Read Online Waging War by April White - Free Book Online

you
just treated him like he held a knife to Archer’s throat. You
accuse us of playing fast and loose with Archer’s life, and yet
somehow your love and care is worth more than any of ours? Grow up,
Saira, you’re not the only one with something to lose.”
    Mr. Shaw ignored my shocked expression and
left the keep.
    “Well, that was interesting.”
    I spun back to face Archer, who slowly
cracked his eyelids.
    “I pissed him off,” I said as exhaustion
coursed through me. I shouldn’t have had any tears left to cry
after the marathon session in the car, but apparently my eyeballs
didn’t get the memo. I sat, dully, and resisted touching him
because he still looked so hurt. “And Ringo, and probably Connor by
now too. The only person who isn’t mad at me at the moment is –
inexplicably – Millicent.”
    “He sounded more worried than angry. Much
like a parent whose child just ran in front of a car.”
    I choked back a sob at his feeble attempt at
a joke, and Archer cracked a tiny smile. The sight of it made my
heart do backflips in my chest and I wiped my eyes messily. “How do
you feel?”
    “Like I got hit by a truck.”
    A fresh wave of slightly hysterical teary
laughter hit for a second. “You did. Well, a van, actually. What
were you thinking?” I smoothed the hair away from his forehead, and
bits of dried blood flaked off with it.
    “That I couldn’t lose you.”
    “I would have Clocked out eventually.”
    “Your wrists were zip-tied behind you.
There’s no Clocking from the bottom of the Thames without
hands.”
    He coughed, and then winced at the pain. I
held my hand on his shoulder as if I could transfer healing through
the bandage on his chest to the wound beneath. He looked around,
and his voice was hoarse when he spoke again. “I feel like I’m
somebody’s offering to the Gods.”
    My bark of choked laughter made him smile
again. “I’m sure it made sense at the time.”
    He looked at me through serious eyes. “I’m
sorry.”
    “For what? Almost dying? I’m not sure I’m
ready to forgive that yet.” I was only joking a little bit.
    “He took you, and there was nothing I could
do to stop it.”
    I stared at him. “That’s not on you!”
    “I wasn’t there.” A weird anguish trembled
in his voice.
    “It was daytime. You couldn’t be.”
    “Exactly.” The word was dull and
dead-sounding, and I wanted to shake some life into it.
    “Archer, we’ve had this conversation before.
I don’t do stupid stuff during the day when you can’t be there.
This wasn’t dangerous. I was with Mom and Jeeves and we were going
to fricking tea!”
    My voice broke and Archer looked instantly
worried. “What did Walters do to them? Shaw called Cleary, and the
minute I woke up he sent me to find you.”
    “The ring.” I said. “He used the Monger ring
on them. It was like they were both in a trance, and they did
whatever he told them to do.”
    “He didn’t use it on you?”
    I shook my head. “I think he tried to, but
it didn’t work on me. I don’t know why. He said something that made
me wonder, so I asked him if it was just me or any mixed-blood and
he got so angry—” Archer struggled to sit up. “Wait, what are you
doing? You can’t get up yet.” I tried to push him back down to his
makeshift bed, but he swung his legs over the side and sat, panting
slightly, on the edge of the table.
    “Help me to the sofa.” His breath came
harder, but it wasn’t wet or bubbly-sounding, so short of pushing
him back, I had no choice. I got my shoulder under his arm and
helped him to the Victorian-style settee. He sat heavily, then
arranged himself so there was room for me.
    “Tell me everything.”
    So I did. He held my hand and looked into my
eyes, and I shared every detail with him. And somehow the sharing
of it took some of the weight away, like he was there to carry an
end anytime it got too heavy for me to carry alone.
    By the time I had finished the telling, I
was curled next to