Fray looked scared.
Rix, Ether and Fray had been in the RV by the time I got back. Rix had already gotten into her bunk and shut the screen. Ether was talking with Fray about the bunks when I walked in.
“Hey.” I walked over to the passenger’s seat and started taking off my boots.
“I was just getting Fray ready for bed." Ether looked at me. "Are you wanting to turn in early?”
“We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." I sighed. "And if I know Aelin, she’s going to want to be there by six to get a full day’s work in.”
The green brunette groaned.
I looked at my crystal band. "It’s past nine, which only gives us about seven hours of sleep, so we should really go to bed.”
“Seven?” Fray looked confused.
“Ten by the time we fall asleep and Aelin wakes us up by five.” I explained my math.
That earned me another groan.
“Trent told me that Paul’s daughter is spending the night in the dungeon to try to catch up to us.” I looked at Ether. "I’m glad we’re not doing that anymore.”
Fray’s eyes got wide. "You spent the night in the dungeon?”
“Five in a row.” Ether shook her head. “That was on our second day, too. On top of that, we had to level up to two by the end of it too.” She playfully pushed the brunette's arm. "Be glad you weren’t with us for that.”
She swallowed. "About that…” She fidgeted the tips of her fingers together. "What happened to your old Hitter?”
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I took a deep breath and looked at Fray. "He inherited a Tier Three ability that he couldn’t control and attacked us.” I shook my head. "He almost killed Justia, knocked Aelin out and captured them both. If he’d been able to think about something other than attacking, he might have killed all of us, but thankfully he wasn’t and we were able to disable him.”
“Is that why Justia doesn’t want to fight?”
I nodded. "I used her weapon to do it, which made her feel like she participated.” I looked at Ether. "It was my call, and I did what I thought was best for the team.” I turned back to the frightened woman. "And it was. We made it through the test and he’s at home with his family getting the help and training he needs.” I shrugged. "Does it mess with my head a little? Yes. Do I lie awake at night and try to think of a way I could have handled it better? Yes.” I put my arm around Ether. "Maybe there was a way that I could have had a better ending, but what I hold on to is that everyone made it out to be able to pick up the pieces.”
“Plus, I got something good out of it.” I pulled Ether close and kissed her. I drank her in as she leaned into the kiss. I let the moment of PDA go on longer than needed to make my point, which I hadn’t meant to do, but I got caught up in the moment. I realized this and pulled back. "Ether told me she loved me during all that chaos.”
“That was…” She turned red. “You said it too.”
“Yes I did.” I could tell that Fray was getting embarrassed, which wasn’t really part of why I was doing this. "Long story short, everyone is here.” I guided Ether in front of me. "And on that note, it’s time for bed.” I nodded to the bunk under Rix. "You probably want that one.”
I slid into the bunk and Ether crawled in after me and laid her head on my chest. I pushed the button to close the screen.
“How are you doing?” I ran my fingers through her hair.
“I’ll be okay.” She traced her fingers on the spot where my seal was. “Does it still hurt?”
“Now that I’m thinking about it, a little, but I hurt more in other places.” I danced my fingers down her cheek and lifted her chin so she could see my face. "I know you’re probably tired of me asking, but I want you to know, I’m here if you need anything.”
She nodded. "I’ll be okay, I’ve lived with those rumors my whole life. It’s just going to be…” She rolled on top of me and braced herself up as much as she could in the low bunk. "I’ll just need lots of distractions until we get back to the Dorms.
I grabbed her shoulders and pulled her to me until our noses touched. “I can do that.”