Helena was right in front of the vehicle and she shouted for them to get down and he felt the air suck away and then the taste of her magick as she pulled it from all around. He’d covered Molly with his body, expecting the blow of the flaming wreckage, but instead he’d watched as Helena had shouted in a language he rarely heard, her hands drawing runes as she wove the spell. He knew channeling that much power was dangerous for anyone, a fact underlined when her nose started to bleed.
He heard Gage shouting at people to get back, heard the panic behind him as humans scattered. All he could do was watch, helpless as she took all that power and shoved it at the explosion.
Molly spoke to him quietly. “She’ll be all right. She’s strong.” But her words were nearly a question. Not quite, but close enough that it only scared him more.
He’d only held himself in place because he knew that if he’d disturbed Helena she could have lost control of her magick. And his job was Molly right then. He’d promised Helena and he couldn’t break that promise.
But when Helena dropped to her knees and pitched forward, blood all over her face, he made sure Gage was there with Molly before he exploded up, running to her. He scooped Helena into his arms as the sounds of sirens began to break through the wall of power she’d kept between the car and the crowd.
He shook so fucking hard it was a challenge to stand, but he did, holding her close, breathing her in until he was sure she was alive and would be all right. Her blood was everywhere, freaking him out.
“Damn it, Helena Jaansen, you will open those eyes right this moment. You’re scaring me.” He gave her his best officer-issuing-orders voice and hoped the fear wasn’t showing.
Her eyes fluttered open, unfocused at first, but then she seemed to grasp consciousness with a gasp. “Is everyone all right?”
He growled. “Everyone but you, brown eyes. What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
She sighed, turning her face into his chest. “Not failing.”
Chapter 8
“WE need to get her help.” He turned to Gage, still holding Helena.
Gage held his hands up, approaching slowly, understanding exactly what it meant to be wild with the need to protect the woman you loved. “When the ambulance arrives, we’ll send her first. You go with her.”
Helena stirred, trying to get down and he held her tighter.
“Stop that.”
“So imperious.” She blinked. So slowly he found his panic fighting to return. “Stop growling. I’m all right. The police are going to want to question us all. And I’m not leaving the scene.”
“I’m taking over the team.” Gage sighed. “Temporarily. Helena, you’re covered in blood. You’ve burned yourself out handling that much power at once. I don’t even know what the hell you just did, but it had to have fried your circuits.” He said the last very quietly and Faine realized he wasn’t the only one who’d been amazed at what Helena had done.
“In case you haven’t noticed, a riot is brewing. We need to get Molly out of here, along with the rest of the group. We need to be sure Tosh, Delilah and Parrish Carroll are all okay, along with all the Others who work here at the capitol.”
“Caspar has already gotten on making sure Sato and everyone else is all right. You are not all right.”
“I’ve called to have a car sent over immediately.” Before Helena could argue with Gage any further, Cade Warden stepped forward. “Ms. Jaansen, I’m in your debt for what you just did. I can see the physical toll as well. How about we get you back to the house where you can rest? Then you can have your needs tended by Others instead of humans.”
“That’s probably best.” Gage nodded.
Faine held her tighter. “Unless she needs a hospital, in which case, your need for privacy can be hanged. You’re not going to sacrifice her for that. I won’t allow it.”
Things got very still for long moments. Even Helena stopped trying to move. Cade’s brow rose, but a smile fought at the corner of his mouth. Yes, yes, Faine knew he’d made a declaration on several levels, but he didn’t care. There was no way he’d allow Helena’s needs to be shunted to the side.
“I’d never allow that either.” Gage put an arm around Molly’s shoulders. “She’s my friend and my boss. But she’ll be more comfortable in private, and treated by our own people. If it turns out she needs more care, we’ll get it for her. I swear to you.”
Agent Anderson came jogging over along with several other FBI agents and cops. The rest fanned out, immediately getting to work. “Jesus. Is everyone all right?”
Helena coughed on the poisonous black smoke from the wreckage and Faine stepped away so she could breathe easier, Anderson following as he did.
“Put me down,” Helena ordered. But he heard the pain in her words and ignored her.
“Agent Anderson, as you can see, Ms. Jaansen was injured while she protected the crowd from the explosion. She needs to be back at the home we’re staying in so she can rest. We need to get all our people out of here.” Faine’s jaw was clenched so tight he was sure it creaked when he spoke.
Anderson nodded, paling as he took Helena in. “Come on. We’ll talk to you all while we drive you over. Do we need to stop at the hospital?”
“I don’t need a doctor.”
Faine didn’t know if he agreed with that point, but for the time being he let it go because he wanted her out of there and that was happening.
“Molly and Gage first.” Helena gave him a look that dared him to argue. “Be sure she doesn’t need to go to the hospital. She’s still healing from the last time.”
“She’s fine and she will be very cross with you if you don’t get your butt into that car right now.” Molly gave Helena a stern look and Helena snorted.
“It’s my job to protect you.”
“And you did.” Emotion bled into Molly’s voice. “You did. Please. For me?”
That seemed to do the trick and she allowed herself to be loaded into one of the SUVs Cade Warden had brought to the curb.
Anderson spoke to one of the officers on the scene and he loaded in with them, one of his cars following the group.
“You can wait until she’s resting before you question her.”
Anderson sent him a look but Faine just ignored it. He’d done all the order taking he was going to for the time being. Helena was fragile in his arms, bloody, trembling, the glass shimmering in her hair, and he had to clamp down the urge to let his beast take over and rampage through that crowd back there to find who did this.
Helena started speaking. “I don’t know much. We came out from the hearing. I’d called about ten minutes before to have the cars brought around.” Her face changed. “Goddess, the drivers. Someone needs to check to see if they’re—”
Anderson interrupted. “My people are on the scene now. I’ll let you know what we find. But you can’t do anything about it. Just relax and keep talking.”
“The protesters were yelling, shoving. I was focused on that. I missed the signs until I was too close. Until we were all too close.”
Faine saw that she took it personally. As if it were her fault.
“Christ, Helena. You’re one person. You were dealing with the most emergent threat, all those people shoving around.” Gage held Molly’s hand like he planned to never let her go.
“I should have seen it. It’s my job.” Helena’s words were lost in a flurry of hacking coughs. Anderson handed her a moistened handkerchief. She continued coughing until Faine’s ribs hurt just listening to it.