Page 57 of House of Crimson Kisses
“It’s Sanatio, a healing plant from another city. Miracle worker if you ask me. It’s what cleared her burns and mended her bones. It is working on the insides but…”
“But not her heart?” I whisper.
“Not yet, something tells me she was waiting for something else. A reason perhaps… to keep living.”
Trudy gets up and totters to the door. “I’m guessing you’ll be staying, miss?”
I nod.
“Right, I’ll get clean linens brought for you and show you to the showers later.”
“Thank you,” I say.
Then she’s gone, and I clasp Eleanor’s hand tighter and lay my head on the edge of the bed, silent tears of gratitude flowing.
“Come back to me, Eleanor. Please? I found you, so you have to come back to me now.”
And there, crouched on a stool, I fall soundly asleep for the first time in days.
Chapter17
OCTAVIA
By the time Red appears in the doorway, Drax is looking worse for wear. I’ve beaten him hard enough that his vampire healing is failing. His face is swollen and bruised. His nose is broken and definitely not repairing. He’s lost a finger, has a busted kneecap and has fallen unconscious more than once.
I’m rather pleased with myself. I drank the goblet of despair-infused blood, of course. It was a delightful accompaniment to torture. And I wafted the hope under his nose every break in the beating I gave him.
Red leans against the doorway and I melt. Drax just became boring. Red must be able to tell seeing her has an effect on me because she tuts.
“What? You don’t like being appreciated?” I say.
“From a liar and a betrayer? Not really.”
My nostrils flare. “Come on, I thought we were going to try to work past this. I thought the tunnel?—”
“I told you in the carriage, memories or nothing. Who is this sorry ass motherfucker, anyway?”
“This is the fool who attacked you on my castle grounds.”
Red’s eyes widen. “A gift?”
“A gift, for my love.” She ignores the last bit, so I continue. “He was just telling me that he doesn’t know who he’s employed by. But that his contact comes from Castle St Clair.”
“So, there’s a mole?”
I nod. “With a very obvious suspect.”
She prods the vampire, who groans at her. His head rolls up and lolls back down on his other shoulder.
“Gods, Octavia, he’s still alive.”
“That can be rectified,” I say, selecting a stake from the pile of tools and torture devices Erin scrounged up for me.
“Octavia. For Blood’s sake. You can’t gift me a half-dead vampire and a stake and think it’s an apology.”
“Well, it seemed like a good idea. He hurt you. I hurt him. That’s how it works.”
Red pulls her hand over her eyes. “That is not how it works. If you mean your apology, if you truly want me to forgive you, then you have to give my memories back.”
