Page 59 of To Crave Darkly
I looked down and protruding from my abdomen was the hilt of a throwing knife.
My new sunshine yellow top was turning crimson as my blood seeped into the material. It was ruined. For fucks sake. Jasper was right. Black would hide blood stains better than sunshine fucking yellow.
Fenris?
I staggered towards him, but as soon as my hand left the wall my knees hit the ground. My vision dimmed as I landed beside him.
Please be ok. I reached for his pulse but couldn’t find it. Fuck. There was nothing. Not even a faint echo of a beat.
“What do I do?” I yelled at my demon. She had been there when she thought I was dying but where was she now? Tears drifted down my cheeks and I felt useless. I had all this power…wait. I shook my head trying to clear the fuzziness from my brain. I couldn’t lose consciousness now. What had Fenris said about magic…? You had to will it into existence. I’d just stolen all that energy and claimed a soul; could I use that to save him?
It was worth a shot, it was worth… The world swam sickeningly before my eyes. My hand went to my stomach and came away sticky with blood.
It was now or never.
I placed my hand over Fenris’ heart and prayed. I fucking prayed to anyone who was listening to help me. Heat blossomed in my chest. Orion? Was he here? A soft glow emanated from beneath my hand. Holy shit! It was working. I could feel the energy flow from me along a path connected to Fenris. It was beautiful to see. It felt like I was injecting life back into every cell, breathing air into his lungs and making his soul sing with the thought of living again.
The light from my hand faded and so did I.
I’d lost too much blood and I’d saved Fenris instead of saving myself. Well, at least, I hoped I had… The world tilted as I fell to the ground. Darkness rose to claim me and as I breathed my last shaky breath, before succumbing to oblivion, I heard Fenris heave a huge gulp of air deep into his lungs.
I smiled as I let death claim me. I’d done it. I’d saved him.
Chapter 23
LORI
“Lori? Can you hear me?”
A voice called me back to the world with a gentle tug. I opened my eyes to a handsome face and an expression of pure relief.
Orion smiled down at me. “Hello, my sweet.” His deep, smoky voice was thick with emotion.
Why? Oh, God… the attack… Fenris… My hands flew to my stomach but there wasn’t a scratch.
Wait. If Orion was here...?
“Am I dead?”
“No, Lori. You are not dead, and you have me to thank for that.”
I blinked up at him. “What do you mean?”
“I felt you dying. It was like I was dying, which was an unpleasant experience for someone like me. I would be grateful if you could refrain from testing our mortality again.” His expression hardened and I realised I’d hurt him. It was unintentional, but he’d felt my pain as if it were his own.
“I’m sorry.” I meant it. When I had chosen to save Fenris, I hadn’t even thought about the implications it might have on Orion. That made me feel shitty.
Orion looked away from me. He didn’t believe me and that made me feel even worse.
I sat up and grabbed his hand. He turned back to look at me, confusion swimming in his dark eyes.
“I am sorry.” I put as much truth into the words as I could, hoping he could sense it through our bond. I was no closer to understanding our connection but if I could feel his emotions surely he could feel mine. It must have registered on some level because he nodded and pulled his hand away.
“Don’t do it again,” he replied quietly. I think the whole thing had scared him. I bet a powerful creature like him didn’t get to rub shoulders with death too often.
I settled more comfortably into the mass of pillows I seemed to be propped up on. I looked around and was surprised to find myself in a room I didn’t recognise. It was luxurious and rather decadent. Deep, rich hues were coupled with dark furniture and the bed I was in was huge. It all felt very masculine and very indulgent.
“Where am I?”
