She's so pale against the white sheets. The color has drained from her face, leaving her skin nearly translucent. But her eyes are open. Those lilac eyes find mine immediately and something in them makes my knees weak.
"What took you so long?" she asks. There's the ghost of her usual spirit in the words, the hint of a smile playing at her lips. "I called for you hours ago. I missed you."
I cross to her bedside in three strides and fall to my knees beside the bed. My hands reach for hers, stopping just short of touching. I'm afraid she's too fragile and I'll hurt her.
Rhianelle solves the problem by reaching for me instead. Her fingers are cold and weak but they find mine and hold on.
"I'm so sorry." My throat tightens around the words. "I lost control. I nearly killed you—"
"Svenn." There's the faintest crease between her brows. "What are you talking about?"
"The battle with the demons. I can't remember most of it but when I woke up you were—"
"You were protecting me," she interrupts. Her fingers squeeze mine with what little strength she has. "Don't you remember?"
"Morgaine, Eirik's mistress. She summoned creatures from Hel during the fight." Her voice is soft, careful with her limited energy. "We were being overwhelmed."
The memories slowly come, coaxed by her voice.
"You were in your beastly form," Rhianelle continues. "Fighting so hard. But there were too many."
I remember now. The endless tide of Hellspawn. Claws and teeth and hunger. My shadows cutting through them but never fast enough.
"But we fought together." A real smile touches her lips now. "We were a good team, Svenn. Every demon I slowed, you finished."
More memories flood back. The dance of it. Back to back, protecting each other.
"We were winning," I say, recalling the moment when the tide started to turn. When the witch's laughter turned to frustration.
"Until she played her last card." Rhianelle's eyes flutter closed briefly. Exhaustion pulling at her. "One more demon from the seventh Hel."
The final memory slots into place with brutal clarity.
The ground erupting. Something massive rising from beneath the earth. It bypassed me entirely to go straight forRhianelle. She'd tried to dodge but she was already tired from casting so much.
"You ended it." She opens her eyes again. "I've never seen anything like it."
I remember the rage. The absolute fury when I saw her caught in its claws. Everything else disappeared except the thing that dared hurt her. I'd ripped it apart with my bare hands.
"Then you carried me home," she finishes softly. "You gathered me up so carefully and you brought me to the healers."
"I remember," I whisper. The void in my memory is filling now, piece by piece. "I remember all of it."
"You saved me," she says.
I brush my thumb over her cheek. "I almost lost you."
"I'm here," she murmurs softly.
I sit on the edge of the bed and she makes room for me without being asked. Her head finds my shoulder the way it always does. I put my arm around her carefully, mindful of the bandaging, and she sighs. I close my eyes and breathe her in for a moment, storing it away somewhere safe.
For a moment there is nothing else.
My vampire hearing picks up the conversation in the next room. The Hlaryan healers speaking in low tones, thinking they're being quiet enough.
"The transfusion helped. The dwarven blood is compatible, thank the gods. But the damage was severe."
"How long does she have?"
