She studied him for several seconds.
“Rhen.”
The sound of his name in her voice tightened something inside him.
“What do you remember?”
“Pain.” She swallowed with visible effort. “Cole.”
“He survived.”
Relief softened her face.
Rhen waited until her gaze steadied again.
“You drank my blood because your human body was dying. The transformation has nearly finished, but something has formed between us that none of us understands.”
Her eyes remained upon him.
“I feel it. You.”
The admission came quietly.
Rhen’s shoulders tightened.
“You are exhausted, and your thoughts may not be clear. Nothing happens because of that connection unless you understand what you are asking for.”
Her hand moved weakly across the bed.
The effort caused her arm to tremble, but she continued until her fingers reached toward him.
Rhen did not take them.
“What do you want?”
Her eyes closed briefly while she gathered enough strength to answer.
“Want…”
The word faded.
Rhen leaned closer without touching her.
“What do you want?”
Her gaze returned to his, heavy with exhaustion but no longer empty or delirious.
Her fingers moved toward him again.
“You.”
Rhen became completely still.
The connection between them tightened, but he refused to mistake magic for consent or exhaustion for certainty.
“You do not yet know what asking for me means.”
Her lips moved faintly.
