Misery Happens Read Online Free Page A

effervescent cloud above me, I couldn’t help but think they looked like vultures guarding their carrion.
    Praying my phone hadn’t been damaged in the crash, I felt for it in my jeans. Thank dragons it was on the side of me that hadn’t hit the ground at full force. Clenching my jaw against more pain, I reached into my pocket with my shredded fingers and retrieved it.
    Lucen picked up on the second ring. “Are you okay?”
    “Um, no.” I expected to hear gunfire in the background, but his side of the line was quiet.
    “Are you wearing your pendant? I’m coming for you.”
    I groped at my neck and touched the silver fox. The pendant he’d given me was both pretty and functional—a tracking charm. Although I’d resented the idea of being tagged, this was the second time Lucen’s gift was coming in handy.
    “Bring a doctor,” I managed to say before my hand gave out and the phone slipped through my blood-slicked fingers.
    * * * * *
    Lucen wouldn’t share anything about what happened at the terminal after I left. He simply fussed over me and told me not to worry. For possibly the first time in my life, I was feeling crappy enough to take his suggestion, at least for a short while.
    When the EMTs arrived, all anyone wanted to tell me was how lucky I was to be alive, and since no one else rode in the ambulance with me, I was further deprived of news. The Gryphons were too busy, though I had no idea with what, and Lucen didn’t want to stay in such close proximity to the EMTs while they were treating me in case his power distracted them. I supposed that made sense, but it irked.
    Worse than that, it meant I had to wait longer to get information about what happened with the satyrs and the furies. By the time I reached the hospital, the pain medications I’d been given had kicked in enough that I was no longer able to not worry.
    Additionally, without Raj so close to me, my irrational anger faded until I could think straight. Now, however, I could detect him in my head, and I suspected he’d been in there the whole time. I simply hadn’t been aware of the thin bond connecting us. With effort, I might even be able to follow it again. It was a hopeful thought, although that sort of concentration was currently beyond me.
    I flopped against the sturdy hospital pillow as the ER doctor finished reviewing my injuries. “So when you say ‘miraculous’, does this mean I can go?”
    The doctor frowned. “Under the circumstances, it might be wise for you to stay for more tests. We don’t know yet whether—”
    “She’ll be fine.” Lucen appeared around the sheet that separated my narrow section of the room. “You said nothing’s broken.”
    The doctor took a step back. Lucen had his horns disguised, but she must have detected something was off about him. Most likely, she was feeling flustered by an intense arousal that would have seemed to come from nowhere. “Nothing appears broken, but with the extent of bruising—”
    “She’ll be fine,” Lucen said more firmly. He smiled, and I understood he was purposely working his mojo on the doctor to gain her compliance. “Why don’t you draw up the release paperwork or whatever you need to do so she can leave?”
    “If that’s what you want?” The doctor turned her concerned face toward me.
    It was what I wanted. Since Raj was no longer distracting me from our plans, I needed to get back to them. To find out what happened after I lost it and went chasing him and to see what I could do to help if what happened was bad.
    On the other hand, I sure didn’t feel up to walking out of here yet, and what if there was internal bleeding? Trust Lucen, I told myself. If my normally overly protective satyr was pushing for my release, my condition couldn’t be that bad.
    I nodded at the doctor, who didn’t appear entirely convinced. However, she pressed her lips thin and left. After she did, Lucen pulled a chair up to the edge of my bed, and another satyr followed him into