Panic over what Lucienwas.Not who.What.
My throat tightened as my attempt at not thinking about it unravelled.
People didn’t burn the way he did. People didn’t have blood that could heal—
Stop it.
What if Marcus had always known what Lucien was and used pain to keep him in line?
What if Lucien hadn’t just gotten free but made everything a thousand times worse?
The room faded in and out as black spots crowded my vision.
A queasy wave of vertigo played havoc with my balance, and I tripped to the closest thing that could save me.
Landing heavily on the luggage bench by the door, I tipped forward and clutched my raindrop pendant. My fingers wrapped around the cool crystal, begging it to actually work for the first time in my life and take away my pain.
With a groan, I slid sideways as faintness tried to drag me down.
My head fell on my still-damp rucksack. My cheek pressed against the zipper and something small and brick-like answered back.
My eyes popped wide.
Jerking upright, I tore open the front pocket where my phone rested. Out of battery and fast asleep but helpfully cuddled up next to its charger ready to be useful. Relief blanketed me.
How could I be sostupid?!
Dillon.
Dillon can help!
My long-suffering bodyguard who’d probably had an aneurysm looking for me for the past seven weeks.
Snatching the charger and phone, I went to launch upright but another small bulge in the side pocket had me freezing.
My stomach turned.
Slipping my hand into the bag, I pulled out the vial of Lucien’s blood that he’d given me this morning—just before demanding I kill him.
I swallowed hard at the thought of drinking cold, coagulatedblood.
In any other circumstances, there would be no way. On any other day or in any other nightmare, I would toss it out thewindow and forget I’d ever been in theslightestbit tempted but...
He’d set the wall on fire.
I was moments away from blacking out yet again.
I couldn’t afford to be a burden and...we had to run.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this.” I grimaced as I unscrewed the stopper and fought the urge to gag. His blood had darkened, settling thick at the bottom like oil instead of liquid.
Would it still work?
Did it still have the power to take away my discomfort, even if it wasn’t fresh out of his veins?
Do you hear yourself?
My spine snapped straight because...all those moments he’d cured me with his life-force. All those times he’d made me drink straight from him—that should’ve been the first warning sign that he wasn’t...human.
