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I squeezed with my arms, my hands grabbing at his back. He jerked back abruptly, hissing in pain. I stilled, finally noticing the bright white bandage strapped across his chest. “Oh, gods!” I cried. “I can’t believe it.”
He looked up from his chest. “It’s okay. Just a little tender.” He smiled and leaned in for another kiss.
Realizing he misunderstood my meaning, I put a hand to the left of the bandage, stilling his progress. “No.”
His expression fell, tightened. “Hey, you kissed me first.”
I shook my head. “No, you fool, I don’t mean no more kissing. I meant, I thought you were dead.”
Light dawned in his eyes. “Oh, gods, Sabina.”
“I saw you f-fall and ….. and then you were so still ….. I thought it was too late and I never got a chance to tell you—” My voice cracked as a fresh round of tears began.
He pulled me to him, his arms wrapping around me again. Surrounding me with his sandalwood scent. I breathed in deeply as he rocked me, placing soft kisses on my hair, whispering, “It’s okay. I’m here.”
The storm of emotion passed quickly, leaving me exhausted. I lifted my head from his shoulder. Placed my hands on either side of his dear, handsome face. Looked him in his eyes, which were red and glistening with his own emotions. “I love you,” I said. “I’m sorry I hurt you by sneaking out. I was trying to protect you. All of you. But I only ended up making things worse. Can you forgive me?”
His expression was serious, too serious for my comfort. “You love me?”
I tilted my head. Was that a trick question? “Of course.”
“Then I should probably tell you I forgave you for your decision five minutes after I realized you’d left.”
My mouth dropped open. “What? But those things you said—”
He rested his forehead against mine. “Were said out of fear.” He swallowed hard. When he spoke again, his voice was thick with emotion. “The thought of you facing all that by yourself— the idea of you dying alone— made me more terrified than I’d ever been in my life.”
I kissed his lips softly. “I was scared, too,” I whispered against his lips. Memory of watching my sister feed from him reared in my mind. I pulled back. “Oh, gods— Maisie.”
He stilled. “Did Lavinia—” His voice cut off as if he couldn’t bear to voice his worry that Maisie might be dead.
I shook my head. “No, she’s alive. But she still thinks she killed you.”
He grabbed my hand and pulled. “Let’s go.”
His injuries slowed our progress, but before we made it halfway back across the main avenue of the cemetery, Giguhl entered the area. When the demon saw Adam he went statue-still. Then he was nothing but a blur of green. Adam didn’t have time to brace himself before Giguhl was on him. “Mancy, you’re alive!”
Adam groaned. “Not for long if you don’t stop squeezing.”
Chastened, Giguhl gently lowered Adam back to the ground. The demon’s claw came to rest heavily on the mancy’s shoulder. With a huge grin Giguhl said, “Gods-damn it’s good to see you.”
Adam smiled up to the demon. “You, too.” He reached for my hand and squeezed it. “Looks like Team Awesome lives to fight another day.”
“Damn straight,” Giguhl said. “Although if it’s all the same to you, I’d prefer it if another day doesn’t come ever.”
I smiled at my demon and my mancy. “Amen.”
The demon rounded on me. “And you, no more of this running-off-by-yourself nonsense.”
My joy dulled. Time to pay the piper— or the Mischief demon, as it were. “I’m sorry, G. I thought I was protecting you guys.”
The demon crossed his arms and puckered his black lips. “Magepire, please. You think I don’t know you by now? I appreciate the sentiment, but next time you decide to go off half-cocked, come talk to Gigi first, okay?”
I smiled up at him. “You’re the best minion a girl could ask for, Giguhl.”
“Yeah, well, when we get back to New York you and me are gonna have a nice long chat about our roles in this relationship.”
I opened my mouth to retort, but movement near the tombs grabbed all our attention. The rest of our ragtag army emerged from between two mausoleums. Zen and Rhea stood on either side of Maisie, supporting her weight. My sister’s head hung so low her limp red-and-black hair curtained her face. The infusions of blood from Adam and Lavinia had filled out her body a bit, but her skin still looked too pale.
“Maisie!” Adam called, half running, half limping toward her.
Her face came up slowly. But instead of jerking in surprise or blinking in shock, she regarded him with dead eyes. Seeing her lack of reaction, he stumbled to an awkward halt a couple of feet away. “Maisie?” he whispered.
With a shaking hand, he reached for her. My stomach clenched as she shied away.
“Don’t touch me,” she said in a venomous tone. “I’m tainted!”
I moved forward to intervene. But Rhea shook her head. Feeling helpless and hurting for both of them, I clenched my fists.
“No you’re not, Maze. It’s okay.” He tried again, and this time she allowed him to place a gentle hand on her arm. “It’s not your fault.”
Her body began to tremble uncontrollably. “I killed her, Adam.”
He pulled her toward him as sobs wracked her body. “Shh. It’s going to be okay.”
Beside me, Giguhl’s claw found my hand. I looked up at the demon with tears blurring my vision. For the first time since I let Maisie step in and kill our grandmother, I wondered if I’d made the right decision. Of the two of us, Maisie was less experienced with violence. She’d already been through so much. And even though her actions were just to my way of thinking, I knew Maisie never would have done the deed if she hadn’t believed Adam was dead. And even if she’d been able to muster the rage to kill Lavinia, she would never have chosen to feed from the Domina as the means. As far as I knew, Maisie had never drunk directly from a living being until tonight. She was the one who got me started on bagged blood as the more humane option. And to return the favor, I’d just introduced her to the more violent side of vampire life. The blood she’d consumed— both Adam’s and Lavinia’ s— and the killing would likely haunt her for a long time to come.
