Page 46 of Taken By the Fae

Yeah, this isn’t looking good.

“Do you remember what you told me when we met?” he asks, sitting on the edge of the bed.

His question surprises me, but I try to recall that day. After thinking about it, I lift my gaze to his and nod.

“Tell me.”

My jaw is clenched against the pain; I don’t think I can speak. If I open my mouth, I’m afraid I’ll scream again.

“Aurora,” he says. “Tell me.”

I close my eyes and force my jaw to unclench. “I told you I wasn’t going to die here,” I say, the words slow to come out.

“And you’re not.”

My eyes open at the sound of his voice. “How?” I whisper, and my voice cracks. He sounds so sure, and yet I feel as though I’m breaking apart in front of him.

He lifts his hand and brushes the hair away from my face, tucking it behind my ear. “I’m going to fix this. I’m going to make it better.”

I nod again.

His expression focuses as he helps me sit up enough to lift my shirt over my head. I try not to wince, but the pain is excruciating. I suck in a sharp breath when I see my chest. Black veins run under my skin, circling my stomach and disappearing under my bra, which Tristan makes no move to take off.

He presses his palm flat against my skin above my belly button as I lie back, and I hold my breath, my lips pressed together. “I need you to breathe,” he murmurs.

Letting out a slow breath, I watch his hand shift upward. The pain fades eventually, and so do the shivers, but the black veins running under my skin remain.

“You can close your eyes now,” Tristan says as he stands. “I’ll be right back.”

I watch him leave the room and wait, eyes open, until he returns, sitting even closer, his expression utterly focused on me.

“Close your eyes.”

“What are you going to do?” It comes out as a whisper.

He leans forward and lifts my chin with two fingers. “I’m going to heal you. You don’t need to watch.”

My eyes narrow. “Tristan…”

He huffs out a breath. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He pulls out a syringe, and my entire body stiffens. “I’ll try not to be offended by your level of distrust as I’m saving your life.”

I watch his every move as he shrugs off his jacket and uncaps the needle. I look away as he slips the needle into his arm and fills it with his blood.

“Aurora.”

I force myself to look at him and notice the needle is out of his arm. He holds it in his hand, waiting.

“This will cure you of the fae poison in your blood, but there could be side effects.”

“Like?” I whisper.

“I’m not going to list them for you right now. You need this.” His voice is firm; he isn’t giving me a choice. Given the alternative involves me dying, I can’t find the will to be annoyed by that.

I close my eyes briefly before nodding.

He slips his free hand up my arm and grips it near my elbow. He turns it over so my palm is facing up, and when he lowers the needle, I look away again. As it pierces my skin, I flinch, and I swear I can feel his blood entering my system.

My entire body ignites with searing heat, but before I can react, a calming, icy chill replaces the sensation. Everything is too bright, so I close my eyes and I shift as he withdraws the needle from my arm. Dizziness floods in, and I force my eyes open.

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