“Caspar has already gotten on making sure Sato and everyone else is all right. You are not all right.”

“I’ve called to have a car sent over immediately.” Before Helena could argue with Gage any further, Cade Warden stepped forward. “Ms. Jaansen, I’m in your debt for what you just did. I can see the physical toll as well. How about we get you back to the house where you can rest? Then you can have your needs tended by Others instead of humans.”

“That’s probably best.” Gage nodded.

Faine held her tighter. “Unless she needs a hospital, in which case, your need for privacy can be hanged. You’re not going to sacrifice her for that. I won’t allow it.”

Things got very still for long moments. Even Helena stopped trying to move. Cade’s brow rose, but a smile fought at the corner of his mouth. Yes, yes, Faine knew he’d made a declaration on several levels, but he didn’t care. There was no way he’d allow Helena’s needs to be shunted to the side.

“I’d never allow that either.” Gage put an arm around Molly’s shoulders. “She’s my friend and my boss. But she’ll be more comfortable in private, and treated by our own people. If it turns out she needs more care, we’ll get it for her. I swear to you.”

Agent Anderson came jogging over along with several other FBI agents and cops. The rest fanned out, immediately getting to work. “Jesus. Is everyone all right?”

Helena coughed on the poisonous black smoke from the wreckage and Faine stepped away so she could breathe easier, Anderson following as he did.

“Put me down,” Helena ordered. But he heard the pain in her words and ignored her.

“Agent Anderson, as you can see, Ms. Jaansen was injured while she protected the crowd from the explosion. She needs to be back at the home we’re staying in so she can rest. We need to get all our people out of here.” Faine’s jaw was clenched so tight he was sure it creaked when he spoke.

Anderson nodded, paling as he took Helena in. “Come on. We’ll talk to you all while we drive you over. Do we need to stop at the hospital?”

“I don’t need a doctor.”

Faine didn’t know if he agreed with that point, but for the time being he let it go because he wanted her out of there and that was happening.

“Molly and Gage first.” Helena gave him a look that dared him to argue. “Be sure she doesn’t need to go to the hospital. She’s still healing from the last time.”

“She’s fine and she will be very cross with you if you don’t get your butt into that car right now.” Molly gave Helena a stern look and Helena snorted.

“It’s my job to protect you.”

“And you did.” Emotion bled into Molly’s voice. “You did. Please. For me?”

That seemed to do the trick and she allowed herself to be loaded into one of the SUVs Cade Warden had brought to the curb.

Anderson spoke to one of the officers on the scene and he loaded in with them, one of his cars following the group.

“You can wait until she’s resting before you question her.”

Anderson sent him a look but Faine just ignored it. He’d done all the order taking he was going to for the time being. Helena was fragile in his arms, bloody, trembling, the glass shimmering in her hair, and he had to clamp down the urge to let his beast take over and rampage through that crowd back there to find who did this.

Helena started speaking. “I don’t know much. We came out from the hearing. I’d called about ten minutes before to have the cars brought around.” Her face changed. “Goddess, the drivers. Someone needs to check to see if they’re—”

Anderson interrupted. “My people are on the scene now. I’ll let you know what we find. But you can’t do anything about it. Just relax and keep talking.”

“The protesters were yelling, shoving. I was focused on that. I missed the signs until I was too close. Until we were all too close.”

Faine saw that she took it personally. As if it were her fault.

“Christ, Helena. You’re one person. You were dealing with the most emergent threat, all those people shoving around.” Gage held Molly’s hand like he planned to never let her go.

“I should have seen it. It’s my job.” Helena’s words were lost in a flurry of hacking coughs. Anderson handed her a moistened handkerchief. She continued coughing until Faine’s ribs hurt just listening to it.

“The smoke is toxic. It’s better out than inside you.” Anderson shrugged at Faine’s look. “I’ve worked more than my fair share of bomb scenes.”

She took a drink from a bottle of cold water. “I saw something off. Felt it. But then the air sort of sucked away. I think the bomb was under the passenger side, front. That’s where the blast seemed to come from.”

“You should have died, being that close. Your, um, powers protected you?”

Gage interrupted. “Her powers protected everyone all around us. She . . . Witches have reservoirs of power, she pulled hers up too fast, she did it to shove as much as she could back at the blast to protect everyone. Not just our people, but the humans on those steps. That sort of thing is harmful. She’s bleeding because she burst capillaries with the exertion. She needs to rest. To restore her magick and let her body heal itself.”

Faine wanted to kiss Gage for that defense of Helena.

“Thank you. For what you did. You may not hear it from humans, though it’s clear you were a hero today. But you’ll hear it from me.” Anderson leaned forward to touch Helena’s knee and before he knew it, Faine found himself cutting off a possessive growl at the human male.

Helena raised a brow even in her exhausted state. He’d have to talk with her. Later, when she wasn’t on the verge of collapse.

ONCE Anderson had gone, Molly tutted and fussed while Gage looked on, amused. “You need to get cleaned up. I’ve laid out a robe in the bathroom. Are you sure you don’t want to go to the hospital? They have Others on staff. I know this from the last time we were bombed here.” Molly handed her the glass of juice Helena had already half drained. She obediently finished it.

She returned in less than a minute with more juice and pushed it Helena’s way.

“Molly, you know I adore you, but girl, back up or I am going to lose my mind.” Helena waved her away.

“Fine. But I’m calling your mother to see who we can speak to around here who will help you get yourself recharged.” Molly sniffed and before Helena could argue, she left the room.

“What did you do?” Gage hefted himself up onto the bathroom counter as Helena attempted to clean her face.

Faine sighed and took the cloth from her, washing the soot away and getting it wet again. He gently pushed her hands back. “Hush and let me work. I’ve been dressing field wounds longer than witches have been in the New World.”

She rolled her eyes, but held still as he dabbed at her skin.

“What do you mean? I protected you all, that’s my job.”

Gage blew out a breath. “I have never seen a spell like that, Helena. Ever.”

“Oh. That. Well, all right, I suppose you’ve experienced your magick building, growing, since the Magister, right?”

Gage nodded.

“Since I was young, a big part of my power has been sort of intuitive. I haven’t had to learn spells the same way others do. I just sort of knew what I needed and then I did it. Since the Magister, my magick has . . . leapt to me in a wholly new way. It’s easier to call it no matter the place. But there are less filters so it comes hard and fast unless I regulate it. I knew I needed a lot to hold that energy from the blast back. There’s no Font here like there is in Gennessee or Owen territory and I was worried about siphoning from any witches around me. So I yanked it hard from the air and the earth. It was so much.”

Faine grimaced. “Are you going to be all right? Did you do permanent damage?”

“No, I’ll be fine. I’m crispy and if I had to do any major magick just now I’d be fucked. But rest will restore me.”