over, his legs wobbly.
Zane and his dad fought, but it was pretty one-sided. Within seconds, his dad was unconscious on the floor, bleeding from the nose. Zane turned toward him, his green eyes nearly black, fury across his face.
Paxton’s legs shook but he stood straighter, even though his face felt caved in. He deserved whatever they did to him.
Hope ran for her dad, who enveloped her in a hug, looking so big and dangerous that Paxton knew she’d be safe without him. At least for now.
Talen put an arm over his shoulders and turned him toward the door, standing even taller than Pax’s dad. “We’ll have somebody else clean up this mess,” he rumbled, letting Paxton lean on him as they exited the house. “Your face looks damaged. I’ll give you some blood to heal it as soon as we get back to the warm lodge.”
“I can heal it,” Paxton said, letting the chilly air wash over the heat bombarding him from within.
Talen started. “You’re young to be healing yourself.”
“I’ve been doing it for years,” he mumbled, letting the cells go to work. Had Zane just growled at that? Talen stiffened and then relaxed as well. Pax shook his head, trying to concentrate and fix his face. “Where are we going?”
“To get you checked out and have a talk,” Zane said from behind him.
Paxton exhaled, the movement hurting his entire side. He’d fallen harder than he’d thought. That talk was probably going to hurt worse that he did right now, but he deserved it. Maybe they’d let him still be friends with Hope afterward, if he didn’t fight back, but probably not. He’d almost gotten her killed, and now she was crying. “How did you know she was in danger?”
“We didn’t,” Talen said, taking more of his weight easily. “We discovered she’d left without the proper precautions, and we figured she went to see you. Why didn’t you let us know you were in danger?”
There it was. He’d lied to them all for years. His ears heated and he straightened his back, continuing along the lake toward the lodge. There wasn’t anything to say, and Talen didn’t push him for any more answers.
They entered the lodge and Hope’s mom made a beeline for him, fussing over his already healing face. “I’m okay, Janie,” he mumbled, wondering if she’d still talk to him after learning the full truth. She was the nicest lady he’d ever met, and she’d always treated him like he mattered. “Please stop fussing.” The kindness was too much, and he was afraid he’d start bawling like a baby.
Zane and Talen spoke for moment and then Zane walked toward him. “Do you need to see a doctor?”
“No,” he said, feeling his face heal completely so he could send cells to his side. “I don’t.” They might as well get this over with.
“Okay.” Zane slid an arm over his shoulder. “Let’s go for a walk.” When the head of the entire demon nation wanted to go for a walk, things were about to turn bad.
Pax swallowed and looked over his shoulder and saw Hope, her eyes wide and worried, tears still on her face. He wanted to tell her goodbye, but the words wouldn’t come. So he smiled, and when she smiled back, that was good enough. She’d grown even prettier lately, and her smile was a good image to remember before dying. “Let’s go.” He went with Zane, walking through the main lodge to the rec room, where he’d spent countless hours playing games with Hope and the other kids.
Zane released him and went to grab two root beers from the fridge before motioning toward the outside door. “It’s a pretty night.”
This was weird. Pax took the soda and followed Zane out the wide doors to the covered deck and wooden chairs facing the snow falling lightly over the lake. Zane pressed a button on the table in front of them, and a full fire sprang to life, warming Paxton instantly. Almost in a dream, he opened the soda and took several gulps, letting the sugar take hold.
Zane kicked back with his drink and put his boots on the table near the fire.
Pax swallowed. “I’m sorry I put Hope in danger.” His voice cracked, but it had been doing that for months, so hopefully Zane wouldn’t think he was scared, even though he was.
Zane drank, the expression on his face thoughtful. “I’ve asked you before if your dad was hurting you. I didn’t know if it was regular