Page 94 of Wicked Thirst
“No, absolutely not.” He shook his head. “Moira, you’re my best friend. I love my brother. To me there is no choice left. You will have a life here, and so will Grayson. To me there is no other option. Let me do this for you.”
“Of course, you will have to remain friends with Titus. You can never let him love you, and you can never tell him you love him,” Marius added. “It is the only way to avoid this from happening again.”
I turned toward Titus as he rammed his head into the bars once more. This time his skin split and blood trickled down the side of his face and into the corner of his lip. His tongue darted out and he tasted it. I couldn’t imagine he would last much longer with the way he was abusing himself. Or worse, he’d hurt someone else. I wanted his son to know him, no matter what capacity that was in. But could I hide my love? Live a life at a close distance? For both my husband and son . . . I would do anything.
“Very well.” Either way, I’d lose my husband, my love, tonight. But at least he would gain his life back.
Marius reached into the pocket of his suit coat and pulled out a hand full of blue powder. He walked over to the bars and kicked them, getting Titus’ attention. When Titus charged for the bars, he lifted his hand and blew the powder into his face. Titus jerked back, rubbing at his face for a moment before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed to the ground.
Marius motioned to Graymont. “Help me get him into the other cell and strap him down before he wakes. That powder won’t last long on him.”
“We’re doing this now?” My eyes widened.
“You’d prefer we wait until he actually kills himself?” Marius rushed into the cell and placed his hands under Titus’ shoulders while Graymont got his legs.
I hurried to the other cell door and swung it wide open. “I suppose not.”
They carried him into the cell and laid him on the table there.
Graymont took the thick metal bindings and wound them around Titus’ legs and arms. He stood beside his brother and gazed down at him. “What next?”
Marius moved closer to him. “I need you to hold your hands over his heart and let your own blood magic flow. I will guide it where it needs to go.”
Graymont held his hands over Titus and closed his eyes. Red mist drifted from one of his hands and Marius grabbed his wrist. White magic drifted down like spiderwebs from Marius’ hand and wound around Graymont’s wrist. They shot down toward Titus like an arrow and right into his chest. Titus’ body jerked, and I found myself stepping closer, but Marius shook his head and I stopped, holding myself still.
Blood ran up his white web-like magic toward Graymont. Marius moved to his other wrist and placed his hand there. More of the white webs wrapped around Graymont’s wrist and shot down toward Titus’ chest. This time drops of blood flowed from Graymont into Titus. It was a give and take. Graymont looked as though he was going to vomit. His face turned a sickly pale and he staggered forward.
“Gray.” I took a step forward.
Marius held his arm out to stop me. “He can hold on long enough. If you touch him, it won’t work.”
“He looks dreadful.” I didn’t want anything to happen to Graymont. He was my friend and Titus’ brother. He brought light and fun to our world of duty and honor.
“He’s filtering cursed blood with his body. Of course he does.” Marius moved to stand next to Titus’ head.
He leaned his elbows on the table and held his hands on either side of Titus’ head. The magical white webs shot from his fingertips and right into Titus’ temples.They glowed white and looked like little white drops of magic going into his head one by one, as though Marius were placing the thoughts into his mind and leaving them there. An eerie feeling settled over me and I couldn’t shake the feeling something was going to go wrong.
When Graymont’s body started to quake and sweat poured from him, I hurried to Marius’ side. “Stop this now.”
“It’s too late. We can’t.” He spoke through gritted teeth.
Titus’ eyes flashed wide open and every muscle in his body went tight with tension. Every alarm bell went off in my mind. I moved closer to the table, but I didn’t want to touch any of them, not when they were all tied together with magic. Titus jerked in the chains and red mist exploded from his body. The webs that were taking blood from Titus snapped from Graymont’s wrist. Blood poured from Graymont’s other wrist and flowed right into Titus.
“STOP THIS NOW!” I screamed toward Marius, but Titus’ blood magic was expanding.
Graymont fell to his knees and bellowed in pain. Blood flowed from him to Titus. He tried to jerk his hand away, but those webs of magic were more like chains. Marius’ hands were glued to Titus’ head. He tried to stand up and pull away, but he was pulled closer by the blood magic. The chains around Titus snapped and flew around the cell. Magic exploded out of Titus in a huge wave that shook the entire castle. Dust rained down on us all, and the bars cracked from the force of the explosion. Shards of chains snapped across Graymont’s chest and face, cutting his skin wide open. Yet blood didn’t flow from his wounds because Titus was draining him dry. Titus leapt on top of the table and the last drops of blood sucked from Graymont’s body and went right into his heart.
Graymont dropped to the ground beside the table. His body lay there completely lifeless, with his eyes wide open but completely sightless. I ran to his side and dropped to the ground. “GRAYMONT, NO!”
I placed my hands on his chest and felt nothing, no heartbeat, no breath. Titus turned toward Marius and leapt off the table.
Marius backed away from him. “Now, Titus, we were only trying to help you.”
Titus moved toward Marius, hunting him down. He darted across the room and wrapped his hands around Marius’ face. He jerked him against his body and sank his teeth into Marius’ neck. Blood trickled from the bite, and Titus pulled in greedy sucks, taking as much as he could. No! I wouldn’t stand by and watch as he killed someone else in front of me. He was too distracted by his thirst and drinking. I ran up behind him and placed my hand on his chin and the back of his head. I jerked his teeth free from Marius and twisted as hard as I could, snapping his neck. Titus’ fell to the ground at my feet. I stood there among a room full of bodies. The only one I knew would survive was Titus.
I ran to Marius and placed my hand over the wound on his neck, but he was too far gone. Warlocks didn’t heal from things like this. I crawled to my hands and knees, shaking as I held them over his body. I called on my own blood magic and pink mist covered his wound. But nothing happened. “No! No, come on. No. Oh god, no.”
His breath was shallow and soon he would be dead.I didn’t know what else to do, so I bit my own wrist and held his mouth wide open. I let my blood trickle down his throat then forced his mouth shut. With his last dying breath, he swallowed it. I let him lie there on the floor as I crawled over to Graymont. I pulled his lifeless body into my lap and held him there, letting my magic flow over him and praying that he would heal from this. I rocked him back and forth as tears poured down my face.
