Page 83 of Shai

I tried to take a deep breath, but it was as if someone had filled my chest with molasses, oxygen seeming to lodge somewhere without ever reaching my lungs. The effects of the venom seemed to be progressing at an alarming rate. I’d gone from feeling fine to having problems breathing within the space of about five minutes. “Shai?”

“Shhh...” His hands stroked over my skin, in a way that was more about curiosity than anything sexual. “Just feel it.”

I could feel it. That was the problem. I could feel my heart rate slowing. I could feel my limbs starting to seize, and most worrying of all, I could feel how much effort it was taking to draw in enough oxygen to sustain life. Dizziness swamped me and I slipped sideways, my head bouncing off the soft cushion. Shai was saying something, but the words were garbled, like he was saying them through water. Was I back in the river?

So, he had meant to kill me all along. At least I knew. Such a shame when I loved him, and in some strange way, or as much as he was capable, I’d thought he loved me too.

I closed my eyes and let the darkness swallow me.

I AWOKE to fingers stroking through my hair, their movements rhythmic and soothing. I opened my eyes, the room swimming back into focus and a few things becoming apparent, chief among them the fact that I wasn’t dead. I was stretched out along the length of the sofa, my head propped on Shai’s lap as he continued to trace his fingers over the contours of my scalp. It took a few attempts to produce words, my throat decidedly scratchy. “Did you give me the antivenom?”

His fingers stilled for a second before continuing their movements. “Of course. Did you think I wouldn’t?”

“You know I did. You wanted me to think that.”

Shai’s thighs shook beneath my head as he laughed. “People should be kept on their toes.”

I could have told him that there was a huge difference between keeping

someone on their toes and mental torture, but it would have been a waste of breath.

“How are you feeling now?”

That was a good question, and one I hadn’t really given any thought to

besides the fact that I was still breathing. Dislodging Shai’s fingers from my scalp, I struggled to sitting, carrying out a quick inventory as I did so. “Fine, I think.” I ran my fingers over the marks on my chest, the skin around each bite red, hot, and swollen. “Apart from the fact that my chest hurts like a bitch.”

“It will. It’ll get better after a few days.”

Great. A few days. “Will it scar?” Shai’s eyebrows rose. “That’s a very vain question, Elijah.” I met his

stare head-on, his lips finally curving into a smile. “No, it won’t scar.”

He stood, holding out a hand to encourage me to my feet. “Come.” I took it without hesitation, my legs a lot steadier than I’d expected

them to be as he pulled me across to the window. He positioned me in front of it, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder. “What do you see when you look out over the city?”

I frowned at the question. What answer was he looking for? “I see…” I

studied the scene in front of me, the compound set far enough back from the street that the people I could see were no bigger than ants. “I don’t know… buildings… people… the sky.”

Shai’s sigh of disappointment ruffled my hair. “I have an awful lot to

teach you.”

“What am I supposed to see?”

Shai turned his head, the brief press of his lips against my neck

producing an instantaneous reaction in my groin, now that the fear was gone. “Shall I tell you what I see?”

I gave a nod.

“I see everything that belongs to me. The people might think they don’t,

but they’re wrong. They choose to live here, so they’re mine. It’s as simple as that. Their fate is in my hands.”

I let out a snort. “Well, I’m hardly going to see that, am I? They’re