The berserkers insisted on carrying me back to the arena on their shoulders, like I was a returning hero. It felt weird, but I didn’t put up much of a fight. I was bone-tired from expending so much of my energy in the challenge. It was a smooth ride, and I was clearly no burden to the giant thick-muscled man who won the fight to carry me. We charged down the corridor, whooping and cheering.
A twinge of guilt pinged me as I spotted Donovan on the far side of the atrium, pacing by the doors like a caged panther, an aura of danger and despair radiating off him like scorching heat. His head whipped towards us as the berserkers charged out of the corridor into the atrium, holding me aloft.
He saw me through the crowd. His eyes widened in shock, then narrowed dangerously. In a fraction of a second, two daggers appeared in his hands. Eryk and Nate flanked him immediately, hands half-hidden behind their backs and sparking with magic.
I patted the berserker underneath me and pointed to the ground. “Just here is fine, thanks,” I said lamely, as if he were a taxi driver. “Probably best if you keep your distance from my escort over there. He seems a little on-edge.”
Todd, bouncing along beside us, still wearing his Hawaiian shirt, snorted. “It’s a shame we’ve got to run, he looks like fun.” He held out his hand, helping me climb down from the berserker’s shoulders. “Promise me a rematch at some point?”
I smiled. He’d gotten over his rage at being beaten very quickly. “I’m not sure I want to do that ever again, Todd.”
His eyes sparked purple, and his neck muscles bulged. “Promise me,” he growled.
“Okay, okay, Todd. I promise.”
He grinned, the purple fading. “Good.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Donovan stalking closer, drifting through the crowd like a furious ghost. Oh, good grief, he looked about ready to kill me.
Quickly, I turned and gave Candice a hug. “Good luck.”
She squeezed me back, taking care to be gentle. “You, too. Thanks for everything, Susan.” She let me go and clapped her hands. “Let’s go, team Funshine Daycare!”
The other berserkers threw their heads back and howled. “Funshine Daycare, let’s go!” They bounced inside the doors like a pack of happy gorillas.
I slammed the double doors behind them and spun around. Donovan stood before me. Eryk and Nate flanked him. If looks could kill, I’d be in full rigor mortis right about now.
“Welp,” Cecil muttered under his breath, still in Labrador mode. “I think I’ll go check on Cress and Bart, see what they’re up to.” He padded away briskly.
“Coward,” I hissed after him.
Donovan’s green eyes turned so dark, they were almost black. The muscle in his jaw ticked restlessly as he ground his jaw.
I gave him a weak smile. “Hey, Donovan. How are you guys doing?”
“Chosen.”
Oh, God, that voice. His gruff tone was so low, it was nearly a rumble. “Yes?”
“You left us to try to find and trick a berserker and lead him away, so we could abduct him and torture him for information.” He tilted his head slightly. He was so tense it was a wonder his jaw didn’t crack from the stress. “Do you understand how hard it was for me to let you go?”
“Oh.” I leaned back against the door. “Yes, Donovan, I do.” The man was a control freak, but then again, I wasn’t much better. Maybe I wasn’t a control freak, per se. More of a control fan, maybe. A control enthusiast. “I appreciate that it was hard for you to sit on your hands and let me take care of the first part of the plan. But you said it yourself—it was a good plan.”
His eyes narrowed. “That is not what I meant.”
I squirmed a little. “Were you…” I hesitated and swallowed. “Were you worried about me?”
He didn’t answer me; he just stared. Behind him, both Nate and Eryk made yeesh faces and nodded.
“Oh.” I checked the time. “I’ve only been gone for half an hour.”
“You left wearing shapeless garments and sensible shoes. You came back wearing…” His gaze dipped and became so hot I nearly gasped. “That.”
“You can blame Cecil for the outfit,” I said weakly, patting down my tiny Wonder Woman inspired bra and booty shorts.
“And you were carried here on the shoulders of the monsters we were hunting.” His tone lowered. “They bestowed on you exuberant high-fives on the way through the door.”
“Well,” I said brightly. “Plans change sometimes, Donovan. Sometimes you have to work with what is presented to you.”
“Clearly, the plan changed, and you obviously had the opportunity to inform me. You have a communication device, and you had Cecil. I did not know what you were doing. The sands of time were flowing into nothingness, and I stood here and waited, not knowing if you were dead or dying.” He tilted his head again. “And it turns out, you were safe and well, and have been the whole time. Can you imagine what I am feeling right now?”
He had been worried about me. A million butterflies started an illegal underground rave in my stomach. “Uh.” I gnawed on my lip. “Hungry? It’s nearly lunchtime.”
His face darkened.
“Okay, okay,” I said, holding my hands up, palms out. “I get it. I left with one plan, and you had to deal with radio silence until I came back, and obviously,” I said, gesturing to my outfit, “the plan changed a little. Turns out, berserkers are not what they seem.”
He didn’t move.
Oh, goddamnit, I was going to have to admit it. “Fine,” I sighed. “I could have sent Cecil back to find you earlier and tell you that things had changed, but I didn’t.” I met his eyes. “There was a challenge. I didn’t want you to see me fail.”
His face softened a fraction, the ice in his eyes dissolving almost instantly. We stared at each other for a while. “But you did not fail, did you?”
“No. I won.”
His lips curved up at the corners very slightly. “Of course. You beat them into submission and forced them to give up the Songbird’s location.”
“Uh, not quite,” I said.
