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She withdrew the vial of her blood from the pocket of her jeans, then dropped to her knees beside him. Uncorking the small plastic tube, she held it beneath his nose, hoping he’d catch the scent.
At the same time she smoothed her hand over his forehead. “Come back to me, Lucian. Let me take you out of here before Daniel returns. Please wake up.”
She thought about what he’d said, that he was loyal to those who sought justice and equality. Here was a man who deserved so much more than what life had dealt him.
His head began to shift, first left then right. A moan left his lips. “Blood,” he whispered.
When his lips parted, she began easing the blood into his mouth, then stroking his throat to encourage him to swallow. Little by little the vial grew empty.
“Lucian, can you hear me?”
He finally opened his eyes and stared at her. “You’re the human, the one I saw earlier.”
“I am.”
“My God, your blood tastes the way you smell, like sweet herbs. And there’s strength in you. Great strength. But who are you?”
Claire stared into Lucian’s smoky-gray eyes and for a moment got completely lost in what he’d just said to her. She’d never heard a more beautiful compliment.
“My name is Claire. Rumy sent me here to help you.”
Maybe it was the chain she wore, or that she admired how he’d stood up to his father, or his kind words—but suddenly he became more than merely the vehicle by which she could find her friend. Something inside her began to warm to him, a sensation that brought heat to her cheeks.
He sat up and took several deep breaths. He winced suddenly and shaded his faced with his manacled hand. “Marius.” He whispered. “Oh, God, Marius.”
As much as she needed to get him out of the cave, the sooner the better, she had to give him just a little space to recover from what for her had been a horrifying spectacle. She swallowed several times, her throat tight.
In addition to the sudden swell of grief, she also sensed that he was working hard to recover from Daniel’s most recent assault. He was still in a lot of pain.
After a moment he lifted his face to her, but his gaze dropped to her neck and he frowned. “You’re wearing a blood-chain.”
She nodded. “Your blood-chain, Lucian. Rumy said that being bound together through the chains would be the only way you could leave this cave, but I don’t know exactly what he meant.”
He glanced down at his manacles. “Rumy was right, because these shackles are preternaturally enhanced with Daniel’s power.” He lifted his gaze to hers. “The blood-chain bond will expand my abilities, give me what I need to break free. But tell me what Rumy told you.”
“That we’ll have a proximity issue, with about a twelve-foot reach, which means we’ll have to be close to each other for however long we’re bonded in this way.”
He lowered his chin. “And? Surely he told you more than that.”
“Rumy was very specific that you’ll be in a blood-starved state. You’ll require a recovery period, and I’ll have to donate.”
“And you’re okay with that? Because the sense I’m getting is that this is all new to you.”
“Very.”
“Then why did you come here? Why would you put yourself in this kind of danger?”
Claire needed him to understand the whole picture, especially the promises Rumy had made. “Two years ago, my friend Zoey and I were abducted from a club in Santa Fe. I’ve been held captive all this time in Florida at Daniel’s command. But Rumy got wind of it, suspecting that I might have the ability to forge a tracking pair with you. Does this make sense? The ‘tracking pair’ thing, I mean?”
He nodded. “It does. It’s very rare in our world, but I’m starting to get the picture. Rumy helped you escape, didn’t he?”
“He did, but he insisted that I search for your blood-chains first. When I actually found them in my captor’s office, I finally believed everything he’d been telling me. You have to understand, until three days ago, I didn’t even know about your world except for vague rumors some of the staff mentioned now and then. I thought it was all gossip.”
Lucian scowled. “So Rumy sent you here wearing the blood-chain intending for you to bond with me.”
She swallowed hard. “Yes. He believes that Daniel orchestrated my capture and that he’d fully intended one day to use me for exactly this purpose, to become part of a tracking pair in order to find the weapon he’s after.”
His frown deepened. “What did Rumy tell you about the blood-chains?”
“That when they were created, they were infused with your blood, which makes them specific to you. He also said that you had tremendous power and that once you put on the blood-chain and we bonded, that you’d be able to break out of these shackles.” She glanced down at the horrible, heavy iron bands around his wrists and ankles. Lifting her gaze back to his face, she added, “And I hope more than anything that it’s true.”
Lucian searched her eyes. “But what’s in it for you?”
Claire’s throat seized and her eyes filled with tears. “I need help to find my friend, Zoey. She’s lost somewhere inside your world.” Images of her best friend from childhood suddenly came to mind. Zoey was so different from her in almost every way. She had short, jet-black hair, for one thing, and large blue eyes. They’d lived on the same street and been in and out of each other’s houses from the earliest time Claire could remember. The moment Rumy had told Claire that Zoey had probably been trafficked into the vampire slave system, she’d set her course. She had to find her if it was the last thing she did. “Rumy’s convinced Zoey was auctioned off as a sex slave. If you and I do form a chain-bond, and it turns out we really can track things, then I’ll need your commitment to help me find Zoey. That’s what’s in it for me and Rumy assured me that you’d be willing to help.”
Lucian wrapped his arms around his knees and closed his eyes. “Fuck. This isn’t right, not on any level.”
She reached out to him, touching his arm. “Lucian, I don’t have the luxury of thinking in terms of whether this is right or not. I only want one thing, to find my friend. I have no idea if she’s alive, but I can’t leave your world without knowing one way or the other, without making an effort. This seems like the only way.”
He put a hand to his abdomen.
