Wingless (The Lia Hunter Chronicles #1)

I was trapped. Stuck, between the darkness and waking. I tried to fight it but with each second I could feel myself weakening, losing the battle. In desperation I clung to voices that managed to penetrate the thick blanket surrounding me.

“She’s losing too much blood.” A woman called out.

“Help her, goddammit!” Hutch shouted desperately.

Hutch? What was he doing here?

“I can’t help her with everyone crowding around me. I need some room to work.” The woman replied sternly and I finally recognized it as Nadia.

“Everybody out. Now.” Another voice called.

There was a small stampede of feet and a hand tightly gripped my own.

“I’m not leaving her,” Hutch said firmly.

“Fine, but if you want her to have a chance at surviving, stay out of my way.” Nadia snapped. There was another explosion of sound as she began to shout out orders.

Shaking hands brushed curls back from my face.

“Come on, Lia. I know you can hear me in there. You have to stay alive. You have to fight.” Hutch whispered fiercely in my ear.

I’m trying.

My lips couldn’t form the words no matter how hard I tried.

“We can’t lose you, Lia.” Hutch’s voice quivered with emotion, “I can’t lose you.”

I’m...

I bubbled to the surface once but was still frustratingly unable to break the through the barrier holding me under. I was aware distantly of a presence next to me.

“I’m sorry Lia.” Jake’s voice broke.

A hand squeezed my own. Drops of warm water splashed against my skin.

“I’m so damn sorry.”

Don’t cry kid, I’m still here.

A shocked gasp.

“Did you see that?” Jake asked quickly, “Her mouth, it moved!”

“No...I must have missed it.” Another person said.

“It did,” Jake assured them. “Come back to us Lia, I still owe you a dinner.”

“Come on, we have to go our shift starts soon.”

“Okay. Lia...just, come back to us.”

Come back? I’m here. I’m right here!

“Lia.” A deep, familiar voice rumbled in my ear.

“Lia.” It came again.

I wanted nothing more than to sink back into the darkness, to bask in its welcoming embrace. But that smooth as silk voice intruded on my peace again.

“It’s time to stop hiding, seraph. It’s been three weeks already and everybody’s worried sick.”

Levi. I’d remember that deep grumble anywhere. As well as that annoying nickname I’d strangely come to love.

“Hutch is a nervous wreck, Jake is a guilt-ridden mess, and I... I miss you.”

Holy shit. I was torn between wanting to be fully conscious and glad I was still stuck underneath a layer of sleep.

“It’s time to wake up Lia. You’re safe and I will never let you get hurt again. I promise. Just wake up.”

The darkness sucked at me and I fought it with everything I had. But it was relentless and once again I was sucked back down.

I came back to the world slowly, peeling back the layers of sleep with determination. My memories were a disjointed maze. Fractured and messy I searched through them trying to piece together where I was. I had a brief moment of peace before the memories slammed into me with the force of a bullet.

The basement.

Rodrigo.

His torture weapons.

A hand gripped my wrist and I reacted purely on instinct. Snapping my eyes open, I yanked my hand free. Grabbing onto the front of their shirt I pulled hard, at the same time raising my other hand and slamming my fist into their face.

I heard a pained shout and the crunch of bone but I didn’t waste a second checking if I had broken their nose. My every nerve was screaming danger as I tumbled from the bed. I didn’t get far as a mass of cords tangled around my body. Snarling I began yanking them from me, pulling myself free of the mess.

I heard my attacker shout out for reinforcements and my terror choked my lungs. My chest heaved as I desperately gasped for breath. Distractedly I noted I was in a hospital room, but I couldn’t see past the film of fear warping my vision. I heard a stampede of footsteps as people came rushing into the room.

“Lia!” Someone shouted and came rushing towards me. I tensed as they knelt down next me.

“Careful, she’s-” my attacker tried to warn as I pulled back my fist again, planting it in the newest threats face.

“-violent.” They finished with a sigh.

The person in front me fell back on their ass and I bared my teeth in a growl, feeling every inch like an uncontrollable animal.

“Holy shit, she’s finally lost it.” A man called out.

“Shut up, you ass.” Another voice snapped at him.

“What? She’s clearly a few sandwiches short of a picnic.” The man continued and for some reason, their casual bickering pierced the worst of my panic.

I felt my rapid heartbeat begin to slow and I blinked a couple of times. The world seemed to snap back into focus. I surveyed the scene in front me, registering the worried looking Jake sitting in front of me, rubbing at his cheek. Behind him stood Riley and Lucas still bickering quietly. Next to them stood the only person I didn’t recognize but from the looks of their white coat, they were a doctor of some kind. I flushed with guilt at the sight of them clutching their bleeding nose.

Swinging my head back to Jake, I frowned as I tried to make sense of what had happened.

“Jake,” I asked warily, hating how vulnerable I felt, “what’s going on?”

“We’re at a hospital, you’ve been unconscious for a while. Three weeks, in fact.” Tears welled in his wide eyes, his Adams-apple bobbed as he swallowed. “I’m so sorry I didn’t come back sooner. I shouldn’t have left you alone in the first place.”

Finally the last memories clicked into place and with shaking hands, I pried at the front of my hospital gown. Tugging it down to reveal a thin white line running down the center of my chest. Tentatively, I brushed my finger against the scar, shivering at the memory of the blade sticking out of my chest, Rodrigo bleeding out at my feet.

My head jerked up again to meet Jake’s somber gaze.

“Is he dead?” I asked quickly, almost shaking with the need to know the answer.

Anger replaced the guilt in his eyes as he gave me a fierce nod.

“You managed to puncture his carotid. He bled out as we got there. No-one was all too invested in keeping him alive.”

Closing my eyes, I let that piece of information sink in. Emotions battled for dominance inside me, but above all, a deep satisfaction filled me. Rodrigo was the first man I’d ever killed. I now had blood on my hands and yet, I couldn’t bring myself to regret it. If anything I wish I could’ve prolonged his suffering. The bastard deserved worse than he’d got.

Opening my eyes, I met Jake’s worried gaze and squared my shoulders.

“Tell me everything.”

Jake’s eyes shifted to the doctor standing docilely as Riley healed his nose. “Let’s get you sorted out first before we get into it, yeah?”

Sighing I nodded and picked myself up off the floor. Jake attempted to help me but as I saw that hand reaching for me, I flinched away instinctively. He pulled back, understanding flashing across his face. Thankfully he kept his lips shut and watched silently as a nurse came in and unhooked me from all the machines. From the nervous glances she kept on flashing me I knew rumors of my flying fists had already spread. The poor woman stuttered through telling me I was back in working condition. Thank god for Jaxai healers.

Gratefully accepting the bag of clothes from Jake, I shuffled into the small attached bathroom and quickly pulled off the hospital gown. My muscles protested the movement, dull pain showing their disuse. I could feel the weakness in my limbs and knew despite being in one piece I was far from being in peak condition. Tossing aside the gown I looked in the mirror, eyeing my new collection of scars. My body was covered in faded white raised lines and bumps. As my gaze ran down the staircase of lines on my waist I could feel the phantom cut of the blade. My right thigh was surprisingly smooth and I knew whichever healer had worked on me had outdone themselves there. There were two raised circles on either side but other than that most of the damage seemed to have vanished. Flexing the leg, I couldn’t detect any weakness and let out a relieved breath.

Reaching into the bag I tugged out a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, a sports bra and some underwear. Tugging them on, I immediately felt less exposed. Walking to the mirror, I did the best I could to straighten out my hair but three weeks without a wash or a brush left a lot to be desired. My gaze zeroed in on the thin white scar running down my cheek like a tear track. Rodrigo’s cruel laughter echoed in my ears and I could feel the puff of his breath on my skin. Chest tight, I gripped the sink below me, scrunching my eyes closed.

Something tells me it will take a lot more than a few cuts to break you.

The words whispered in my ear felt so real. I could feel his presence behind me. My grip on the sink tightened as the back of a hand brushed against my cheek.

I think we’re both going to enjoy discovering what will.

Panic welled up like a tangible force and instinctively I reached for my magic. It rose to my call eagerly exploding out of me in a burst. There was a crash of glass as the mirror in front of me cracked in the center, fracturing into dozens of pieces. Gasping I stared at my distorted image knowing it was all too true.

I was broken.

He was dead but he still lived. He’d exist forever in my memories. Endlessly cutting away at my soul with that damn silver blade of his. Decimating what little was left of me. I’d only ever felt like this once before when I’d had my wings stolen. Then, I’d managed to pull myself back together. This time I wasn’t so sure I’d manage.

A knock on the door startled me.

“Lia? Everything okay in there?” Riley asked quietly.

Taking a deep breath, I quickly splashed some water on my face. Shutting off the tap, I took one last look at the cracked mirror before opening the bathroom door. A sea of faces awaited me on the other side. Hutch and Mallory stood near the bed, her face dripping with tears, his looking like it was seconds away from doing the same. Next to them were Tess, Tom and the rest of my PeaceKeepers. Tess’s face lit up with a huge smile and Gabe shot me a flirtatious wink. Even Stan was there clutching onto Tess’s leg, shooting me a happy smile. On the other side of the room were the members of the first fleet, even Lucas had stuck around although his pinched lips made it clear he would rather be anywhere else. Jake grinned unrepentantly at me when I raised an eyebrow in his direction. Obviously, he was the one to round up the cavalry. Finally, glancing beyond him, I looked at the two remaining people. Levi and Jehiel. The two of them stood a little away from the others, well as much as the small room would allow. Jehiel flashed me an unreserved grin looking his age for once. I flicked my gaze to Levi and my breath hitched at the warmth I saw in his emerald eyes. Though his face remained impassive, a wealth of emotion was conveyed in his gaze. An emotion that caused my stomach to flutter and my heart to skip.

Feeling heat begin to build in my cheeks I forced myself to look away, throwing an annoyed glare at Jake.

“Seriously, did you need to summon everybody?” I asked sardonically.

He raised his hands, batting his eyelashes innocently, “I just told them you’d woken up. They all came on their own.”

I smothered a smile, “Right.”

Stepping out of the bathroom, I quickly shut the door behind me before they all got an eyeful of the mirror. Silence descended on the room and I waited for someone to break the silence. Seconds went by as they just stared at me and I rolled my eyes.

“Alright, let’s just get this over with. Yes, I’m awake. Yes, I was taken captive by a psychopath and we had a lovely day together and yes I brought back a few souvenirs with me.” I said gesturing to my scarred cheek with a wave of a hand.

Mallory let out a little sob and I sighed. “But I’m still alive so can we all please stop standing around like a bunch of weirdos. It’s freaking me out.”

A beat of silence followed my little speech before Gabe spoke up, “Not even awake half an hour and already busting balls.”

Grinning, I shrugged my shoulders, “They do say stick to what you know.”

He chuckled and the tension in the room seemed to break, everyone else joining in with the laughter of their own. Mallory rushed forward wrapping her arms around me. I restrained the urge to pull free of her arms, knowing she needed this. She clung to my body with a ferocity that would’ve snapped the spine of a regular human. Pulling back she leveled a watery glare in my direction.

“Don’t you ever scare us like that again.” She demanded fiercely, tugging me back into a hug before I could respond. I panted for air, pleading to Hutch with my eyes. He smiled, taking mercy on me.

“Alright woman, it’s my turn.” He said gently, prying Mallory from me before wrapping me in his arms.

“Don’t think you’re off the hook just yet.” he said after letting go, “You and I are going to be having a very long chat.”

I groaned loudly, causing a few more chuckles. Hutch’s lectures were well known within the station. Tess rushed forward for her hug and soon I was lost in an ocean of embraces and laughter. Happiness and warmth soaked the room, filling it with more love than I knew what to do with. Looking around at the faces of all the people I cared about most, I felt tears build, emotion building a lump in my throat. He might’ve broken me but I wasn’t alone and suddenly being in one piece again didn’t seem so impossible after all.