Page 39 of Wicked Allure
“Tired,” Tomesha murmured.
Gentle hands took her head and moved it from side to side. Her robe was disrupted, but Tomesha couldn’t care less. She just wanted to go get some sleep.
“She was bitten here as well.” Lamaya prodded Tomesha’s leg. “Each bite has been sealed. I believe more was drained than her body could handle.”
“Will she be okay?” Starla asked.
“She needs to drink ifalla tea. It will give her strength and help replenish what she lost much faster than the kenaf weed will.”
The room fell silent.
Good. Now Tomesha could rest. They were worried for no reason. This was nothing a little sleep couldn’t fix. She burrowed down on the bed and felt herself drift off into a slumber. It didn’t last long before they were forcing her to awaken again.
“Leave me be,” Tomesha groaned.
“Sorry, my dear. You must drink this. Wake up,” Lamaya said.
Tomesha was brought to a sitting position. She opened her eyes to find an older woman with kind eyes and dark hair that appeared to be purple when she turned away from Tomesha. She brought back a small porcelain mug with steam rising from it. “You need to drink this.”
Tomesha frowned and took the mug from her. She brought it to her face and bent over it to sniff. She wrinkled her nose at the strong scent of herbs.
“I don’t think I can?—”
“You must. That vampire drank too much from you. This must be drunk right away for it to work.” Lamaya gave her a stern look.
Tomesha glanced away from her to find Starla leaning against the wall with an expression of concern.
“You can do it,” Starla encouraged. She smiled, came over, and sat on the edge of the bed. “I’m glad I came to check on you when I did. The general has been gone for a while now, and we didn’t see you come out of your room. I figured you’d be cleaning up, but then another hour or two went by and I didn’t see you and I got concerned.”
Tomesha sipped some of the brew. It was definitely an acquired taste. It wasn’t anything she’d choose on her own. She shook her head and tried to hand it back to the healer, who gently pushed it back to her.
“More. You need to drink all of it,” Lamaya said.
Tomesha swallowed another sip then turned to Starla.
“Thank you for checking on me. I felt weak and shaky when I first awakened. But by the time I went into the bathroom, it felt as if all of my energy just left me.” She had another sip of the dreadful drink. This time she did a bigger gulp to try to hurry and get this over with. Even after a couple of sips, she already sensed her strength coming back. But then something Starla said caught her attention. “Wait, how long has Dru—the general—been gone?”
Just because Dru said she could use her given name, didn’t mean the others would be granted permission to do so. Starla and Lamaya glanced at each other for a brief moment. Tomesha grew concerned. How much time had passed?
“Don’t worry. After you finish the tea, we’ll get you home. I notified Mistress about what has happened, and she’s ordered you to go home to rest.”
“Go home?” Tomesha sat up and almost spilled her tea. She didn’t want to appear as if were weak and couldn’t handle being a donor. She’d go and speak with Mistress if need be.
Starla must have recognized the panic in her expression. She placed a hand on Tomesha’s knee.
“Don’t worry. Your rest is needed since this was your first time allowing a vampire to feed from you. Believe me when I say that this happens quite often.” Starla patted her on the knee. Her expression was open and honest.
Tomesha relaxed. She was still tired and would like nothing better than to go home to her own bed and get some sleep. Tomesha took a few more sips of the tea.
“Good. Now finish working on the tea. I’ll return shortly.” The healer nodded again, striding to the door. She glanced at Tomesha once more, disappearing though the door.
“Please finish or you’ll make Lamaya upset, and you don’t want to get on her shit list.” Starla smiled. She stood and went over to Tomesha’s closet. “When you’re done, I’ll help you get cleaned up and dressed. By tomorrow you’ll feel like a million bucks.”
Tomesha sighed and sipped the tea. She was almost done. She rested back against the headboard and blew out a deep breath. Now she was able to be a donor, she’d need to pay attention to how much the vampires took from her. She knocked back the rest of the drink and shuddered.
“There. Done.” She flipped the cup upside down to show Starla it was empty. She hoped they were right. She couldn’t show up at her home weak as a babe. Tarek would lose his mind. “Thanks again, Starla.”
Her friend turned around with a pair of leggings and long tunic in her hand. Starla smiled at her.
