Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 55221 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55221 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
“He almost killed you.” David drops to his haunches in front of him.
“Almost.”
I move around to Valen’s back and watch him heal, studying the process. It’s more magic than science. More witchcraft than medicine. I don’t understand any of it, but his body is its own surgeon. A deft healer, repairing and regrowing. To see this at the cellular level might fry my brain.
“Taking notes, Doctor?” Valen’s voice is almost back to normal.
“Just observing.” I lean forward and press a small flap of skin back into place. It quickly meshes with the flesh beneath it, becoming whole as I watch.
“Always looking for something to learn. Observant. You’re quite astute for a dead woman.”
A dead woman? I freeze. “Gregor bought it?”
“For now.” Valen grunts. “But he’s far from pacified.”
“He punished you.”
“He laid blame where he felt it was due.” He shrugs, but groans and stills again. “My negligence allowed Carlotta to gain enough support to move against Blood Dragonis. To attack his Specter and kill you.”
Somewhere inside, my ADHD squawks about the injustice of it, of blaming Valen for the actions of others. A useless bird in a cage. There is no fairness in this world, and that was true even before the vampires emerged. “Is nothing ever Gregor’s own fault?”
David scoffs. “Never. I’m surprised he believed her dead. Lately, he’s wanted …” He runs a hand over his curls. “He’s wanted bodies.”
Valen’s breathing is still ragged. “Oh, he wanted more. Threatened to compel me to get it. Changed his mind when I offered him proof.”
My skin crawls. “What proof?”
“He demanded your body. I gave him one.”
“You—”
“There are plenty of victims—humans who were out after dark while knowing full well it’s a death sentence. I found one and took the corpse to him as proof.”
“You killed someone to—”
“She was already dead.” Valen intones.
Do I believe him? Does it matter?
“This is taking longer than usual.” David stares at a larger wound in Valen’s side.
I stare at the injury, too. “Wait, what do you mean ‘usual’?” How often has Gregor done this to him? My stomach clenches at the enormity of it, at how much suffering just one round of this would cause anyone, vampire or not.
“He took my liver.” Valen shrugs weakly. “Ate it like he was a human sitting down to a meal. He’s never done that before. I think it … Slowed me down.”
My clinical curiosity dies. Anger boils up in its place. “Why? Why would he do any of this? Carlotta is the one who killed me, not you! What’s the point of torturing you?”
“You know why.” Valen straightens his back, his neck finally at a normal angle as the skin heals over. “Because he can, because he enjoys it, and because I can take it.”
He reaches out, and David hands him the IV bag again. Valen drains it.
David stands, his eyes still narrowed with concern. “Should I get Coal?”
“No. Sun’s up soon. We’ll be all right for a while, at least. Gregor has a body to play with, plus he’s distracted now that Harald is breathing down his neck about Carlotta.”
David’s eyes round. “Harald’s here?”
“No. Still in France, but he’s pissed and sending emissaries.”
“Who’s Harald?” I ask.
“House Tantun’s leader.” David strides to the door. “I’ll get you more blood.”
“No. I’m good for now.” Valen shakes his head.
“You sure?” David asks.
“Yeah. Just need some rest.”
“You know where to find me.” David leaves, closing the door behind him.
The moment he’s gone, Valen’s head droops again, his hands on the bed beside him, his muscled back strained and healing. “It’s all right, Georgia.” His voice is almost reedy, shot through with exhaustion. “You don’t have to stay. I’ll know if anyone comes. You’re safe.”
I stare at him. “You could’ve died.”
“I didn’t.”
“He could still kill you, couldn’t he?” There’s a knot in my stomach. “Anytime. Just if he feels like it.”
“Yes,” he agrees quietly.
“We have to stop him.”
“We can’t.”
“I can.” I scoot off the bed and move to stand in front of him. “I did it to Theo. I can do it to him.”
He rises quickly, his hand over my mouth, his eyes burning into mine. “Don’t say that out loud. Never, Georgia.”
I pull his hand away. “I can make it again. The compound,” I whisper. “I just need the right supplies.”
“No.” He glances at my lips.
“It’s the way to stop the killing. To stop everything. I can recreate the—”
“No.” He grips my shoulders. “It’s too dangerous.”
“It’s not.” I try to shrug him off, but his grip tightens. “I can make the poison. Then we’d just need to get close enough to deliver it.”
“You don’t understand the depth of the Dragonis bonds.” He sighs.
“I’ve seen the books, tried to decipher your notes. From what I can tell, Gregor and Theo must’ve been verem?”
His eyes round slightly.
“Their trees were connected in the book, right? So closely linked that if one dies, the other eventually dies, too?”