Chapter 174: Ada's POV

The light above my head was the brightest shade of yellow I had ever seen. I blinked against it, raising my hand to shield my eyes. It did very little to block out the radiance of whatever was above me. My ears were ringing, drowning out any sound of what was happening around me. Sand was beneath me. I could feel the grains press against my skin— as if each one was biting into me personally. Freezing water sloshed against my legs.

A shadow cast over my face. After a few blinks, I finally made out something. Sweat was dripping from Nik’s forehead as he looked at someone across from him, screaming something. Why was he so upset? Couldn’t he see that I was awake and looking up at him?

He hadn’t noticed yet, nor had whoever was to my right. My neck was too stiff for me to move my head and see who it was. There was a burning sensation in my chest, building until it was excruciating. I tried to scream. My jaw wouldn’t budge. No sound escaped from me.

Nik’s arms looped beneath my neck and behind my knees. He pulled me up, grimacing as he did so. That was when I realized he wasn’t sweating. It was seawater dripping from his angular features. And he had a beard. When did Nik get a beard? The bright light filled my vision once more as my head lolled back over the curve of his arm.

I was bobbing with each step that Nik took, which blurred my vision significantly. The outline of a figure started running toward us at a fast pace. As they came closer, I could make them out. It was Blade, and he slid on his knees to close the final distance to us. He brought his face close to mine, screaming something inaudible.

My body was lowered back to the ground. Nik leaned back over me, this time putting his face right over mine. Tears filled his onyx eyes as he looked down at me, his words going from silent to muffled. His hand was running through my hair, pulling it every time there was a knot.

Fuck, my chest hurt. I couldn’t keep my focus on Nik. There was so much heat where my heart should be. Something wasn’t right. Why weren’t they helping me? Couldn’t they see I was in pain?

Something was beginning to bubble up in my throat, bringing the burning with it. Right as it reached the back of my tongue, I felt my body convulse inward. Water spurted from between my lips, the ringing in my ears suddenly starting to subside. All at once, half a dozen voices rushed at me. Panicked screams, hurried whispers. Hands were suddenly all over me.

I began coughing. The ability to move seemed to return to my limbs, and I forced myself to flip over, vomiting more seawater onto the dry sand. The sun was just over the horizon, which had to be what the bright light I was seeing before was. A hand was rubbing my back between my shoulder blades. My skin was bare and felt raw where it was continuing its circular motions.

Gasping for breath, the pain beginning to subside, I flipped back over and lay back on the hot sand. Nik and Darius were the only two who stayed right by me; the rest of them dispersed amongst themselves. One, two, three, four... five... six, seven. Everyone had made it. Somehow, we’d survived whatever had found us, and we’d made it. Holy shit.

Nik had tears falling from his eyes as he leaned down, gripping the sides of my face gently. His lips found mine tenderly for only a moment before he rested his forehead against mine. I reached up, brushing my fingers through his thick black beard.

“You desperately need to shave,” I croaked, smiling up at him.

He pulled back with a laugh, releasing me back onto the sand. Nik fell back on his ass, wiping below his nose with the back of his hand and sniffling, “You desperately need to bathe, love.”

There was movement to my right. Before I could react, Darius was pulling me into his lap, pressing me against his chest. His heart was racing. He smelled of sweat and the woods. He, too, had grown a thick dark brown beard. Something about it suited him more than the beard suited Nik, though.

Darius rocked back and forth as I remained mostly limp in his arms. “Never scare us like that again.”

A throat cleared. I turned my head, muscles stiff, and my eyes met Phoenix’s emerald ones. He shot me a weak smile. “You okay?” I gave him a nod, reaching out for his hand.

“We need to get off this beach,” Blade’s voice seemed to boom in the still air, almost as loud as the waves crashing against the shore. “They definitely know we’re here.”

“Give her a minute,” Darius’s chest vibrated with his voice, “She needs—”

“To live,” Dagger countered, and I turned to see him standing in his full armor, face grim and hand on the hilt of his sword. “She needs to live. Which means my brother is right.”

“Heath still isn’t well enough yet, either,” Phoenix glanced over his shoulder.

I furrowed my eyebrows. “What happened to Heath?” They all exchanged glances. I climbed out of Darius’s lap and onto shaky legs. I started toward where Paul and Felix were huddled over something. “What the hell happened to Heath?”

“He refused to reap your mate,” Bryant said casually from the log he was sitting on, sipping from a flask, “Heath basically forced your mate’s soul to return to his body. It takes a lot out of a guy.”

“Which mate?” My eyes widened.

There was a sigh. Then, Phoenix stepped up beside me. He looked down at where Heath was lying, pale and asleep. “Me.”

I swallowed, my throat still raw. My hands clenched into fists at my side. I looked at Blade and Dagger. “We aren’t going anywhere until someone explains to me what the fuck happened.”

I’ll admit that I wasn’t expecting a response. So, when all of them started talking at once, I nearly jumped out of my skin.