He shook his head as he glanced over his shoulder at the shadowed bedroom. He tried to pick up on some clue that she had awakened and needed him. He wasn’t doing her any good, but he was going to do everything he could for her, especially since any second might be her last. His teeth clenched, his hands tensed around the doorframe, he had to fight the urge to rip something to shreds; he wanted to rip himself to shreds.
“If she dies…” he broke off as he strained to get the words out. “I would have been the one to kill her.”
Jack and Xavier exchanged a glance. “You said you could handle this Braith,” Jack said worriedly.
He shook his head, fighting the urge to start screaming, to destroy everything around him. He’d lost it when she’d left him, but she’d still been alive then. Now he was certain she was dying, that she wouldn’t survive whatever was happening to her body. She was strong, his blood was powerful, but so few made it through and now she was barely clinging to what little fight she had left in her.
How had he ever believed that he could endure the consequences of this?
Because he had to, he reminded himself. He simply had to. There were so many lives hanging in the balance now. So much that still needed to be done, so much that he meant to accomplish, and he had promised her that he would survive. So he would somehow, but he would never be the same if she died, never be whole again. She’d entered his life and turned it upside down. He’d had everything he’d ever required since birth, and he had been completely empty until he’d seen her standing on that stage, proud and defiant, even while facing her death. He’d had it all, but he’d had nothing until that moment.
He would survive without her, but he would never live again. Ashby had been right after all, he realized dully, bloodlinks couldn’t live without each other. They simply existed.
“I can handle this,” Braith told him.
Jack folded his arms over his chest and leaned back. “You must feed.”
“I’ve fed more than well enough,” he muttered.
He’d more than sated himself on her, and for the first time in months he didn’t feel the clawing thirst for blood in his chest and gut. He’d rather be starving. “You have to keep up your strength.”
His gaze slid back to his brother. Jack’s eyes were shadowed and dark, his hair tussled and disordered. “Believe me Jack, I’ve had plenty, and I’ve never felt stronger.”
It was true, she was at her weakest, shattered and tormented, and he was suffused with the power of her blood.
There was a moment when Jack didn’t seem to comprehend what he was saying, and then his eyes closed and his shoulders slumped. “Yeah, I suppose so. I’ll leave this here for you anyway.”
A whimper, so soft that he knew Jack and Xavier wouldn’t pick up on it, caught his attention. Braith turned, he was immobile as he waited to see if anything more would follow, but she became quiet once more. “How are things at the palace?” he inquired.
Jack pulled out a chair and dropped into it. “There are still quarrels but that’s to be expected for awhile.”
“Yes,” Braith agreed but he was barely paying attention.
This time the whimper had been louder. He left his brother and Xavier as he made his way to the bedroom. Even though she was incoherent, he’d left the bathroom lantern lit and the door cracked just in case she did wake up. He went to her, knowing better than to touch her as he moved around the bed and knelt before her. She was curled into a ball, her eyes closed and her lips compressed into a thin line. Her hair was lank and damp with sweat as it fell around her unnaturally pale face. He brushed back a piece of her hair and tucked it behind her ear.
Her eyes flew open, for a moment he was frozen as he gazed at her. His body no longer felt like his own as her normally bright blue eyes shone a vibrant shade of red. “Aria,” he breathed.
She gazed unseeingly up at him, he had a feeling that she didn’t even know he was there. She turned her face into his wrist, her mouth pressed against it. She moved with startling speed as she opened her mouth and bit down. Braith jerked in surprise as her fangs sank into his vein. He almost instinctively pulled back, but then her deep pulls on his blood sparked something primal and possessive inside of him. This had never happened to him before, he had shared his blood with her, but he’d never actually had another vampire feeding from him, inside of him, draining him. His heart swelled, pleasure and love swamped him, but they were swiftly doused.
Her torment engulfed him as her mind flowed forward to blend with his. She was new, she had no idea what she was doing to him, but he was ensnared within the agony consuming her, and he allowed himself to be drawn into it. He couldn’t stand the thought of her facing this alone, bearing it all herself.
He pushed her hair back and nuzzled her temple as tears burned his eyes. “Aria,” he breathed in her ear.
Movement caught his attention. Jack hovered in the doorway, his eyes troubled and apprehensive. A surge of protection washed over Braith, a low growl escaped him as he waved Jack back. This was their moment alone, and for all he knew it may very well be one of his last with her. He wasn’t going to share it with anyone, especially not his brother. Jack slipped into the shadows, disappearing from view as Aria abruptly released her hold on him.
A violent scream erupted from her as she fell upon the bed. Braith lurched upward; he lunged for her shoulders but pulled himself back. He ached to touch her, but he didn’t dare when he knew it would only hurt her more.
Jack reappeared in the doorway, his mouth ajar and his eyes wide. Xavier nervously hovered behind him. “Get out!” Braith roared at them.
Jack took a step forward before taking a small one back. “It is almost done, one way or another, it will be done shortly,” Xavier assured him as he pulled Jack away.
Braith stalked over and slammed the door shut; it did nothing to ease the knot of tension and terror that constricted his chest. He was shaking as Aria began to moan and tears spilled down her face. He curled onto the bed beside her, his two fingers rested lightly on the palm of her extended hand. Her eyes, now their beautiful sparkling blue again, met his for a brief moment. Love shimmered in them before death rose up to drag her back into its overwhelming depths once more.
Chapter 22
Aria woke sluggishly, her eyes barely drifted open before slipping shut again. She ached everywhere; muscles she didn’t even know she had were cramping. Knots twisted through her body as she lay completely still, fearful of moving. Even her eyelashes hurt and felt far too heavy, but it wasn’t the same as the pain she’d been going through for the past few days, weeks, hours...? She didn’t know anymore, she’d lost all track of time.