Universe of the Soul (40 page)

His eyes flickered open. He tried to focus on her face, but it was too difficult. His voice was rough, and it was strangely hard to speak. “Hey. Come…take you home.”

“Gray,” there was too much blood.

“Sorry. Broke…order. Love you.” His eyes were too heavy, so he closed them.

“Gray,” she whispered. And as the world seemed to rend itself apart around them, she leaned close and whispered. “I love you, too.”

G
ray opened his eyes to the best vision man had ever seen. Adri was leaning over him, with a soft smile on her beautiful face.

“Did we die?” he asked, throat sore.

“No,” she replied. “But it was close.”

“Good.” He closed his eyes for a moment's rest, and when he opened them, Adri was sitting on his other side. “What happened?”

Adri sighed and looked away. “I hurt you. It was an accident. Blair says I might have…pulled energy from the boy…or something. It was too much for me, and I couldn't control it. You cracked your skull open…and nearly died.”

He hated that look on her face. “But I didn't.”

“No,” she smiled again. “It's lucky the TD was set to return automatically, though. Otherwise we'd have been blown away with the rest of the
Apocalypse.
”

Gray smiled back, closing his eyes. He was tired. Suddenly, his eyes snapped opened and he tried to rise.

“What are you doing?” Adri demanded. “Lie down, before Blair comes back and tranqs you!”

“You said them!” Gray stuttered, allowing himself to be pushed back down on the pillow. “You said the words,”

Adri nodded. “Guess I did.”

“Well?”

“Well what?”

“Don't I get to hear them again?”

The man was seriously pouting. It was sort of cute. “I suppose,” and she leaned down and whispered her love in his ear. When she sat back, Gray looked a little dazed. “Now I have to go. I'm short one vice captain, and we still have no second officer. Plus, if I stick around here long enough, the magic squad will find me and I'll be hauled off to do who-knows-what.”

“Sounds like a rough life,”

Adri shrugged. “Not so much. We're going to be on the run from the Commonwealth, and whoever it was that sent the boy on us. I think that means we're rogue on all fronts, now. Plus, I'm sure Blair or Freya are going to pull some sacred mission out of their collective hats.”

Gray smiled. “You telling me something?”

“Yeah, get better fast. I'm going to need my husband up and running as soon as possible,”

He blinked. “Husband?”

“You heard me,”

Gray watched as Adri strode out of the infirmary. He'd had the woman he loved propose to him. Life was refusing to be dull, with danger and chaos a light-year away. Smiling at his good fortune, he fell asleep.