Page 65 of Taste of Fate

My cowardly eyes wanted to crack open and look, to see if that warm, angelic voice was real. But it couldn’t be. He’d have to have been right behind me to catch up. And even if he could have reached me in time, he wouldn’t. He didn’t care enough, and had told me as much.

“You’re okay. That’s a nasty wound but you’re going to be fine.”

A hand cradled the back of my head so tenderly, it soothed the pain in my scalp from where my hair had been pulled. Damn, these near-death, blood loss hallucinations hit me right in the heartstrings.

Still not daring to open my eyes, I felt myself being lowered slowly to lie on a flat surface. Pressure on the hot, burning ache on my leg made me cry out, and a warm hand caressed my face as if to comfort me.

“Look at me, Tavi. Are you hurt anywhere else?”

My eyelids fluttered open, helpless to resist. Red eyes, not yellow, stared back at me. The brow that had been so smooth and relaxed in sleep now knitted in concern. For me.

“Cy?” I croaked weakly.

He gave me that familiar, playful smirk. “Can’t wait to hear my name like that again, but for completely different reasons.”

I was in too much pain to laugh and his smile immediately died. “Are you bitten anywhere else? This blood,” he leaned in and inhaled near my neck. “It’s not yours.”

“I…cut one of them. With the dagger you gave me.”

His smile returned, bright and proud while his hand passed over me, checking for injuries. “That’s my brave little human.”

Once satisfied that I only had the one bite, he pressed both hands over the wound. His fingers were already dark with blood.

“I have to do this fast.” He sounded almost apologetic. “You might want to close your eyes again. It’ll look weird to you and probably pretty gross.”

The pain was so sharp and intense, pulsing up my leg. I clenched my teeth against the sensation and each breath felt like torture.

“What are you?—”

Cyan ripped my jeans, exposing the ragged, torn flesh without the bloodsoaked fabric in the way. Fresh blood poured from the open wound and I felt woozy, but I couldn’t look away as Cyan lowered his mouth to my leg.

What the fuck, was he going to drink from me while I was a gushing fountain?

But rather than drawing blood into his mouth, he dragged his tongue over my ragged, torn flesh.

Again and again, he licked me. The pain faded to a dull numbness, and then a slight itch. And I realized, with each swipe of his tongue, the bleeding slowed. He kept going until it seemed like I was more or less closed up.

“Thank you,” I whispered, now lightheaded from the sudden absence of pain. My leg still ached, but it was tolerable compared to moments ago.

“It’s the least I can do for you,” Cyan murmured. “You may still bleed a little, but you should be okay until I have time to take care of you properly.”

I ignored the implication that he would have anything to do with me at all after this. Now I was no longer on death’s door, my priorities were righted.

“Amy,” I said. “She got hurt. They’re hiding in the cellar across the center of the compound. I need to see her.”

To my surprise, Cyan sprang immediately into action, hoisting me easily into his arms like a groom carrying his bride. “There’s a way around these buildings, right? All the marrowers seem to be concentrating in the center.”

“Yeah, head left around these houses.”

I had no brain space to think about why he was helping me so readily, how he got here so fast. The last time I saw him, he’d all but admitted that he was only nice to manipulate me. Amy was the only important thing.

But it still made me wonder. What did he have to gain from saving my life, saving Sapien? It wasn’t like I’d ever consent to giving him my blood again.

“The rest of the clan is on their way,” he said between my directions to the cellar, not even breathing hard from the exertion of carrying me, running, and talking. “We’ll clean this shit up in an hour. Don’t worry about a thing, Tavi.”

“How did you get here so fast?” My hands clasped together around his neck. Just because it felt more secure, not because I wanted to hold onto him for any reason.

“Rode at top speed all the way here and burned my tires to strips.” The corner of his mouth hooked in that smirk again. “Gonna have to catch a ride with someone else on the way back.”

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