She glances at Tiernon. When his eyes meet mine, understanding hits me.
“Absolutely not.”
“Don’t be an idiot,” Tiernon snaps. His face is bone white, his eyes dark, and I know he’s fighting his own hunger at the scent of my blood. But if there’s one thing Tiernon has, it’s self-control. “You take my blood or you die. And evenyourpride has limits.”
It does. I don’t want to die.
I’m not sure exactly which god hates me. Perhaps it’s all of them. There can be no other explanation for this.
“I’ll send you to sleep for the healing,” Tiernon says.
My mind immediately throws me back to all the times Tiernonsnuck into my bedroom when my mother was nowhere to be found. When I was responsible for Gerith and Evren, and the constant worrying and planning would make it impossible to rest. Some nights, I’d beg him for sleep.
After Kassia died, there were many nights when I would have given anything for the relief of unconsciousness.
It’s a minor power for vampires. But dangerous for sigilmarked and mundanes. Powerful sigilmarked can block the effects, but I’ll never be able to.
“No,” Axia says.
“What do you meanno?” Tiernon demands.
She gives him an apologetic look. “Your power will interfere with my own. I can send Arvelle to sleep myself, but I have been healing gladians all morning, so I need to reserve my power for her injury. It will take everything I have to ensure it heals correctly.” She reaches for a pain tonic and hands it to me. “This will help with the worst of the pain. But it will be agonizing.”
Nerves rattle through my stomach, but I drink the tonic. The sooner I do this, the sooner it’s over.
“Get another healer in here to send her to sleep,” Tiernon demands.
“No,” I say.
It’s bad enough that Axia knows my vulnerabilities, and I trust her to keep them quiet. I don’t need any other healers learning about my ankle or speculating about my past with the Primus.
“Just get this over with,” I mutter.
“No.” Tiernon holds up his hand as Axia leans toward my ankle. She goes still.
“Yes,” I say. The pain is unrelenting now, and Tiernon leans over, staring into my eyes.
“Stubborn woman.”
When I don’t reply, he takes my hand. I’m scared enough to clutch at it. This is going to hurt.
CRACK!
Pain explodes through me, a scream wrenched from my lungs. I cut it off, devolving into pained whimpers. I was an idiot. I take it all back. Someone needs to put me to sleep. Now.
“Shhh. It’ll be over soon.”
I hate that I can’t seem to stop the tiny suppressed screams fromleaving my throat. Hate that even now, it feels natural to let Tiernon see my pain, when I would want to gut anyone else who was in the room.
Axia begins chanting, and whatever she does takes the edge off the worst of the pain.
Tiernon continues murmuring into my ear. “Most of the imperius watched your challenge. Neris said your instincts are some of the best she’s seen. Of course she also said walking around with an ankle injury showcased extreme stupidity.”
I let out another whine, and the scent of copper fills the room as Tiernon tears open his wrist. He never handled it well when I was in pain.
Axia clears her throat. “Not yet, Primus. If she heals now, this will need to be done again. I need to shift the bones into place.” Her voice lowers. “It’s not too late to—”
I open my eyes long enough to shoot her a glare. The room is spinning and I slump back, allowing Tiernon to take my weight. “Just do it.”
