medical license all that long."
Fascinating.
"So what clan do you belong to?" Carson asked.
Lydia had no idea what he was asking about. "Clan?"
"You're Tsakali Katagaria ... what clan are you?"
Her heart pounded as she swung around to face him. "You can't say that to anyone. Ever. Okay?"
He arched his brow. "Ah ... okay. But that's going to be a little hard to keep secret here. Any Were-Hunter who comes into contact with you will know it instantly."
Crap! Why would Jaden send her here after telling her not to breathe a word of her jackal status to Seth? Surely someone as powerful as he would have known that other Were-Hunters could sense her and identify her species. Had he done it intentionally? Was that why Seth was so mistrusting of him?
She suddenly felt like a complete blind fool for ever listening to Jaden.
And I even hugged him. She could beat both of them. Him for doing it and her for listening.
Her entire body started shaking as she feared Seth's waking up to hear this. "Then we can't stay. We have to go."
Carson scowled at her. "What are you so afraid of?"
Death. Dismemberment. Noir finding them. Solin getting hurt. Seth dying when he couldn't.
Greek gods out to kill her.
The list kept growing by the second.
Don't tell him any of it. It was none of his business. Especially since Seth's paranoia had started to infect her.
But she had to make sure they kept their mouths shut. For everyone's well-being. "You can't tell anyone that we're here or tell them anything about us. Do you understand?"
Carson's gaze turned dark and dangerous. "Who are you running from?"
She bit her lip as she debated what she should let out and what she should keep between her and Seth.
"Listen," Carson's tone matched his dour expression. "The people and animals here are my family. If you pose a danger to them, I need to know. We've already been attacked once and nearly destroyed. If we have another enemy coming, then we need to know immediately. We have children and infants here to protect."
Children. Here.
That changed everything. She didn't want anyone ever having the memories she had. No child should hear or see their mother die.
Please, don't kill me. She wasn't sure who that was directed at exactly. Seth or Carson.
But she couldn't put the kids in harm's way. "He's a servant to Noir, and I freed him. When Noir finds out that he's gone, he will come after him, no holds barred. It will get extremely bloody."
"And you?"
"I was told that some of the Greek gods want me dead. It's how Seth was injured. They were trying to find me. I don't know why, though. I really don't."
Carson cursed, then turned to Margery. "Tell the others."
Grabbing a towel to wipe the blood from her hands, she quickly left the room.
Lydia rubbed her head, which was starting to ache from all of this. "I didn't mean to endanger you. Jaden said we'd be safe here ... that you could help Seth."
"It's all right. We can cope as long as we're forewarned. Just don't let us get blindsided." He returned to working on Seth. "Man, whoever did this to him certainly knew what they were doing."
"How do you mean?"
"I mean he was interrogated by someone who knew exactly how to wring as much pain as possible out of him and not kill him. Poor bastard."
"Will he be all right?"
"He'll heal. I don't know about the 'all right' part. That's not my department. I can only fix bodies. Hearts and minds are another matter."
Lydia turned to look at Seth's bare face, which was still covered with bruises and cuts that marred his otherwise flawless handsomeness. She wanted to cry, but Solin had taught her to keep that inside.
When they know what makes you cry, they know what hurts you most. Don't give your enemies that.
Closing her eyes, she reached out to talk to him and see what was happening.
But Solin didn't answer. And that scared her even more than her current predicament. Here, in this realm, with her powers restored, he should be easy to contact. She'd never, ever had trouble finding him before.
He'd only be silent to her if he couldn't answer because he was fighting.
Or he was dead.
She couldn't even contemplate the latter. It would destroy her to lose him.
Suddenly, she felt another powerful presence coming into the room. Warm and at the same time freezing, it thickened the air on the other side of Seth's bed.
Carson pulled back and grabbed a scalpel from his tray as if ready to battle who or whatever it was.
Lydia did the same, 'cause whatever it was, it would be fierce if it chose to fight them. And she had a sickening feeling that it was coming here for her.
But most of all it wanted Seth.
