Chapter 141 — Caught Between Them

Chapter 141: Chapter 141 — Caught Between Them

~ Raven ~

Of all the people she could have found in this room.

"Raven?" Alaric repeated, looking at her as though he couldn’t believe she was standing there. "What are you doing here?"

"Fuck."

Raven turned toward the door, but before she could reach for the handle, another wave of heat swept through her. Her knees weakened, and she caught herself against the doorframe.

"Raven?"

"Don’t."

Alaric stopped.

She kept one hand against the frame, waiting for the dizziness to pass. It didn’t. Her head still throbbed from what the Dreamwalker had done to her, and the burning beneath her skin had only grown worse since she left Hale Wing.

"I need to leave," she muttered.

Alaric took a step closer. "What happened to you?"

"Didn’t you hear me? Stay away."

His gaze moved over her. Raven saw the moment he noticed the blood beneath her nose, and his expression changed.

"You’re bleeding."

"No shit."

"Who did this to you?"

Raven reached for the handle again. She couldn’t explain the Dreamwalker to Alaric, not when she could barely keep her thoughts together. She needed Cassian.

Alaric moved toward her.

"Raven, wait. You can barely stand."

"Then get out of my way."

"Let me help you."

She gave him a disbelieving look. "You?"

"I can get you to a healer."

"Then go and get one."

He hesitated.

Raven watched his expression change. His gaze lingered on her face before he glanced toward the door, and when he looked back at her, the concern she had seen a moment earlier was no longer the only thing there.

"I’ll take you myself," he slowly said. "But afterward, you’re coming back to Blackthorn with me."

For a moment, Raven wondered whether the pain in her head had made her hear him incorrectly.

"What?"

"You need help. I’m offering it."

"On the condition that I go back with you?"

"You’re not thinking clearly. We can discuss the details when you’re better."

"Oh, fuck you."

His jaw tightened.

Raven pushed herself away from the doorframe. "I would rather die than go back to Blackthorn. Now move."

"Don’t be ridiculous."

She tried to get around him, but Alaric stepped closer, reaching toward her arm.

"Raven, you’re in no condition to—"

The heat surged.

Raven tried to retreat, but her body moved before she could stop it. One moment she was trying to put distance between them, and the next she was lunging toward him.

Alaric moved aside.

She missed him and stumbled, catching herself against the wall.

"What the hell was that?"

Raven pressed a hand over her mouth, horrified by how close she had come to grabbing him. Worse, the urge hadn’t gone away. She could still feel it pulling her toward him.

No. Not him.

Another wave struck so fiercely that a helpless sound escaped her throat.

She shut her eyes, furious with herself.

"Raven?"

"Don’t fucking touch me."

Alaric didn’t answer. His nostrils flared as he caught her scent, and he went still.

Raven looked up to find him staring at her. His gaze moved over her flushed face, the blood beneath her nose and her trembling hands before returning to her face.

His eyes widened.

"Oh."

Raven’s stomach sank.

He knew.

A smile slowly appeared on his face.

"Someone’s given you something."

His gaze moved over her again.

"That explains quite a bit."

He glanced toward the door before looking back at her. "I’m still offering to help you, Raven. You only have to agree to come home."

"I told you I’m not going back."

"Then perhaps I should stop being so considerate."

His hand moved to the front of his shirt.

Raven stared at him.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

Alaric undid the first button, then the next.

"If you’re determined to refuse my help, I might as well enjoy myself."

"You bastard."

She knew what he was doing.

Alaric Blackthorn was a stiff, arrogant piece of shit who cared far too much about appearances. He had never been anything like Kieran. If Kieran had stood in front of her making that threat, she would have believed every word of it.

But Alaric?

He was bluffing.

He wanted her frightened enough to agree to his ridiculous bargain.

Unfortunately, knowing that did nothing to stop her gaze from dropping to the opening in his shirt.

The heat surged again.

Raven looked away immediately.

"You have no fucking idea what you’re doing to me."

"Then agree to come back."

"Go to hell."

She tried to move toward the door, but the effort of passing him brought another wave of desire so strong that she forgot what she had been about to do.

Before she could stop herself, she lunged.

Alaric caught her this time.

Raven’s hands seized the front of his shirt, and one slipped toward the exposed skin beneath it.

Alaric caught her wrist, his eyes widening as she pressed closer.

She looked up at him. His smile was gone, and for a moment, neither of them moved.

Something stirred between them, faint but horribly familiar. Raven felt the pull of their broken bond, stronger than it had been since she left Blackthorn.

Alaric’s grip tightened, and the alarm in his eyes told her he had felt it too.

"Fuck! Raven, get a hold of yourself."

I’m trying.

She desperately wanted to say it, but another wave of heat left her struggling to draw a steady breath. Her fingers remained tangled in his shirt despite every effort to pull them away.

Alaric glanced toward the door. When he looked back at her, the confidence he had worn a moment earlier was gone. There was something close to panic in his eyes.

"Let go of me," he said.

Raven almost laughed.

He was still holding her wrist, while her own fingers refused to release his shirt.

She tried to pull back, but her legs shook, and Alaric caught her by the arm before she could fall against him again.

Then the door exploded inward.

BANG!

Raven flinched.

Cassian stood in the doorway.

His Air Lattice glowed across his body, and the air rushing into the room sent the loose equipment along the wall rattling against its rack.

For a moment, Raven could only stare at him.

Cassian.

He had found her.

His gaze swept over her face, stopping at the blood beneath her nose. Then he looked at Alaric’s open shirt, the hand around her wrist and her fingers still caught in the fabric against his chest.

The air changed.

"Cassian—"

He moved.

Raven barely saw him cross the room. There was a rush of air, the sharp sound of a fist striking flesh, and Alaric was lifted clear off his feet.

BANG!

He smashed into the far wall.

Before Raven could lose her balance, Cassian caught her and pulled her away from him.

Alaric hit the floor with a groan.

Cassian held Raven upright with one arm, his attention fixed on the man across the room. The Lattice along his body had not dimmed, and the air pressing against Raven’s skin was so heavy that she could barely draw a breath.

She felt his rage.

It was unlike anything she had felt from him before, and for one brief moment, the shock of it cut through the haze in her head.

She gripped his arm.

"Cassian."

He didn’t look away from Alaric.

"Cassian, the Dreamwalker—"

His attention snapped to her.

Raven looked up into his face, trying desperately to remember what she needed to tell him. The Dreamwalker had entered her mind. He had known something was wrong with her body. He had—

Cassian was so close.

She stared at his face, at the dangerous look in his eyes and the fury still written across his features. A thrill ran down her spine, and the heat inside her surged as he lowered his gaze to hers.

Then she reached up, caught the front of his shirt and kissed him.

Cassian went rigid.

Raven pulled at his shirt, her fingers fumbling for the buttons as she tried to draw him closer.

Cassian broke the kiss and drew back sharply, his breathing uneven. For a moment, he stared at her, his jaw clenched and his eyes dark with an expression she couldn’t quite read.

"Raven."

She reached for him again, but he caught her wrists before she could touch his chest.

"Raven, look at me."

She heard him. She knew he was speaking to her, but all she could think about was closing the distance between them.

Cassian held her wrists firmly, his gaze moving over her flushed face and the blood still trickling from her nose. The look in his eyes changed, and he drew her closer with one arm when her knees threatened to give way.

"Goddess, Raven. You need a healer—"

A furious growl came from the doorway.

The temperature rose so sharply that Raven felt it against her already burning skin.

Cassian turned.

Raven followed his gaze.

Dante stood in the doorway.

His eyes were glowing, and his Fire Lattice burned across his body. He looked at Raven in Cassian’s arms, then at Cassian’s hands holding her wrists.

The air grew hotter.

"CASSIAN!"