Page 76 of The Stone Curse
I cleared my throat. “Can I get you something? Coffee? Tea? Water?”
His eyes crinkled slightly at the corners. “No, Cameron. I’m good. Please, have a seat. I wanted to talk to you.”
“About the trial tomorrow?”
“No, about what might happen after.” He swept his arm toward the sofa. “Please.” He took the armchair, filling it with his frame, and waited until I’d perched on the edge of the three-seater.
“You’re making me nervous.” I hadn’t meant to say it.
“That isn’t my intention, but…it’s good that you are. Nerves keep us sharp. Never get complacent.” He sighed and leanedforward, resting his elbows on his thighs and clasping his hands loosely between them. “When I asked you to take on the challenge of elite, I told you it was to bring back Romi. That I believed him to be alive.”
“Yes.” Where was he going with this?
“I do believe that…believe that he’s still breathing. Hope that he’s still…him, but I would be remiss in my duty, not only as your sire but his, if I did not consider the possibility that Romi may already be?—”
“No. Don’t say it.” I’d avoided thinking about this. Avoided contemplating it, and I didn’t want him saying it now. Didn’t want to turn the thought over and examine it and the implications.
“Cameron, look at me.”
I exhaled and lifted my gaze to his. “Please, don’t say it.”
“I have to. We must accept that Romi may already be a graynite.”
I bit the insides of my cheeks. “He’s strong. He’s fighting.”
“Maybe. But he’s been gone a long time, and graynites need sustenance…they need numbers.” He sat up straighter. “If he’s gone…if he’s one of them, then you must promise me that you’ll end him.”
“You…you want me to kill him?” My voice went up a notch.
“Cameron, if he’s a graynite, then he’s already dead.”
CHAPTER 33
If he’s a graynite, he’s already dead.
Already dead.
Kill him.
End him.
I tossed and turned, my skin prickling despite the fucking tincture. My throat was dry and arid. I needed sleep. Fuck. I needed to sleep. I needed Serath.
Please.
Please just shut up,brain,and let me go.
Let me sleep.
“My Cameron…” Derek materialized by the side of my bed and crouched. His hand was cool on my fevered brow. “You take the tincture?”
“I did, but I feel…odd, so fucking thirsty. Must be a side effect.”
“Maybe,” he said. “Or maybe you need to drink.”
“I have been drinking. I had four glasses of water before bed.”
“Maybe it’s not water you need,” Derek said. “Maybe you need blood.”
