Part 15 (1/2)

Her gaze sank to the floor, and her head bobbed slowly. ”I will do as you wish.”

Chapter Twenty-Six.

KILLIAN.

Mikjall stood at the wall of steel barring the entrance to the mine. His body heated the air around him like furnace. In fact, between his heat and Jared's, the entire mineshaft was warm and toasty, unlike the biting winter air that swirled outside.

I wiped sweat from my brow. ”Can you see anything?”

”No.”

He was a man of few words, but vigilant. Plus, having a Drakonae on our side put us in a pretty good position to fight off almost anything. Still, it was dangerous for him or any of the others to expose themselves. The fight in town where he and Jared'd s.h.i.+fted would cost them.

Everything was videoed and recorded these days. They would be hunted. Jared had exposed his entire species to help save the group. His loyalty to Sanctuary was overwhelming. What was it about that place that made powerful supernatural beings who preferred to live alone band together and fight to save each other?

Rose had achieved something that no other being had been able to create over the course of thousands of years. A place where Others, as the humans called us, lived harmoniously and worked together for the greater good of the world.

They were protecting something. I just wasn't sure what.

A moment later, Eira appeared in front of the small opening where Mikjall stood, and he stepped back to let her inside.

Her eyes were wide. Even in the low firelight from Jared's lit hands, I could see her eyes had turned almost completely red.

”Eira.” I stepped forward, and she turned her head to face me. Her tongue traced the edge of her lips, and she curled her mouth into a snarl. The edges of her fangs peeked from beneath her top lip.

”Who's next?” she growled.

Her body was trembling, and her hands clenched and unclenched at her side.

”You have to drink, Eira,” Mikjall said, stepping up behind her.

A blood-chilling hiss erupted from her mouth. She lunged at him, but he caught her before she could bite into his shoulder.

She struggled in his arms, cursing him in a variety of languages.

”Eira!” I said, hoping my voice would cut through the pain of the hunger. She couldn't drink from the vein without connecting that person to her permanently. She knew this. But she'd let herself go too long. Her body was starving.

I moved forward slowly. ”My beloved. You waited too long. You need to feed, but not from Mikjall.” Pulling a knife from a sheath on my thigh, I drew up my long sleeve and pressed the blade into the flesh of my forearm.

Another growl from her sent a cold chill through me, but I knew she was still in there. Even though her beast was straining to kill, she would be able to regain control. She had fought through her hunger in the barn that first day she appeared in my life again.

My blood ran across my arm and dripped to the ground.

”You ready?” Mikjall caught my gaze.

I nodded, and he released her from his constricting hold.

She lunged forward and sank her teeth into my arm.

Pain flowered for a moment before the enzyme in her fangs deadened the bite, erasing the sting. She drank deeply, each pull taking a good amount of blood. There would be no way I could feed her again tonight and stay conscious.

Using my free hand, I ran my fingers over her head and through the loose strands of her hair in the tightly bound ponytail.

”You are so strong, Eira. You can do this.”

Her mouth closed over my arm. The light touch of her tongue caressed my arm, and I knew she'd returned to me.

A long sigh slipped from my chest.

”I'm so sorry,” she said, the weight of the world reflected in the azure pools of her eyes.

”No,” I said, shaking my head. ”We would all be trapped here if it wasn't for your ability to move so quickly and the strength to carry others with you.”

”He's right,” Mikjall said. ”Take Killian and another with you this time. I'll feed you next time.”

Her postured relaxed as she realized we weren't going to hold her loss of control over her head.

I reached for her, slipping my hand around the base of her head and pulled her close, claiming her mouth with mine. She tasted of copper, but I needed to feel her close to me right now and didn't care.

Her arms looped around my neck, and our tongues danced between our mouths, tasting and thrusting. We both wanted more. Needed more.

”Once we are all at the lake, my love, then I want a real taste,” I said, murmuring the words slowly against her lips as we kissed.

A smile played over her face as she pulled away. ”Promise?”

”Can we just get moving? You guys can f.u.c.k later,” Mikjall said, his voice mixed with equal portions of amus.e.m.e.nt and irritation.

Eira's eyes rolled, but she turned to the Drakonae male with the patience of a nun.

”Who should I take with Killian?” She appeased his impatience by allowing him to direct who left the mine next.

His aggressive stance melted away in an instant. ”The woman and baby. If we have to run, she won't be able to. Riza,” he called out.

The small black-and-red-haired woman appeared from the shadows, clutching the bundle of blankets hiding her baby from view tightly in her arms.

The hulking Drakonae male rubbed his hands up and down the female's arms and whispered a few words of encouragement and a.s.surance that Eira meant her and the baby no harm.

Eira's mouth curved into a smile, and she extended her arm toward the woman and baby.

She left Mikjall's side and stepped toward Eira.

Eira wrapped one arm around the woman's waist and her other arm around my waist.

”Take a deep breath,” Eira directed.