Cross Keys: Unity by Ally Shields

Author:Ally Shields
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Paranormal Romance
ISBN: 978-1-944138-34-9
Publisher: Etopia Press
Published: 2015-12-22T05:00:00+00:00

* * *

When Seth and Rhyden arrived at the Lormarc Guild on the New Orleans side, Seth immediately spotted Kam and Esty running toward them. He raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing here?”

“Another fifteen minutes, and we were coming after you.” Kam looked at Rhyden and pushed them back into the portal. “Let’s go to our apartment.”

In the light of Kam and Seth’s kitchen, Esty finally noticed Rhyden’s injuries. “Oh, your hands. They’re raw and bleeding. Who did this?” Her forehead wrinkled in distress. “They must hurt awfully.”

“Not as much as my ribs,” he said, moving gingerly toward the kitchen table with Seth supporting him. “Can I just sit a minute?”

Kam disappeared into the bathroom and reappeared with a first aid kit. “Esty, you might as well help me. If you’re going to hang around with Lormarc men, you better get used to patching up their injuries.”

Esty proved to be an excellent healer. Gentle, sure-handed, and no-nonsense. “You are not all right,” she declared when Rhyden balked at removing his shirt in front of her, and she didn’t blush when she finally tugged it off, revealing his bare chest.

While Rhyden’s bruises and cuts were cleaned and treated with elven salve, Seth prepared honey tea and shoved two herbal painkillers into Rhyden’s free hand. “Once you’ve taken these, the ribs should be tolerable, then you can tell us what happened.”

Esty bent over her patient. “The pills will make you feel better, but your ribs will heal faster if they also get a dose of this.” She held out the can of salve. “Hold out your arms, so I can reach them.”

“What? No. I can put it on myself.” He dipped his fingers in and smeared ointment over his rib cage. “I can do this just fine.”

“You can’t reach your back.” She scooped a glob into her hands and slathered it on his back, rubbing it deep into the skin.

Rhyden closed his eyes at her touch, and Seth turned away to hide a smile. He caught Kam’s equally amused look, and they retreated to the far counter to fix coffee. She opened the cabinet and retrieved the bag of beignets they’d brought back from their shopping trip.

Once the coffee was ready, and Rhyden’s pain pills had kicked in, Kam and Seth returned to the kitchen table while Rhyden related his misadventure in Elvenrude.

“It was Kurzi Everins and his gang,” Esty declared when he’d finished.

“Yeah, I suppose so. He must have spotted me. But how did he arrange the ambush? They were waiting, just seconds after he disappeared down that path.”

“He told someone back at the pub.” Seth narrowed his eyes. “It could be more than a casual meeting place. Maybe we need someone to get a job on the inside. If Merik recovers—” He suddenly remembered Sawyer Ryndel had brought them the news of the stabbing. “Where’d your father go?”

“Her father was here?” Rhyden straightened, then winced and rubbed his side. “If Merik recovers from what?”

Uh-huh. Seth noted he’d asked about Esty’s father first.

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