the chair beside me.
I wanted to stay awake, I wanted to ask a thousand questions, but the fog clouding my mind only intensified with each labored breath. If I closed my eyes now, would I ever wake up again?
I glanced up at Talon, searching his eyes for answers to my unspoken questions. An icy curtain closed across his glimmering orbs, and a wave of uneasiness assaulted me. Either he didn’t have the responses, or he wasn’t giving them up.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I gave in to the pain and exhaustion.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Damn it, Talon. How did this happen?” Logan’s voice zipped through my mind, waking me from a fitful sleep.
A nasty flavor coated my tongue, and memories of Fiona pouring some potion down my throat sprang to the forefront of my hazy thoughts. Delacroix, the demon, Talon saving me… a torrent of images bombarded me.
I drew in a breath, and the sharp scent of disinfectant clung to my nostrils. The infirmary. Slowly, I cracked my lids open. White walls—check, broody dragon—check. It hadn’t all been some horrible nightmare.
Talon and Logan stood by the window on the opposite wall, their broad backs turned away from me.
“Don’t put this on me, Logan.” Talon jabbed a thick finger at Logan’s chest. “She’s completely uncontrollable. I left her for a few minutes to shower and the next thing I know, she’s in Delacroix’s cell. Are you sure you’re not being played here?”
Logan’s eyes narrowed, his expression carved into stone. I wasn’t sure which of the two beasts was scarier—the gargoyle or the dragon. “You’re the one who just parted with a pint of your precious blood, so I’ll ask you the same thing.”
“What was I supposed to do, let her die?”
“Of course not. I’m simply pointing out the fact that if you didn’t trust Azara you wouldn’t have saved her.”
“Or maybe I’ve been stuck in this damn place for too long.” Talon raked his hands over his face and grumbled.
Shockingly, Logan patted the inmate on the back. “You did the right thing, Talon. Despite the possible complications, I can’t thank you enough for saving her life. Her parents, they’d never forgive me if something happened to her while under my watch.”
“Then maybe you should take over my duties. I’m obviously not any good at it.”
“Because you haven’t forgiven her, Talon.”
Forgiven me for what? I barely suppressed the words from bursting out.
Talon threw his hands up. “I just gave her my blood for gods’ sakes, Warden. I’m doing everything I can to keep her safe regardless of what she did. Do you have any idea how hard that is? What else do you want from me?”
Blood? The shiny dagger flitted across my mind, but I couldn’t quite grasp the whole picture.
“We’ve both been at this business for a long time. You know as well as I that to be an effective guardian, not being invested enough is as bad as being too invested.”
“Yeah and look where that got Vander.”
Vander? Why did that name keep popping up?
Logan loosed a frustrated breath, and his taut shoulders sagged forward. “I’m sorry, Talon. He never should’ve been following her that night. I don’t know what got into him…”
“You just said it, Warden: not being invested enough is as bad as being too invested.” He turned away, his gaze darting toward me.
I squeezed my eyes shut, praying to all the gods he hadn’t caught me spying on them.
“Talon, about your blood—”
His hand shot up. “I think our little delinquent demon is awake.”
Dammit. Busted. I rolled over and stretched, adding in a long, fake yawn. Rubbing my eyes, I tried to sit up.
Logan darted across the space before my vision cleared and helped me sit up. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I was bashed in the head by a drunk pygmy giant.” I rubbed my temples and grimaced.
“How’s your wound?” Talon ticked his head at my middle, keeping his voice neutral.
Slowly, I lifted up the oversized white t-shirt to examine the crime scene. I gaped as I stared at flawless skin. “There’s not even a scratch on me…”
Logan and Talon exchanged a glance, and an infinitesimal smile pulled at the moody dragon’s lips.
I had no idea what kind of demon had attacked me, but I’d never forget the pain his poisonous claws had inflicted. “How’s that possible? What was that stuff that Fiona gave me? I’ve never healed this quickly before.”
Logan opened his mouth to answer, but Talon threw him a dark glare that immobilized his jaw.
“Antidote to the draconis demon poison.”
“Great. So