Page 9 of Brave (A Wicked Trilogy 3)

“Ren.” His name bubbled up from my lips.

; “I’m here.” He carefully touched my cheek with his fingertips, drawing my attention. “Fuck, Ivy.”

There were other voices. A woman’s I didn’t recognize. “You’re going to feel a big pinch,” she said, holding my right arm.

I didn’t feel anything as I stared into Ren’s eyes, wondering why his face seemed fuzzy.

But then Tink was suddenly there, standing beside Ren. “What happened to you? Ivy?” His eyes were wide with horror as he scanned me. “Who did this? The Prince?”

Someone gasped in the room. The cool hand on my arm stilled.

“No,” Ren growled, and the one word echoed in the room like a gunshot. “It was fae that lived here.”

“Two,” I managed to whisper.

“That cannot be.” That was Tanner, but I couldn’t see him. “Those who live here would not harm you—harm any of you.”

The fact that I was bleeding out from multiple stab wounds proved differently.

The air in the room filled with static, and Ren’s fingers left my cheek. I couldn’t see his face or his eyes anymore. He pulled back, and I didn’t see him move, but I heard a body hit a wall.

“No!” someone shouted, and Tink whirled. There was a scream.

What the hell was happening? It was a struggle to lift my head and clear my vision, but I managed just in time to see that Ren had Tanner pinned to the wall with a hand around the older fae’s throat.

“You said we were safe here.” Ren’s voice was too flat, too cold. “We trusted you.”

“You are safe here,” Tanner denied, his tone remaining calm even though Ren was seconds from choking the life out of him. “We would never—”

“That’s obvious bullshit.” Ren cut him off. The muscles under his dark shirt strained as he lifted Tanner up. “Look at her.” A moment passed and Ren shouted, “Look at her!”

Tanner must’ve looked at me, but I couldn’t see past Ren’s shoulder.

“Does she look like she’s safe?” Ren demanded.

Tink stepped away from where I lay.

“She doesn’t,” Tanner replied. “I understand you’re upset. I am, too. I’m also shocked—” His words were cut off when Ren slammed him back against the wall.

“Tink,” Faye cried out from the doorway. When did she get here? “You’ve got to get Ren away from Tanner. He had nothing to do with what happened to her!”

Tink shook his head. “I ain’t stopping shit, lady. He’s just lucky it’s Ren who had his hand around his neck.”

That was true. I’d seen what Tink was capable of.

I sucked in a sharp breath when Tink turned to me. He had never looked more Otherworldly than he did in this moment. His features were sharp and brutal—animalistic. But when he picked up my ruined hand by the wrist, he was gentle. “There’s a hole in your hand.”

Tink. Even in the direst of moments, he was still Captain Obvious.

“Ren,” Tanner began, clearing his throat. “You need to understand—”

“What I need is for you to shut the fuck up and listen,” Ren snarled. “I’m going to make two things painfully clear. First off, you will find out who did this, who was involved and knew about this, and why. Then you will tell me exactly who those dead motherfuckers are. And the second thing you better understand all the way down to your bones is, if Ivy doesn’t come out of this, laughing her laugh, smiling up at me as she’s walking out of this damn room, I will burn this motherfucker down with all of you in it.”

Damn.

“Ren,” gasped Faye.

“You understand?” Ren asked. “Tell me you understand.”

“I understand,” was Tanner’s quiet response.

My head was now too heavy to keep up. I was flat on my back, staring up at a drop ceiling and ultra-bright lights.

“I feel funny,” I whispered, or at least I thought I said it out loud. My lips moved, but I didn’t hear my words. My heart tripped up in my chest. Yeah, I didn’t feel right.

Ignoring the wave of nausea following the burst of pain, I called out. “Ren.”

He was there in an instant, by my head. The tips of his fingers were on my chin, slowly turning my face to his.

A kernel of panic blossomed in my gut. “I . . . I don’t feel right.”

“What do you mean, Sweetness?” His gaze flicked over to the other side of the bed. “What does she mean?”

My tongue felt heavy. “I can’t . . . feel my legs.”

Ren cursed and started to pull away.

“Don’t!” The panic spread as I tried to lift my hand. If he left, I didn’t think I’d see him again. “Don’t leave . . . me.”

His hand brushed over my forehead. “I’m right here with you. I’m not leaving. Ever. You know that, right?” His voice thickened. “Never leaving you.”

“There’s a damn hole in her hand,” Tink pointed out again.

“The hand is the least of my worries,” the female’s voice clipped back. There was pressure on my side. “I need you to help roll her. I have to look at this back.”

My mouth dried. Rolling me sounded bad. “No,” I groaned. “I don’t—”

“I’m sorry, Sweetness, but we have to.” Ren leaned in. Those beautiful green eyes of his made up my entire world. “We’ll make it quick. I promise. But we have to do this.”

I wasn’t given much of an option. Ren gingerly gripped my right shoulder as he cupped my cheek with his other hand. “Hold on, Sweetness. Just hold on.”

I didn’t want to hold on. I knew this was going to hurt—hurt bad, and I didn’t think I could deal with any more pain. I was at my limit, between the burning in my upper body and the numbness in my legs.

Hands landed on my hip. Tink. It was Tink. My wild gaze met his. “I have to,” he said as if he were pleading. “You can punch me in the throat for it later. Okay?”

They rolled me onto my side.

Someone screamed, and it sounded like a wounded animal getting run over by a tank. It took me a moment to realize it was me—I was making the horrible, ragged sound, and that was about when the world wanted to fade away again, but Ren wouldn’t let it.

“Keep those beautiful eyes open for me, Ivy. I know. I’m sorry, Sweetness. I’m so sorry. I know it hurts,” he said, and he kept talking as hands and fingers moved along my back, from my shoulders all the way down to the base of my spine. “It’s not too much longer. Okay? The doc is going to look at you and make you better.”

My back and stomach were on fire, burning through my chest. “We . . . have . . . a doctor?”

“We do.” His gaze flicked over my shoulder for the briefest second and then returned to mine. “She’s almost done. Just a few more seconds.” His lips pressed against my forehead. “You hanging in there, Sweetness?”

I thought I said yes. I know my lips moved, but I didn’t hear it. I didn’t think Ren did either, but then I was being laid back down and some of the hellfire was easing off—everything was easing off.

I faded out again, maybe for seconds, and when I came to, I thought I heard Ren saying, “Out there, she said she was sorry. Why would she say that?”

“I don’t know.” I thought that was Tink.

I felt Ren brushing the hair back from my cheek and then his face was directly in mine. He looked like he was screaming, but he sounded so very far away, like he was standing at the end of a tunnel.

“I’m here,” I rasped. “I’m still here.”