resembled the world she’s always known — with trees, hills, rivers and forests — but all of it was bathed in a warm golden glow as if the sun had burst and scattered its particles into the air. It was beautiful, serene, and only safe for a short while, since they were being tracked.
Raven touched down at a stream and released Nikki slowly. “Doing okay?” He studied her. Her shell-shocked eyes and bewildered look proved she was unsettled from seeing Mace and Glimmer, and it made him wonder if he was doing the right thing. She is alive. That’s all that matters.
She squeezed her upper arm. “My arm stings a little.”
He took her by the hand and led her to the water. “Let’s wash out the cut. That wasn’t exactly a sterile hunk of wood.”
She nodded and he reached a hand into the water. He drew his cupped palm toward her, but paused. Raven’s gaze left the wound and considered her face. What if …
Nikki peered down at the wound and nodded. “I agree. Don’t rinse it.” He felt her pull back slightly. “It’ll leave my blood in the stream.”
He let the liquid drain through his fingers then wiped his hand across his jeans.
Of course, there were other ways of helping heal a wound. Not that he should try. But as she squeezed her forearm and frowned down at the cut, he knew should didn’t matter.
Before she could protest, Raven licked his lips and pressed them to the cut.
She flinched, a hiss escaping her lips. “Raven, ouch.” She pulled from him, horror filling her golden eyes. “Why did you do that? My blood is on you now. That makes you a target, genius.”
Her lips were a hard straight line, but as she clutched her arm with her free hand, her eyes ablaze, all he could think was, Man, she’s hot. Hot mad, but also hot sexy. He allowed himself a half smile. “Did you know your cheek dimples when you get angry?”
She smacked his arm. “This isn’t funny, Raven. That burned! And was … incredibly stupid!”
She dropped her attention to the wound. It had healed, like he knew it would. Nikki blinked a few times, then ran her hand over the tiny, silvery scar.
Raven sniffed. He knew Mace had done the same angelic healing thing when she’d burned her hands.
“You healed my arm with your spit.”
“Wow, it sounds really gross when you say it like that.”
“It burned, Raven. Why did it burn? Mace kissed my hands after the lab fire and it was far from painful.” She grabbed his chin with her finger and thumb and peered into his mouth like the answer was there, resting on his tongue.
He pulled away from her, though part of him wanted her to continue her scrutiny. “Yeah, well, Mace is a little purer than I am.” Raven shrugged and sat down on a rock. “Bitter blood in me.”
“But your eyes have lightened, so you’re not close to falling into darkness anymore, right?” It was both a question and a plea. Nikki dropped to her knees on the ground to look him eye to eye. Maybe to make sure she understood the whole iris-darkening thing. Either way, he liked her like this, all interested in him and full of questions. Especially when she leaned in a little closer. “Vessler fought me on the lawn of my house, and you and Mace knew I was a Halfling because you watched my eyes darken.”
“I was there, Nikki. You don’t have to tell me what happened.” But keep talking. She’d dropped her hands to his knees; heat from her fingers radiated through his jeans and vibrated into his gut.
“Your eyes were slowly darkening until …”
“Until I met you.”
She withdrew her hands quickly. “But they’re light now.”
“Things can change in a heartbeat, baby.”
She grabbed his upper arms. “Raven, don’t joke about that, okay?”
Yes, his eyes had lightened. When Raven began the journey to keep Nikki alive, his eyes were nearly black, a sign he was shifting to the darker side of his nature. A side she made him no longer crave. “Everyone is one breath away from choosing evil, Nikki. For me, it’s just a shorter trip.”
She didn’t like hearing him talk like that, he could tell. Well, too bad. It was a fact. If Nikki really had chosen Mace, what did he have to live for, anyway? To fight for?
Tears welled in her eyes, and she tilted her chin back to hide them.
Raven forced out a long