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“I’ll teleport him to my house. You follow with Darya.”
“I’m coming, too,” Sven insisted.
“That’s no problem. I can teleport two at a time,” Roman replied.
“Darya!” My mother called. “Thank goodness!” She swept me into her arms and hugged me briefly before looking me over. “You’ve been hurt.”
“It’s just a stab wound. I’ll heal. Vas has been poisoned. We need to take him to Rita’s house to be treated.”
She nodded. “Okay, go. Your father and I will meet you there.”
I had a short moment to look around the forest once more. Peter was busy tending to a man with a head wound, while Grace and Rebecca provided water to the women and children. There was so much going on that I barely had time to take it all in before Roman swept me away to Rita’s house.
Since Rita’s speciality was healing I knew Vas was in good hands. She had a treatment room in her house and we laid Vas out on the bed while she went to rifle through her supplies.
“Was he using a lot of magic before this happened?” Roman asked as he surveyed him.
“Yes. Too much,” I said, fear catching in my throat.
“Hmm, that’s probably why touching the dagger was so detrimental.”
I wasn’t sure why, but what he said caused a tidal wave of emotion to crash over me. I felt faint. Seeing my distress, Roman took me into his arms, embracing me before he instructed, “Go to the kitchen and put the kettle on. I’m sure we’ll all want a cup of tea after we’re done saving his life.”
There was so much reassurance in his eyes and I was oddly relieved that he’d given me something to do. I was too terrified to stay and watch Rita treat Vas. I left the room, on the verge of tears once more, as I went to the kitchen and did as Roman instructed. Soon my parents arrived and they began fussing over my stomach wound. I still could barely feel it but I was aware of my body knitting itself back together.
Time passed. The tea I’d made had long gone cold when Rita, Roman and Sven emerged from the treatment room.
“He’s going to be okay,” Rita said and relief had me clutching my chest.
I stood on wobbly legs. “Can I go see him?”
“Sure, he’s sleeping though. I gave him a mild sedative to help in his recovery.”
I didn’t care that he was asleep. I needed to see with my own two eyes that he was okay because I’d meant what I said back in the mine. I had come to love him and my heart couldn’t handle losing him. Not now.
I opened the door and stood there for a moment, just taking him in. Vas had always seemed so strong, despite the odds being set against him. He never acted weak. Seeing him lying there so vulnerable caused my love for him to expand. I took a few steps toward the bed, sitting down on the edge as my eyes traced his profile, his regal horns, masculine nose and sensuous lips. My hand snaked out instinctively, gently caressing his cheek before smoothing his hair away from his face.
I gasped when suddenly he moved. He gripped my wrist, his fingers warm and alive. Then his eyes opened, his expression softening when he saw it was me.
“Vas,” I whispered, my voice choking on his name.
“What is it, my love?” he asked quietly.
“I thought…I thought…How could you risk touching that dagger?”
“When I saw you’d been hurt I lost control. I acted rashly but I had to kill him.”
“I’m a dhampir. Getting stabbed won’t kill me. You touching that dagger however—”
His hand came up to touch my lips, pausing what was sure to have been a tirade. The truth was I was mad at him. He knew the sepial could poison him but he’d wanted Red Armand dead more than he valued his own life.
“I’m not dead, and I promise never to do something like that again. You have my word.”
At this he wrapped his fingers around mine, tugging me closer. “Lie down. I need to hold you.”
“I can’t do that. You’re still recovering. Besides, there are people outside and this isn’t my house.”
A hint of a grin tugged at his lips. “I’m the patient here, and surely my sister wouldn’t deny us a moment together under her own roof.”
Unable to resist his charming grin when he’d only just escaped certain death, I climbed onto the bed, resting my head on his chest. “Is it weird to have a sister?”
“Yes, very. Especially since she killed our father.”
I stiffened slightly at his words, worried his vengeful instincts might return now that Red Armand and the Dicteps were no more. Would Vas always have some form of revenge to enact?
“But I know now that she had good cause,” he finished and my worries abated.
