By the time I made a single bandage, the gouges where the bullets had caught his flesh would probably be closed completely.
He was okay. Not dying, not even that badly injured. My breath whooshed from my lungs in a rush. Thorn shifted so his back rested against the wall again, and I tipped my head against the warrior’s broad shoulder.
The muscles there had tensed, even harder to the touch than usual. Thorn’s voice came out in a low, terse rumble. “You shouldn’t have needed to warn me. I should have been more aware of our enemies’ movements.”
“You can’t be looking everywhere at once. Anyway, none of us had any idea they’d up the ante that far.”
“I should have considered it—it was to be expected after we’d proven ourselves such daunting opponents.”
I tucked my hand around his massive bicep. “It doesn’t matter. We got through it. I’m just glad I could warn you.”
The frustration in Thorn’s tone didn’t fade. “It matters because you had to put your energy toward protecting me when my job is meant to be protecting you—and the others. Yet again, I have—”
He cut himself off, glowering at the opposite wall, but I thought I could fill in the blanks. He’d told me a little about the long-ago war he’d fought in and how ashamed he felt that he hadn’t been there to battle to the death alongside so many of his fellow wingéd when he might have made more of a difference.
Did he really think he’d failed just now, even with all of us alive and no longer bleeding smoke all through the atmosphere? I wasn’t sure whether to be more sad or offended about that.
“Hey,” I said, and waited until he shifted his gaze to me. “You need to loosen up on yourself. You did enough. If you hadn’t gone patrolling, they’d have caught us completely by surprise. And it shouldn’t be only your responsibility to keep me—or anyone else—safe. Aside from the fact that I can look after myself just fine lots of the time, we’re a team. That means we all look out for each other. We’ve got a much better chance of making it through this war that way. You watch my back, and I’ll watch yours too—as well as I can, anyway.”
Thorn blinked at me. His eyes slid away, his expression still so solemn I braced myself for further argument. But after a stretch of silence, he said, “I don’t believe you need to worry about your capabilities. That was quite the blast you sent at the mortals who were shooting at me. I’m honored to have such a valiant warrior on my side.”
I sputtered a laugh at both the idea of being valiant and being a warrior myself. “Don’t count on me ever pulling off something on that large a scale again, at least not when we actually need it.” The only way I seemed to be able to use my power was by not thinking about using it at all, just doing it… which was hardly a reliable strategy.
The truck jostled, and Thorn tucked his arm around my waist to hold me steady. It stayed there, his thumb tracing a gentle line up and down my side. “You did save my life, m’lady. Quite literally this time.”
“Please don’t tell me you now have another huge debt to repay.”
An unexpectedly light note entered his voice. “Oh, I do. But I swear I won’t mention it except under exceedingly urgent circumstances.” He paused, and his usual serious demeanor returned. “Thank you. I wouldn’t have expected—but I should know by now not to underestimate you.”
“You really should,” I agreed, and eased back to look at his face. “Just so we’re clear, I will be looking out for you, but I don’t think I’m ever going to live up to your standards as a warrior. Stealthily making sure I’m never even seen is much more my thing than direct combat.”
The corner of his mouth twitched upward. “Maybe so. It doesn’t change the fact that I’m still here because of your quick eyes and action. I suppose I can admit there’s something to your point about teamwork, but there’s no need for you to be a warrior when that’s not your nature. It’s not the incubus’s or the devourer’s either, but they have their own strengths I can’t match.”
“Because you’re so strong at being strong.” I poked him in the pec. “I do wish that me being mortal—however much I am, which seems to be