Page 51 of Feathers From the Sky

“What do you need me to do?”

“Minor surgery, more or less.”

“Roman, I don’t—”

“He hit me with buckshot—silver pellets. I can’t heal until the silver is out.”

I nod, unsure of what to do or where to start. Or if I even should. “Why ask me? You had to pass plenty of other people who could help before you got to me.”

He moves his arms beneath his head, and I think he might pass out without answering me. He takes a deep breath and his stomach shudders as he exhales. It’s one of the few parts of him that doesn’t have ink. It’s not flat, but soft, with a smattering of dark brown curls going from his chest, disappearing beneath his waistband. And right now, everything is covered in blood.

He is showing me weakness, and I don’t understand why. Roman is at my mercy, and I don’t have it in me to do him harm. A deranged desire to place a kiss just above his bellybutton threatens to take over, and I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with me. He is bleeding on my bed, and he killed my father’s best friend. Just hours ago, he apparently followed through on his threat against me, too.

Roman is the thing about this situation I understand the least. Does he feel more for me than lust for my body and my blood? Or does he still see me as someone who should pay for my father’s sins? Is it possible I’ve made him care about me? Trust me? Why else would he come to me in his time of need?

“I’m already going to have a hell of a time explaining what happened to Margot. Better to not have to explain me, too.”

“Margot?” He doesn’t miss the concern in my voice, opening his eye a fraction to peek at me. “Is she okay?”

“Aww, the hunter cares about a vampire.”

I feel little remorse as I push my finger into one of the small holes on his side. He snarls and instantly tries to sit up, but he’s weak enough that when I shove him, he collapses back.

“Please,” he gasps. “Dig them out.”

“Why should I?” I’m gently sliding deeper into the hole, and I frown when I feel the pellet. I’m going to have to get a second finger in there to grab it and pull it out.

“Margot could’ve died because of your info.” He groans, fisting my sheets in his hand as I shove a second finger into his flesh.

“How am I responsible for you going after people and hurting them?”

“Fuck! We didn’t go there to hurt him.” Roman is panting, sweat beading on his forehead. “He shot at us before we did anything.”

“He what?” I stare at him for a moment before I remove the pellet, in awe that something so tiny could cause so much pain.

“He shot at Margot the minute he saw her, and when he went to do it again, I tackled him. Got some of the spray, and when he pulled his handgun on me, I broke his neck.”

I grimace, imagining Roman killing someone with his bare hands. Someone I know.

“Where’s Margot?”

“An associate is dealing with her. She’s worse off than me.”

My eyes trail up to his shoulder, realizing it’s probably Margot’s blood staining his skin. The wound I just finished is already bleeding less, but he said all the silver needed to go. “I haven’t seen Charlie in years. Did—did he say anything? I don’t know why he’d attack—”

“He knew about vampires, Gwyn.” He hisses as I continue. It has to hurt. It’s not like I have giant fingers, but they’re certainly bigger than the hole in his side.

“Did you ask him about Remy? With your influence or whatever?” I can feel my pulse, my temple pounding. I’m blinking too fast, and I feel shaky. “If he shot at you, does that mean it was him? Why—why should I believe this all happened as you said?”

“He didn’t do it,” he says. “We’re no better off today than we were yesterday.” I exhale, slow and long, as I pull out the second pellet. There’s only one more left, and then the big bullet-hole will need to be dealt with. “As for it being the truth, I guess you’ll just have to trust me.” When I raise a brow, he chuckles, then sucks in a quick breath of pain. “I keep my promises, Gwyn. I wouldn’t have killed him after interrogating him. He forced my hand.”

For whatever reason, the last pellet is far deeper than the others, and I can tell it hurts as Roman softly moans. Witnessing him like this is dangerous. He’s not human, but seeing his physical vulnerabilities after just a few glimpses of his mental ones is enough to make me look at him differently.

Insight is a reckless companion to a tender heart.

When he showed me my sister’s reaction to my disappearance, things I couldn’t begin to understand before clicked into place for me. Though my relationship with Sasha is no lesser than a full-blooded one, I recognize that there’s a different bond to birth siblings. If what I’d do for Sasha is limitless, what Roman would do for Remy has to be the same.

To have this knowledge, to be able to relate to him? It’s a torture I didn’t expect.

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