relief on their faces, the wave of gratitude they broadcast my way did funny things to me. I always liked accolades, but this felt different. It was… nice.
Getting inside the car was excruciating. I could see Tate’s desire to help me, but he wisely didn’t. I would have smacked him. The other agents burst into action like an army of ants. One of them rushed towards the female to cover her with a warm blanket before escorting her to one of the vehicles. Others went in with some broom-like vacuums, no doubt to collect the ashes, while another went in with a body bag.
“The other sites?” I asked Thomson, dreading his response.
“There were only three more, the men have handled them,” Thomson said reassuringly. “There had been another Nightmare, but very weak. My men took him out. I doubt he had enough energy to go back.”
I gave him a stiff nod, rested my head on the headrest of my seat, and closed my eyes. I didn’t recall falling asleep—doubted I actually did, considering the amount of pain I was in—but the sound of the city’s siren resounding startled me awake. I suspected I had in fact passed out. A number of shutters immediately started going up. Within minutes, I could barely recognize the streets near the base. They looked so different now with the houses unlocked and people starting to spill out of their homes.
By the time we entered the underground parking of the base, I felt feverish and nauseous with pain. Despite my pride, I nearly fainted again when I tried to get out of the vehicle. Drowning in an ocean of agony, I didn’t react when multiple pairs of hands hauled my massive body out of the vehicle to lay me down on a stretcher. Although they did their best effort to be gentle, my human vessel’s excessive sensitivity got the best of me. The room spun, and a veil of darkness descended before my eyes.
I welcomed it.
Chapter 15
Naima
I slapped my hand over my mouth at the sight of my man being carried in on a stretcher. His face was black and blue, his right eye slightly swollen, and his bottom lip split. His uniform hid the extent of the damage his body had no doubt sustained. It took every ounce of my willpower not to get in the way of the men rushing him to the Infirmary. I wanted to touch Zain, call out his name until he opened his beautiful green eyes and looked at me.
Thomson tried to be reassuring, telling me Zain had been fine, walking to the car on his own and holding a coherent conversation. But that didn’t mean he hadn’t sustained a concussion or that he wasn’t severely bleeding internally.
Anika and another medical employee I didn’t know were waiting for us in front of the Infirmary. The female doctor directed the agents as to where she wanted them to put Zain before kicking us all out. Although the exam would take a bit of time, and despite Anika promising to update me as soon as she had something to share, I frantically paced outside the Infirmary.
Thomson gave me a summary of what had happened, going on in detail about how my man heroically rescued a female Wish and protected them from the repeated attacks of a Nightmare named Tobin. While his tale warmed my heart, I also knew he was hiding the more gruesome details from me. I swallowed the urge to press him on it. I was freaked out enough without causing myself more distress.
“You have no idea what an even more precious gift your man just gave me,” Thomson said in a voice filled with emotion.
I gave him an inquisitive look.
“I know the creator of that female Zain saved,” Thomson said. “Her first Wish, Donna, had died in a terrible car accident.”
“Monica!” I exclaimed, my eyes bulging. “That female is Monica’s Wish? Donna came back?”
“How do you know about—?”
“I’ve been reading the files on the Wishes living here in Cordell,” I interrupted with a dismissive gesture.
“Ah yes, that makes sense,” Thomson replied with a nod. “But no, Donna met her final death many years ago. You cannot ‘resurrect’ a Wish who died on the Mortal Plane and failed to return to the Mist. Faye—the female we rescued this morning—is a completely new Wish.”
It took me a minute to digest that information.
“But… If Monica wished to get Donna back, will she want Faye?” I asked cautiously. I didn’t want to even