CARLYLE

“Carlyle.”

The voice sounded like it was calling my name from miles away, but I struggled toward it anyway. It was a nice voice.

“Wake up, Carlyle. You did it. You brought Toro back to us.”

I didn’t recognize the soft voice at first. It wasn’t rumbly enough to be Sol or heated enough to be Dair. Killian never used my name. Was it Jai, then? I tried to twist my head toward the voice, and I felt arms tighten around my shoulders and beneath my knees.

The world bounced a little, and I realized I was being carried somewhere.

“Stay with us, Carlyle. Come on, sweetness.” The last word was barely a whispered breath, but it shocked me enough to figure out how to open my eyes. Everything was blurry and darker than daylight should be.

Gentle arms lowered me into a soft bed and drew covers up to my neck.

“Jai?” I croaked, hoping I was right.

The barest touch grazed my cheek. “Thank you for everything. Now, sleep.”

Silence descended on the room, but I wasn’t certain if I slept or not. Everything looked dark and fuzzy when I closed my eyes, and the same when I pushed them open again. Eventually, my muscles relaxed, and energy started to trickle into my veins. I didn’t dream or see visions of Jack.

I didn’t think about anything. I just drifted, allowing my body to figure out what had happened and what to do next.

My skin felt rough and raw, as though I’d peeled scabs away from myself, too.

“Shortcake?” Sol’s familiar rumble broke me out of my detached contemplation, what seemed like hours later. “Are you gonna make it?”

I heard the humor in his words, but fear was there, too. Whatever had happened to me when I helped Toro had scared my guys.

My eyelashes fluttered as I pushed my eyes open. It was so much effort.

“I brought you a treat,” Sol said, and I felt the mattress dip as he sat next to me. Cold metal pressed against my lips, and icy sweetness slipped in to coat my tongue.

“Ummm,” I moaned. Ice cream. Opening my mouth wider, I let him spoon-feed me the creamy goodness. Each bite brought increased energy and warm fuzzies with it, and soon I felt strong enough to sit up. My head was pounding, but as I ate, it gradually subsided. Sol offered me a bottle of water, which I guzzled thankfully.

“What time is it?” I felt groggy, and the light outside my window was all wrong.

“Early morning. You slept a long time,” Sol answered.

“What happened?” I said, my throat feeling gravelly.

“Well, you healed Toro somehow. He’s sleeping now, and we think he’s going to be just fine when he comes to. We’re so grateful.”

Embarrassed, I waved away the thanks. I wasn’t ready to admit how much I’d needed to help Toro, and what that might mean. I’d always had a strong inclination to help people with their emotional issues, but it had never been as strong as what I felt for Toro.

“You also kind of passed out. Are you okay?”

I shrugged. “I feel better now.”

“Shortcake, we really have no idea what happened in there,” Sol admitted. “Jai thinks you used your own power to free Toro’s power. Your Qilin power - not Jack’s or mine.”

I sank back into the pillow. I knew he was right, but for some odd reason I wasn’t certain I wanted to admit it. What did it mean that I could bring a person back from the brink of death? How was it possible that instead of untangling the threads of emotion from a human, I could untangle the snares of death from a Haretian?

Had I possessed this power my whole life, or had I only now gained enough strength to learn it?

I could have helped so many more people with this magic.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Sol asked. I shook my head. He looked a little dejected, but if he was giving me an out, I’d take it.

“Can I see him? Toro?” I asked instead.

“Of course. He’s still in the bathroom for now. Killian used his magic to airlift in a tub full of seawater. It was pretty awesome.”

I grinned at his enthusiasm for his teammate’s power. I hadn’t seen much of Killian’s magic. “Sorry I missed it,” I said, pushing myself out of the bed. I felt super weak, but Sol supported me easily while we made it the short distance to my bathroom.

Kana sat on the edge of the tub still, though everything looked clean and fresh. No blood or gore, which I was grateful for. Killian was perched on the counter, his back propped against the mirror as he fooled with his phone.

Kana nodded her head at us, and I looked down at Toro, studying the last member of the team as he slept.

His broad shoulders tapered down to narrow hips, followed by, yep, a tail. He definitely didn’t have a tail before, and I wondered if he’d shifted because of the seawater.

His legs were fused together under glistening black and silver scales and ended in a luxurious fin instead of a pair of feet. A narrow fin protruded from his calves, and another along his spine like a shark’s dorsal fin. Pure muscle rippled as he shifted farther to his side, and I was treated to the firm roundness of a perfect male ass beneath that sheath of scales.

Hmm. I wondered where he kept his cock? Like, was there a pocket somewhere on that tail? The thought darted from my mind before I could remind myself this was so not the right time.

“Yeah...” Kana said, fighting a laugh. “That one was totally out loud. Don’t worry about it, though - Toro would say it’s always the right time for cock.”

My face felt like it was on fire. Goddamn leaky mind and zero filter mouth. Kana lost her battle and burst out laughing, which broke some of the tension I was feeling.

Killian made an exasperated noise, as expected, and stomped out of the room, muttering. I just shrugged. Oh fucking well.

I grinned back sheepishly at Sol, who just rolled his eyes and smiled. I was glad he seemed to be getting over his jealousy - maybe now that we’d bonded, he knew I wasn’t going anywhere. If I was really going to try this Qilin thing of multiple mates, he’d have to share.

“Want to take a break?” I asked Kana. “I could use some coffee.”

“No thanks. I need to stay up here - Jai and I noticed some unusual thought activity. I’m afraid he’s still pretty far rogue, and that could be dangerous,” she warned with a serious look.

Sol growled softly. “We need to figure this out. First Jack, now Toro? It’s almost too much of a coincidence.”

“Jack!” I exclaimed, realizing that in the drama of bringing another Haretian back to goddamn life, I’d completely lost track of the fact that we had a dragon to rescue. I flew out of the bathroom and down the stairs, searching for Jai or Dair.

I found Dair in his bed, out cold. His skin seemed too pale, and he looked like he hadn’t shaved since before he’d left. The covers were around his waist, exposing all his olive-colored skin and lean, sculpted muscle. It took a fucking lot of willpower to slip quietly back out of the room, but I wasn’t even certain he’d welcome me right now.

Jai was in his own room, slouched on the floor with his back to the bed as he stared at his laptop.

“Hey,” I said, settling next to him when he nodded at me. “Not much for chairs, huh.”

He shrugged, sighing and shutting the laptop cover. He lifted his hands to massage his temples, and if I’d been a tiny bit more daring, I’d have reached over to do it myself.

“So, Savannah?” he said, sliding me a glance.

“We have to rescue him.” I drew up a mental image of just how bad Jack had looked and focused on it intently. Sure enough, Jai shuddered.

“You take to projection so naturally. You’ll need to work hard on blocking your thoughts. You might be a cipher to the Ringmaster, but he certainly has vampires in his circus who could read every secret you have in a matter of seconds.”

It was my turn to shudder. “I wonder if the Ringmaster knows about my bond with Jack.”

“It’s likely a matter of time. As happy as I am that Toro is back with us, the timing couldn’t be much worse.”

“Won’t he be a help, though?” A big guy like that had to be handy in a fight.

Jai forced a breath through his lips with a frustrated noise. “I’m afraid he’s too rogue. When he wakes, he may be dangerous to us or to himself.”

I chewed on my lip. I didn’t understand this whole rogue thing, but if it could happen to Toro, it could happen to Jack. What would we do if Jack wasn’t on our side?

“Precisely the problem, my little Qilin,” Jai murmured. I thrilled a bit too much at his possessive words, and I worked hard to hide the feeling from him.

He leaned his head against the bed frame behind him, his eyes sliding closed. I couldn’t help but stare at the way his sharp cheekbones gave way to the slope of his cheeks, then a defined, clean jaw. His skin was flawless and the most gorgeous cinnamon hue. His full lips were open the slightest bit, a flash of fang barely visible.

I marveled at how vulnerable and open he looked in this moment, and I flushed at the thought that he was allowing me to see him like this.

He’d admitted once that he kept himself locked up tight for everyone except me, and my heart beat faster at seeing this so plain in his current expression.

I slid my fingers across the carpet toward his, wondering how much I dared. I’d just barely brushed my thumb across the back of his hand when his eyes flew open and he bolted to his feet.

“Toro,” he called, already halfway out of the room.

Ah, fuck. Someone was always interrupting me when I was about to go for it with Jai. I got up, grumbling something incoherent about sushi, and made my way back to the bathroom.