AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Colin’s fingers slowly unwrapped from his arm. I swallowed as I debated on arguing. Killing with her gifts were one thing. Hand to hand combat was another. I couldn’t take the thought of her getting hit.
“If you want to live, you have to beat me. I give you my word, if you win, you can leave this room without fear of being killed. No one will touch you.”
The man didn’t so much as look our way. His arm reared back, swinging right for Tessa’s face. The connection to her cheek had her head jerking to the side at the impact. The sight was enough to make my vision flicker red. I was moving … fast, and my fangs were down.
A hand grabbed to my arm, but I was still pulling, focused solely on the man who was hitting her again. And again.
“The queen gave us an order. We are not to disobey,” Colin yelled in my ear.
Words wouldn’t come as Tessa’s face lifted. He swung and she did nothing to defend herself. She was letting him beat her. Letting him pound into her features.
“Let. Go.”
“This is nothing for her. She could crush his skull with her bare hands. What she is doing is for her, not him. We stay back.”
“What is going on here!”
Marko’s voice roared through the room like a cannon. Colin’s grip tightened on me the smallest amount, only to drop completely as Marko’s eyes went right to us, then to Tessa. Blood poured from her nose and mouth, and her eye was already swelling shut.
“Ma minette, what are you doing?” The pain and sincerity in our new leader’s tone had my stomach twisting with jealousy.
“This man killed Marie. He will pay.”
“He? Look at you. He is not hurting here, you are.” He walked up, angling her so he could see the damage. “You want him to pay? I will make him suffer the worst death imaginable. I can do that for you. I would do anything for you.”
“Would you?” Tessa tone softened toward the end. “I don’t feel that from you anymore.”
“I’m adjusting to this new me, but I am still the same. I’m sorry if I’ve made you feel that way. I love you,” he said, pulling her into his body. “I love you more than anything. Let me take you home and show you.”
Marko dropped his arms and lunged to the human so fast that he was but a blur. In one yank, he ripped the man’s head free of his shoulders. Blood shot across Marko’s angry face and some emotion I couldn’t quite decipher flooded Tessa. She looked angry, yet … transfixed by Marko’s action.
“Home,” he repeated, tossing the head to the cement ground. “It’s time to focus on us. Just us.”
Chapter 18
Marko
Every breath, every constriction of every swallow, was a like a lighter being held to my throat. Aetas may have been keeping me alive through some machine, but it wasn’t the same for my vampire. The need to bite and suck was ingrained in who I was. It was a necessity for the monster within. Every minute that passed where I didn’t soothe the torture only triggered the insanity even more. My body was in a constant state of unsettlement. My legs slid from side to side the inches they were allowed and my fists repeatedly clenched. And my jaw … it kept the motion that needed to come. It open and bit down in reflex, repeatedly. The only thing that kept me holding on was Tessa.
“I will be a fool for no man. I am a warrior …”
Our love was true. Hearing her words as she broke down outside of the door had given me a hope so great that it kept me hanging on. Aetas couldn’t be me. He could hold my appearance, he could pretend by his actions, by mine and Tessa’s souls were intertwined so deeply that no matter where I was, she’d be drawn back to me. And maybe she thought she was spilling her worries to our leader, but in truth, it was me she was speaking to. Her despair was for me. For our missing bond and for the absence of my true self. She was mourning the loss of the one she was meant for. And me, I was grieving as well.
A loud grunt left my lips and my jaw snapped together. The ache caused my body to convulse against the restraining surfaces that kept me trapped. How long had I technically been dead? A month? Longer? Time didn’t exist. The gaps in reality came whether I was awake or asleep. My mind was shutting down, breaking from the torment brought on by the hum of the machine and the silence that accompanied every passing second.
“Ae-tas.” My weak voice had me reaching within to scream his name louder—clearer. “Aetas!”
How many times had I yelled that name? For how many days now?
Minutes went by and again I began the yelling. Light blinded me and for a moment I thought I had finally crossed over. The shock of my death quickly faded as a snarl tore through the room. Tears stung my eyes at the sensitivity and I blinked repeated, trying to see through the blur that had taken over my sight. No matter how many times I tried to make my vision come in clear, the face before me, my face, wouldn’t sharpen to my regular sight.
“You wake me from a most pleasurable sleep. Why are you so weak?”
My mouth opened, only to snap shut again. Blurry brown eyes narrowed down at me and what I was sure was concern flashed on my features—Aetas’ new features.
“This isn’t right,” he whispered, messing with the tube on the side of the throat. “The blood is too weak for you. Impossible. You cannot be growing so strong already.”
I tried lifting my arm, but only managed a few inches before it fell again. Yes, I was so weak.
