Unmade (Unborn #4) - Amber Lynn Natusch Page 0,49
as it may…bedroom. Now,” he said as he pushed himself off the couch with great effort and walked over.
“Wait,” Kierson called out. “If Kaine stabbed you in the heart, how are you even here, Oz?”
The Dark One looked over his shoulder at my brother and scowled. “Sean wouldn’t allow the Healer to help me, so your sister got a harebrained idea—as she always does—and executed it like a complete psycho.”
“What did you do, Khara?” Drew asked. The sadness in his eyes gave me pause—made me realize how they would mourn my death if and when it came to pass.
“I made it so the Healer would have to save me, thus giving me her ability. Once I procured it, I used it on Oz, and just in the nick of time.”
“She skewered herself with an obsidian feather right in front of Sean,” Oz clarified on my behalf. The anger in his tone was palpable, and it spread to my brothers like wildfire.
“Khara—”
“I am fine, Kierson—”
“Fuck fine! You could have died!”
“And so could Oz. If you are angry, then you should take it up with Sean. His unwillingness to aid Oz drove me to such lengths.”
“To be clear, before you all start in on me, I told her to drop it,” Oz said. “But it seems this one has a mind all her own. Now, about that nap…”
He swayed on his feet, and I put my arm around his waist to steady him as we headed for our bedroom. Though I had healed Oz, it seemed that my ability was not nearly as finely tuned as the young Healer’s; he collapsed onto the bed in our room the moment we entered. It was the second time I had seen him rendered vulnerable by Kaine and the others, and I felt sparks forming in my fingers the longer I let my thoughts linger. Instead, I squeezed them into fists to choke off the lightning and sat on the edge of the bed to face the door—to stand guard. Though I doubted an attack would occur, I was unwilling to assume so. Not until Oz was at my side to tell me I was being foolish.
I could almost hear his arrogant tone in the silence as he lay behind me.
Rustling of the sheets drew my attention, and I dared a glance over my shoulder. Oz sat in the middle of the bed, his hooded eyes focused on me—on my wings.
“Keeping watch, new girl?”
“I feel it is a good idea. With so many enemies circling, one cannot be too careful.”
I turned my focus back to the door as the bed creaked behind me.
“You blame yourself for what happened.”
“My complacency where Kaine is concerned got you impaled by an obsidian blade.”
The bed went silent. “And then you buried one in yourself.”
“It was the only way—”
“The only way to what?”
I looked back at him, his body just behind mine, and tried to ignore the look of anger creasing his brow.
“To save you, you fool.”
His brown eyes narrowed as he leaned closer. I felt my heart speed up with his approach. His fingers trailed up my back, tickling the sensitive skin between my wings, and I stifled a shiver.
“Do me a favor next time,” he whispered in my ear, his breath warm and heady. “Don’t.” I moved to turn around, but his hand clamped down on the back of my neck, holding me still. “Because I don’t ever want to see what I saw again, understand?”
Against his fierce hold, I managed to turn my body enough to see him. Our faces were only a hair’s breadth apart, but the building anger was a wall between us.
“I understand very well, Dark One, as I, too, do not wish to see what I saw ever again.”
The hand on my neck slipped to my throat, fingers gripping for a moment before releasing their tension and resting against my soft flesh.
“I thought you’d die,” he rumbled, the tension in his hand returning.
“As I knew you would if I did nothing.”
His eyes slammed shut as he tried to control his breathing. “Death is not an option for you, new girl. Not while I live.”
I leaned against his palm, allowing my forehead to press against his. “Nor is it an option for you while I still draw breath.”
For a moment, we remained as we were, staring one another down, both breathing fast and shallow. Then Oz’s hand flew to the back of my head and pulled my mouth to his. His kiss was fueled