Vows of Ashes
“I’m fine. You threw yourself in front of a bullet, you absolute idiot, I’m fine—”
“Good.” His eyes were already sliding shut again, the word coming out slower, softer, like something dragged up from underwater. “Good. That's it. Good.”
“Stay awake.” Renata’s hand cracked, sharp, against his uninjured cheek, an old trick, a mother’s trick, and it worked, his eyes flew back open, furious and alive. “You do not get to close your eyes yet. Not until the ambulance is here. Do you understand me, Kai Cassano, I did not survive nineteen years of this family to bury you in your father’s study.”