With the last bit of strength I have, I waddle over and collapse to the floor next to Eamon, patting his gorgeous, terrifying face with my hand.
"Eamon," I slap a littleharder. "You have to wake up. You haven't said it back yet."
The blood loss has almost certainly made me loopy, mybodyfeeling cold as I try to keep waking him up. I'm not worried about dying; my only concern is waking up Eamon so he can tell me he loves me too before I go.
His eyes flutter open slowly, a pained groan leaving his chest as he does.
"Hi, handsome." A smile splits my face, knowing if nothing else, he'll at least get to save all the women and children trapped down here in one of these rooms. "I need you to wake up. You need to do something for me real quick."
"What happened?" his voice sounds sleepy, groggy, much like he does in the mornings after we haven't slept much.
"You haven't said you love me back yet," I tease.
Clarity finally dawns on him, and he reaches for me, making me hiss in pain, "Oh my god, Isla. All this blood." His hand presses against my chest, coming away soaked.
"Well, most of it isn't mine," I assure him. "Just ummmm... just some of it."
I blink, trying to clear away the brain fog, cuddling up to my giant monster. If I'm going to die, I'm going to do it right here withhisstrong arms around me.
"Baby, you need to stay awake," he tells me. "You can't fall asleep."
With a loopy laugh, I tell him, "I'm not falling asleep, Eamon. I'm dying. We both know that. So just tell me you love me so I can go in peace."
He grips my face, forcing me to make eye contact with him, with all the pain swirling in those red pools. "You arenotdying. I won't let you."
"My hero," I chuckle. "I don't think there's much you can do about it, unless you have some blood and a first aid kit handy."
"Kyle and a whole team are going to get here any second. You just have to hold on a little bit longer," he shakes me a little, and I open my eyes, not realizing I had closed them in the first place. "You've done so well, been so fucking strong and brave. You just need to hold on a little bit longer, honey."
"I don't wanna be strong anymore, Eamon. I'm so tired. So god damn tired of having to fight the monsters in my head and in this world. I just want to rest." Tears well in my eyes, exhaustion and pain taking hold.
Somewhere above us, a loud screech radiates, and Eamon sighs in relief, wrapping his arms around me and standing, carrying me like I'm his bride—just like it should have been.
"Just a little longer, Isla. Be strong for me, then you can rest and let me do the fighting for you, okay?" His strange mouth plants a kiss on my forehead. "Just fight for five more minutes. Can you do that for me?"
"Why won't you just say it back?" my head falls against the crook of his shoulder, this question more important than any other.
"Because you're asking me to tell you goodbye and I won't fucking do it. I'll follow you to the afterlife and drag your ass back here if I have to, but I will not tell you goodbye. You're mine, you belong right here beside me, and you'd better fucking fight to stay here. Understand?"
And I do understand. I know that inhisarms is where I'm meant to be.
"Why don't you just like do the bond thing?" I ask aloud, not really to him or me, just asking the universe.
He sighs, running up the stairs as quickly ashe can without jostling me too roughly."You're not in the right headspace for that. I don't think it would work."
Indignation lights up mybody, overpowering the exhaustion scrambling to take me under. "It won't work? You don't think I'm meant for you? After all this?"
With asmallchuckle, he shakes his head, "Of course you are. But you'recurrentlyunder duress due to the blood loss. I don't think the laws of bonding will like that or consider you consenting. Once you're better, you bet your ass it's happening."
Light from the top of the stairs blinds me, the warmth of the fire and heater bringing me closer to sleep when Eamon's yelling breaks me out of it. "I need stitches and O+ compatible blood now!"
"How do you know my blood type?" I slur, "Do different blood types taste different?"
He looks down at me, worry furrowing the place where he would have eyebrows in his mortal form, but now it's just a ridge of bone andsmallmuscles. He looks up at someone in front of us, but I have no clue who, unable to take my eyes off my beautiful protector.
He looksbackdown at me, his silent conversation over, "Isla, honey. This is going to suck for both of us, but I need you toknow that you're going to be okay. You're going to wake up, but the Dr. says you've lost too much blood."
First, you want me to stay awake, now you want me to sleep.Pick one.I try to argue withhim, but my mouth refuses to listen as my eyes drift shut. The world below me moves, the pain subsiding. A pinch in my arm almost brings me to attention before unconsciousness pulls at me again.
