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“Very well, but either Leo or one of your friends had better soothe your passion or you’re going to be a very sick little girl tomorrow.” Regina let out a short laugh. “At least Lannan remembered the way to harness the Blood Oracle’s thirst.”
“Tell me—if you would . . . why is it against the rules for him to drink from the living?” I looked up at her face, which was unreadable. She was stroking my hair, gently playing with it in an almost endearing way.
Regina pressed her lips together, then abruptly said, “That should never have come up in your presence. You’d do best to forget it. But you have nothing to worry about. The Blood Oracle never emerges from his temple. He will not come stalking you.” She paused, then added, “See, here we are—your home. Leo, you and your lady friend should get Cicely inside quickly and call us tomorrow night should she fall deeper into the blood fever.”
The limo waited as I scrambled out of the car and, with Leo and Rhia’s help, I made it through the snow, up into the house. Then it pulled off into the night and we shut the door behind us.
I dropped on the sofa, still burning from Lannan’s blood, from his touch. “I need water. I need . . . a cool cloth.” The blanket Geoffrey had wrapped me in was driving me nuts and I wanted nothing more than to tear it off.
Kaylin took one look at me and motioned to Rhiannon. “Get a towel and an ice pack.” He knelt beside me. “Cicely, I can feel your blood, it’s racing through your body. Did you drink from a vampire tonight?”
I nodded, stammering out what happened as best I could.>“By the power of the Crimson Queen, you have no right to feed!” Lannan’s voice echoed with an authority that shook the walls.
Crawl let out a shriek. “You dare to command your sire? I am Master. I am the Blood Oracle! And you, who are you to order me off my feed? You are not your sister, impudent whelp. I should never have sired you. I should have killed you where you stood. You are weak; you like the magic-born and human too much. They are cattle.”
But even as he spoke, Crawl began to loosen his grip on me and I opened my eyes, feeling weak. I glanced at Lannan for a clue, and he shook his head, motioning for me to stay still. I obeyed.
“Old Father, I beg of you, remember the treaty. Remember the rules of the Crimson Queen. Remember what you are and how you became that way.” Lannan held out his hands in supplication.
Crawl stopped, breathing heavily, then squatted back on his heels. He stared into my eyes, as I lay there, panting, bleeding. No compassion, no mercy would ever cross that face again—if indeed, it ever had—but I suddenly realized that I was staring back at him: So not a good thing. In that moment, I felt my father’s blood rise up and I latched onto my owl and imagined myself flying, free and beautiful and aloft. And in that moment, Crawl retreated to his cushioned throne and Lannan cautiously lifted me off the platform and retreated a safe distance.
He looked at me, forced me to meet his eyes, and then without another word, turned and began to walk down the path leading to the archway.
Crawl’s voice echoed behind us. “Son of the Blood Oracle, listen well to these words. You set yourself up for a downfall if you care too much about these mortal beings. Let your desire be for blood, not for the body, or you will find yourself an outcast.”
Lannan said nothing, not even as Crawl began to laugh.
“Then, young fiend, if you will not take advice from your elders, listen to this. The Blood Oracle knows your questions before you even speak, even though you were not one of his favorites.”
Lannan stopped, holding me, listening but not turning.
“I read her memories as I sucked her veins. Myst has one thorn, one vulnerability: her anger at the girl. Betrayal has become her enemy and offset her vision. Use the girl as bait, set mother against daughter. Geoffrey will know what to do. Or bring her to this temple and the Blood Oracle will feed and turn her. Either way, the war has begun. There are too many variables yet to predict the outcome. But blood shall run, like a river to the ocean.”
And then, after a pause, Lannan started walking again, and we exited the room. I passed out the minute we began to shift back into the crystal chamber and woke up to find myself on a sofa in Geoffrey’s office with Lannan kneeling beside me. Everything was spinning and I felt like I was half out of my body.
“What . . . I’m so . . .”
“You’re weak. I know. Don’t try to talk.” Lannan seemed almost tender, but I didn’t trust that look. “Here, you’ve lost a lot of blood. We have to treat you or you risk passing into the shadow, and becoming one of Crawl’s shadows is not something you should ever wish.”
I blinked. “What? I don’t understand . . .”
Lannan held his wrist up and with one long nail slit it expertly. A drizzle of blood formed on it. “You must drink,” he whispered. “My blood will strengthen you, keep you from passing into the veil. And you do not want to go into the veil, my Cicely. No matter what you think of me, it’s a thousand times worse there.”
I didn’t know what he was talking about and tried to push his wrist away from my lips, but I couldn’t move my arms and then I realized I was paralyzed.
“I can’t move—!”
“I know, but the paralysis will stop if you drink. You are under Crawl’s thrall now; he has a hold on you and only by drinking my blood can you break the charm. If you were to die now, you’d come back as a shadow tied to the Blood Oracle.”
“I don’t want to be a vampire . . .” I began to whimper. “Just let me die . . .”
“No—if you die you will be far worse than a vampire. And you will not become one of the Vampiric Fae . . . not at this point. I am not trying to turn you. My blood will strengthen you. So for fuck’s sake, just drink it, woman.” He slammed his wrist against my mouth and I had no choice; the scent of the blood was suddenly tantalizing and I sucked eagerly, feeling the warmth slide through me, race through my body in a sensuous trail of droplets.
The heat started in my feet first, my toes suddenly awake and aware, and trailed up my legs, leaving a luxurious feeling like I’d just woken up after a long, long nap. I ached, but it was a hungry ache, and as the heat reached my pelvis, all I could think about was fucking. I was so horny that I thought I was going to scream, and I shifted slightly as the heat traveled still farther, to my breasts and arms, and finally through my head. Letting out a low moan, I pushed myself up on my elbows.
Lannan was kneeling there, looking radiant and gorgeous, and his hair was the color of spun gold. I reached out and played with the strands, suddenly no longer afraid of him.
“You have the most glorious hair,” I whispered, wondering why I’d resisted him for so long.
