She screamed and struggled, gesticulating wildly as he choked her out as gently as possible. Finally, her movements slowed. He held tight, waiting until she’d gone fully unconscious before he relaxed his hold on her neck. Slowly, he inched her toward the bed and set her down, keeping his body between her and the weapon. His vision went dark, but he edged along the bed to his nightstand and grabbed his phone to press speed dial.
“Hey, G. Good timing—we just got home. What’s up?” Talen answered the call easily.
More blood spurted from his destroyed shoulder. “Dad? I need blood.” He hit his knees, forcing himself to watch Dessie and remain conscious until help arrived.
What the holy hell had just happened?
* * * *
Garrett jolted awake as the air popped around him with healing vibrations. He sat in a hospital bed with the covers down to his waist. An IV poured blood into his vein so quickly, his heart rate had to be in the stratosphere. His arm and shoulder were bandaged, and he could feel his muscles and tendons stitching themselves together with painful needles. “Whose blood is this?” he mumbled, looking around as something beeped above his head.
“It’s a concoction,” came a soft voice to his right.
He looked over as his vision cleared to see three identical pairs of blue eyes staring worriedly at him. “Hi, Mom.” He smiled at his mother, winked at Janie, and blew a kiss at his niece. “Hope. I can’t believe you’re going to be twenty-one.” They had various shades of brunette hair and similar bone structure. Even though they represented three generations, from grandmother to granddaughter, they looked like sisters in their twenties.
Except for the fact that Hope had the blue markings of a prophet winding up her neck into her hair. The lines were graceful and danced like fire, and he’d wanted to take them off her since she was born.
It was too heavy a burden for anyone to bear.
“Hi, my wayward son.” Cara Kayrs smoothed his now-dry hair away from his face. “The blood is a mix we use for dangerous injuries. It’s a blend of your dad’s, Dage’s, Zane’s, and a couple of your witch aunts. It’s the best of all blends.” Zane was the king of the demon nation, and no doubt his blood was potent.
“Feels like it,” Garrett acknowledged, studying his mother.
Her normally brunette hair had streaks of blond in it from time spent on an island earlier that year with his dad, and she looked healthy, albeit concerned. “How are you feeling?” she asked, worry making her pale.
“Like I took a blade to my arteries.” He pushed the covers off his legs, his brain finally kicking back into gear. “Where is Dessie?” He had to find her and figure out what the hell had happened. How had he missed that she was not only capable of killing him but more than willing to do so? He kept his expression neutral. Did anybody know he’d mated her?
“She’s still unconscious and behind bars,” Cara said, her jaw stiffening. “When we got to you, your dad wanted to rip off her head. But I figured we should wait and see what exactly happened.” She stood and leaned over him to study his pupils. “You look like you’re healing okay. Emma checked you out and just went to see how that woman is doing.”
So they didn’t know. Had the marking disappeared completely? A growl rose from his gut, and he shoved it down. He needed to talk to Dessie about this before he made the announcement to his family, especially since right now, his family probably wanted the small human tossed in a cell for good. He was more stunned than angry at the moment.
Janie patted his hand. “Your leg has healed already, but it’s going to take another hour or so before you should move your arm.”
Hope shook her head. “This is crazy, Uncle Garrett. How could a human get the drop on you like this?” No judgment lay in her tone.
His sister winced. “We have to assume the Kurjans are using humans to do their dirty work now. Right?”
Garrett sat up fully and swung his legs to the side. “I can handle this.”
“It certainly doesn’t appear that way.” Talen Kayrs stalked into the room, his dark hair curling over his ears, and his golden eyes beyond pissed. “What the hell, Garrett?”
“I don’t know, Dad.” Garrett wished he wasn’t wearing white scrubs over his legs, but at least he was dressed. He gingerly flexed the foot of his injured leg, and all was well. That was a quick healing. Good.
Dage was right behind him, no less angry. He crossed his arms. “She’s human.” He cut a look at his brother. “Talen. Human.”
Talen blanched.
Fury swept over Garrett. “I’m aware she’s fucking human.” Except she couldn’t be—his marking had landed for a short while. That couldn’t happen with any human. He stood and stubbornly refused to fall right back down again. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to have a chat with the little human.” The small female who’d nearly beheaded him. He didn’t know whether to be embarrassed or furious. Perhaps both.
“You’re staying right here,” his mom said, trying to push him back down.
He gently set her aside with his good arm. “Where is she?”
His dad sighed. “We have her locked down on the third basement level.” He held up a massive hand before Garrett could argue. “She stays there until we figure out what happened, and no, we didn’t hurt her.”
Garrett’s mind reeled as he replayed the entire situation in his head. “She wasn’t herself.” He limped toward the door, trying to walk straight. “I want more tests conducted by Emma, and we need to examine that knife. Our enemies have a new weapon, apparently.”
“Already did,” Talen said, drawing the blade out of his back pocket. “It’s handmade of a steel and silver mixture that’s nearly unbreakable. The thing’s ingenious. When the knife strikes immortal flesh, the entire blade splits in two. So if the blade is plunged into a neck, it could conceivably sever that neck.” He handed it over to Garrett. “The weapon has your girlfriend’s name engraved on it, G. From the looks of you, she knows how to use it.”
