35. DEVRIM: NEW SURROUNDINGS

The shirt clung to my skin along with the dirt, but it was the least of my worries.
They wanted me to get on the big metal machine—a thing they called a helicopter. It was a lot bigger when it was on the ground.
“We’re wasting time,” Obsidian said to my left.
“Can’t we go on the boat?”
Letting out a sigh, Obsidian gripped my shoulders and turned me around to face him. Cupping my cheeks, he leaned forward.
“Vanya needs us, Dev,” he rasped. “We’ve already been separated from her for nearly three days. She needs us and the fastest way to get to her is by flying.”
I squeezed my eyes closed and sucked in a breath.
We had been informed about Vanya’s condition once the fire had been put out. Luckily we were hit with a storm which was a great help since we were running out of ideas on how to keep the fire contained.
A few hours after the storm passed, the helicopters started arriving.
“I know that this is scary but I need you to be brave and think about why you need to do this.”
I looked at him. “We’ll come back, right?”
“Always, because this is our home.” Obsidian pressed a kiss to the corner of my mouth.
“Ezra?”
Obsidian pulled away. “Red is going to take some of the men and fly over there. He’ll bring Ezra to us when he finds him.”
I nodded and allowed him to lead me towards the helicopter. Obsidian easily leaped into the helicopter and then turned to face me. I hesitated before I followed his lead. Guiding me towards the seat, he crouched in front of me and strapped me in. When he was done he took a seat next to me and strapped himself in.
My hand shot out to grip his thigh when we started moving. It was hard to focus on keeping myself calm when my stomach dropped as the helicopter rose higher and higher into the air.
Obsidian placed his hand on top of mine and then surprised me when he guided my face to the crook of his neck. I breathed in his scent and reassured myself by the fact that he was going to be at my side.

***

“Are you still feeling sick?”
I hesitated a moment before I opened my eyes and turned my head to look at him. Obsidian was watching me with concern.
“A little,” I told him. “It’s not so bad.”
Unable to handle the intensity of his gaze, I turned my attention to the window.
I had never seen so many humans moving around freely. There were a lot of shops and strange things I had never seen before. It was all too different.
“You don’t like it.” It was a statement and not a question.
“It’s too noisy,” I told him. “There are too many humans around.”
“Yes,” he agreed softly. “We won’t stay for long. As soon as Vanya feels good enough to travel, we’ll go back to the island.”
“We have no home,” I said.
“Not yet,” Obsidian sighed. “Let’s focus on nursing Vanya back to health.”
At the moment Vanya was our main priority but there was Ezra too. The last time we heard from him was when he called to inform us that he was sending Vanya to the mainland with Red.
There hadn’t been time to talk, even after the fires were put out. Obsidian and I had been busy helping some of the injured humans when a man approached us and told us that Vanya was sick and that he had been ordered to take us to her.
Our homes, everything we owned, had been destroyed. There had been no time to run home and grab some of our things, those who tried either suffered from bad burns or died. We had only just managed to keep the town from catching fire and destroying the human’s homes.
At least the traitors in the pride had been taken care of.
“He should have gotten on the plane with her,” Obsidian said, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Ezra should have gotten on that plane with her. Vanya would have handled our separation better with one of us at her side.”
“Things had to have been bad for him to do what he did,” I muttered.
“We will find out soon enough.”
The rest of the drive was silent. I stared out the window without seeing anything. Ezra had to be okay.
There was no way he would be so stupid to put his own life on the line for others because he knew how much Vanya needed him. Not that I could really judge him; we had stayed behind to help the humans and the pride, knowing that we might never see Vanya and Ezra again.
I glanced at Obsidian. If I had left with him would we have gotten to Vanya in time to prevent her from getting sick?
“I’m sorry,” I apologized as the car slowed to a stop. “Vanya wouldn’t be in this condition if I had just listened to you.”
Obsidian said nothing. I licked my lips and hesitated a moment before I climbed out of the car and followed him into the building.
The humans turned to stare at us when we walked past them. I avoided eye contact with all of them and kept my focus on Obsidian. He had been in places like this before so he knew where we needed to go.
My steps faltered when I realized that we were headed towards the elevators. There was no fucking way I was getting inside that!
“What floor is her room on?” Obsidian asked the man.
He glanced at us over his shoulders. “On the fourth floor, room 205. I’ve already informed Mr. Lynn that we’re on our way up.”
Obsidian nodded. “We’ll take the stairs. Just point me in the direction of the stairway.”
Coming to a stop, the man spun around to stare at Obsidian with his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. “It’s four floors!”
“Just point us in the direction of the stairway,” Obsidian growled.
The man’s body jerked and his face paled but his hand shot as he pointed somewhere to our left.
Grabbing my hand, Obsidian led me in that direction. We took the stairs two at a time and reached the right floor within a few minutes. Obsidian took the lead as we walked down the hall, searching for the right room.
I bumped into him when he gave to a sudden stop. Obsidian hissed at me as he threw a glare in my direction over his shoulder. Smirking, I took a small step back and turned my attention to the door. He raised his hand and slammed his fist on the door.
My heartbeat increased as I heard the approaching footsteps. A second later the door was pulled open by a man who frowned at us. Obsidian growled at him but the man didn’t move.
I took a small step forward just as Obsidian pushed his way into the room.
“Hey! Who the hell do you think you are?” the man yelled.
I ignored him as I pushed past him and followed Obsidian deeper into the room. A deep breath confirmed that it was Vanya’s room. At first, I didn’t see her but then my eyes locked on the bed in the middle of the room.
Obsidian froze for a few seconds before he moved again. Iris was seated on the edge of the bed, wiping Vanya’s face with a cloth. Next to her stood a woman who instantly stumbled back when she saw us approaching. Ignoring her strange reaction, I walked closer until I stood next to Obsidian.
“She’s been asking for you,” Iris said.
“Move,” Obsidian ordered.
Iris glared at him as she stood and moved out of his way.
I watched as he took a seat on the edge of the bed and gently lifted Vanya from the bed. She whimpered. Swallowing, he pulled her onto his lap and cradled her to his chest.
“I’m here sweets,” he rasped against her sweaty forehead.
Taking a seat in front of them, I placed a hand to her thigh and reached out with my other hand to move the damp strands of hair from her face.
“She looks worse than you.”
His eyes darted over her face. “She’s human,” he muttered, “it’s why she’s. . .” He trailed off with a shake of his head.
Was he comparing her to the pride females? Was he regretting the fact that he bonded her? Or was he wishing that she was like us?
Vanya’s eyes fluttered open. She blinked up at him and then frowned.
“Hey,” I whispered, leaning forward so she could see me without having to move.
Vanya’s eyes filled with tears as she stared up at me. I caught a tear with my thumb which made things worse. Obsidian pressed a hand to the back of her neck and lowered his head to press his cheek to her forehead.
“A-Are you r-real?” Vanya croaked.
“Yes, rosebud,” I answered. “We’re real.”
She sighed, her sobs dying down as she fell unconscious again. Movement from the corner of my eyes made me look up. The man who had opened the door was leaning against the door, glaring at us while the woman stood by his side, staring down at the floor.
My eyes darted from one to another.
There was no resemblance between Iris and them.