Changed by Fire (Phoenix Rising #6) - Harper Wylde Page 0,95

tomorrow? I think we both need to see a healer.” He snorted as he angled his body to show the deep scratches at the top of his spine. Killian gave him a smug grin.

“Yeah. I’m up for it,” Killian grumbled, tossing an arm around my shoulder. Ciarán saluted him and ambled away while I shook my head.

“I never would have expected you to get on this well,” I mused, brushing a kiss over his cheek as he led us toward the hotel.

“I’m surprised too,” Killian admitted. “But, I don’t know, maybe it’s time?” He hesitated for a moment. “Um, speaking of time…”

Damien! he called through the mental link. Can you get everyone together for a few minutes? Gaspard, Ciarán, and Rini too?

That sounded ominous… “Um, do I want to know why you’re making everyone gather together?”

Five minutes. Meeting room, Damien replied, not even bothering to ask why. I wondered if he already knew or if, at this point, little surprised him.

“I got distracted by my fight with Ciar,” Killian murmured, pressing another kiss to my lips. “But we need to get everyone together. I had a visitor earlier.”

“A visitor?” I racked my brain to figure out what he meant. He had to mean someone in the compound, I would have heard if it had been anyone from outside.

Kilian steered me in the right direction with ease, and Ryder was already waiting for us. “Ryder!” I exclaimed, throwing my arms around him and pressing my lips against his in a quick kiss.

“Hey, Nix.” Ryder smiled, but there was something off about it. He’d been quiet lately, always working, and I worried he was overdoing it. The door opened as my mates flooded in, showering me in kisses and small caresses before settling in. Rini and Ciarán found seats on opposite sides of the room, pointedly ignoring each other. Gaspard was the last to arrive, clicking the door shut behind him.

“What’s this about then, Killian?” Damien asked, perching on the couch.

Killian sighed, pacing back and forth across the room. “Zenoah.” The single name rang out around us.

I stiffened as fear flickered through me, my Phoenix hissing madly. “Did she do something?” I knew Damien had vetted her, but there was an instinctual part of me that wanted nothing to do with the female.

“She offered to help.” That was the last thing I’d expected him to say, and if the gasps of my friends were anything to go on, I wasn’t the only one shocked.

“Help how?” Rini questioned, her pert nose wrinkled. “I mean, does she just want to, you know, eat your dreams again?” She winced on the words, sending a cautious glance at Killian.

“She’s dying,” Ryder inserted with a sigh, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “It wouldn’t be surprising, really.”

“She didn’t say anything about a trade. She cornered me outside earlier.”

“I caught a little of it,” Ciarán piped up.

“She wants to tell us some of what she knows about the Council. And to remind us of her offer to help Nix.” He glanced at me, his green eyes wary. “She admitted it could do more harm than good to help you remember everything, but she has little time left and wanted to make sure she kept her promise if it’s something you want.”

I huffed out a breath. I’d often found myself debating the same thing. As much as a part of me wanted that knowledge, wouldn’t it be better if Zenoah could tell us about what happened there without me having to experience it all? I couldn’t be sure.

“I think we need to talk to her,” Theo suggested. “All of us,” he added hurriedly, when murmurs of protest rose around him. “Neither Damien nor Gaspard sensed any ill will from her. If she really does want to help, we can’t really turn it down, no matter how much we dislike her.”

Hiro hummed his approval. “I’d like to disagree with you, Theo, but unfortunately, I can’t.” He reached out to clap a hand on Ryder’s shoulder, but Ryder pushed to his feet, joining Killian to pace.

“I’ll listen to whatever she has to say,” Ryder whispered.

“I’ll grab her,” Ciarán offered grimly, ducking from the room as I watched my mates with cautious eyes. Tensions were so high at the moment it was hard to breathe.

“She mentioned that Maldonado is terrified of basilisks,” Killian told Joshua with an arched brow. “That he’s going to go out of his way to avoid you or your father because your sight power can