He hesitated. "You fell. You stopped breathing for a moment."
She blinked. "So your solution was to hug me back to life?"
He looked briefly offended. "I was ensuring your pulse."
"Uh-huh," she murmured. "Totally professional."
He stared at her, baffled, as if she'd just spoken in another language.
But she wasn't paying attention anymore. Her eyes fluttered shut again, exhaustion finally winning.
And he—still crouched in the moonlight, her body limp against his chest—looked down at her and exhaled slowly.
She was still breathing. Thank the gods.
Around them, the little cave creatures began creeping out once more, their soft voices whispering awe. Glimora padded forward, climbing onto Isabella's stomach, curling up protectively.
The phoenix man glanced at the strange glowing flower now lying dim beside them, its light almost gone. He didn't understand what had just happened—he wasn't sure he wanted to—but he knew one thing clearly.
This woman was not ordinary.
