Damsel[ed]: Rescue Required (#3 of the Damsel[ed] Series)

Chapter Twenty-Three: Aura

I don't know how long Gats and I lie there like that, my wings outstretched and bleeding, his head nuzzled against my chest. Long enough that a few weeks ago, I would've laughed and squirmed away from him by now, my cheeks flushed to an uneven, ever-darkening red. But it's the swell and fall of his chest, the soft sound of his inhales and exhales, and the touch of his gentle hand looping a snarl of my hair around his fingertips that remind me he is here, and that if I close my eyes I can imagine us pressed liked this forever, nothing but him and me and the darkness.  

And so we lay together, staring up at the shadows passing over the ceiling, until I rest my hand in his hair and we fall asleep on the cool carpet, Gats just beginning to purr. We're safe, I think, at least for now, and I fall asleep with him still pressed to my chest, the coppery smell of blood only an itch at the broad of my thoughts. 

Katris whimpers and Heaven cooes at him. Jaylin grumbles and her storm of footsteps fills the apartment with haunting echoes. These sounds ebb into visions of fire and chains and laughter and screams, and I wake up in a coat of sweat with Gatsby's hair wound in my fist. 

Afraid to wake him, I scream silently against his shoulder, blinking for tears that won't come. 

Needless to say, I skip the next day of school, and so the rest of us, minus a Shiro who scuttles off quickly. I've already lost a lot of time, but adventures, if that's what you want to call these experiences, they take energy. And my wing aches. What I get for hacking at it with a piece of glass. I spend the morning binding the shredded muscle with the leftover bandages Toby brought before taking Keppler to the park, And after that, I put up a bucket and soak the blood from the carpet with a wet rag. There's a lot of it, and Gats leaves me in favor of napping with his favorite wolf.

It's Katris who worries me. His skin is full of scars, and his eyes are covered in white bandages.He hobbles around the apartment, cussing and occasionally crying. Toby helps him. He sits with him long into the day, sipping coffee and talking in low tones The guardians are still gone and Toby watches, tired, until he receives a phone call late in the afternoon and I beg him to return to the hospital, where he's needed. Heaven promises to watch us, and the man nods tiredly, rubbing his eyes and wincing as he drags himself out the door.

Heaven perches on the couch until she hears screams from across the state and she takes off, reminding me over her shoulder just to shout for her if ever I need her to come. Katris stumbles up to me, smooths his hand against the grove of my neck, steadies himself, and punches me so hard I scream. And then lie there, making these hollow, sucking gasps for air. But my brother looks so helpless with his eyes covered his skin crisscrossed with stitches, I only offer him a pat on the back of his head. "I can grab you a soda," I say, bruise blooming under my left rib, "if you want it."

"It's no use," he says softly, bandaged wings stretching against his shoulder blades. He backs against the couch and sinks into the cushions, trembling. He has never stopped trembling. Last night I could swear I heard his ribcage rattle. And In case you haven't been counting, that's another wayward teen added to the mix. "They're going to eat you alive." He sighs.

Jaylin sits with him. She leaves her hand on his forearm, silent. She stares at his broken wings, and then she stares at the shadows passing over the ceiling, running her fingertips over his palms. He shakes and she presses her face into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

He holds his face in his hands. "How long 'til she comes for us?"

"I dunno."

"Why did you tell her?" His voice is strangely cool. He turns his arm over, exposing Xs of wire and torn, tender grooves of flesh. I lean on the back of his couch, watching the door with my arms crossed over an aching chest. Waiting, maybe for Heaven, who's patrolling across the city, or maybe for Toby, who's working. Or my guardians, who have left and never returned.