Fire Breather

65.

   "I. Can't. Hold. It!" I gritted out with Sawyer's arm tightening around my waist, keeping me standing against him.

"Now, Blaine!" Xaden ordered and then he grabbed Aaric, yanking him through just as the door slammed shut and blood pooled under the door.

Exhaustion washed over my body as I sagged against Sawyer, gasping for air.

"You made it!" Rhiannon cheered, smiling wide at Violet.

"And we have to keep making it," Xaden reminded us. "Robes off. Keep to the plan."

Sawyer removed his arms from around my waist, turning me around to face him. "Are you okay?" he quietly asked me, grabbing the bottom of my robe.

My lungs eased as I lifted my arms up, allowing him to pull the cream robe off my body. "Just hot," I mumbled. "Thanks for the help just then."

"You know I've always got your back, Blade." He sent me a smile that I returned as we fist-pumped. Then he looked over my shoulder, cringing his face. "What happened to Aaric?"

"Oh shit." I whirled around, spotting my cousin helping Aaric out of his robe, careful with his blistered hands. "The wards around the journals did something to his hands. But I can probably heal them."

"Did you get them?" Jesinia signed, walking over to us.

Violet nodded. "Will they suspect you?" Nasya looked pretty knocked out against the wall.

"Not if I get us back to the dorms quickly," she replied.

"I'll take care of him," Imogen said, heading over to Nasya.

"He shouldn't remember much. I hit him from behind," Sawyer admitted, stuffing the robes into a large cream laundry bag as Violet translated for Jesinia.

"I'll just berate him for falling asleep," Jesinia signed back, offering Sawyer a smile and I translated for him.

He blinked, pausing for a moment before taking the last robe from Aaric, and putting it into the bag. "Damn, your hands..."

Half the blisters had popped and were bleeding, while the others looked close to popping.

"That's a rebound burn," Bodhi said. "It will clear up overnight if treated."

"Change to the plan." Violet looked at my brother who merely lifted a brow. "Blaine, take Aaric to your room with Ridoc and keep his hands hidden. Try and heal him if you can but if you can't, then Rhia, you'll have to go to the infirmary and ask for Dyre. He should keep quiet if you call in the debt he owes me. You'll have to sneak him into the quadrant—"

"Good idea. We can do that." Rhia nodded to me and the guys. "C'mon. Now."

I sent my brother a nod, knowing he would be leaving now with one of the journals before I followed after Rhia and Ridoc walking on either side of Aaric down the hallway. To no surprise, Garrick followed after us, his eyes basically burning into the back of my head.

Unsheathing a dagger, I made quick work of cutting away the bottom of my top before fixing up my waist belt over the torn fabric.

"Aaric!" I called out, making the trio halt and face me. "Let me hide your hands."

"How are you going to do that?" Ridoc questioned, furrowing his brows.

I cut the fabric into two more pieces and then sheathed the dagger back to my thigh before carefully grabbing Aaric's wrist. "By wrapping them," I quietly said, holding back a cringe when he winced as I started wrapping his hand. "This will also slow down the bleeding until we reach my room."