Page 46 of Rebel Fae
Ronnie collapsed on his back on the sandy bank, and Becca crawled on her hands and knees away from him, though she didn’t miss a beat watching Vaughn’s backside closely as he carried a limp Regina toward an isolated, shady spot.
After that, he collapsed behind a bush, exhausted. I fell to my knees in the middle of all the strewn bodies. My head and arms dangled, and the wings at my back felt like wilted leaves. The shade of a large tree kept me safe from the relentless sun. Still, my ears tuned to all the little sounds around us, any sign that the beast was swimming toward us or was rounding the lake through the trees.
I wanted to stay like that forever, but there was Antonio to worry about. Regina had said she’d found him in the depths of the lake. Was it true? Or had she been hallucinating? Dragging my feet, I went to her side but kept a safe distance. Her face was pinched in pain.
“Regina.” I waited for a response. Nothing. “Regina,” I said, louder this time.
One of her eyes blinked open. Her tongue darted out, licking dry lips. She looked more than dead, if that was possible.
“Are you sure Antonio is in the lake?” I asked.
Vaughn sat up. “What?!”
I turned to him and explained. “Regina jumped in the water trying to escape. When she came out, she said she’d seen him down there. But I’m not so sure. It could’ve been a hallucination.”
Vaughn crawled in our direction, staying behind the bushes and throwing a disapproving glance in Becca’s direction who had perked up as soon as he moved.
“Little perv,” he said to me under his breath when he reached us.
“Is he really down there?” Vaughn asked Regina.
She nodded weakly.
“Tell me where. I’ll go get him.”
Regina cleared her throat. “You… won’t be able to get to him. Can’t hold your… breath for that long. It’s too… deep. Only I can do it, but I’m too weak. I need blood.”
Chapter Eighteen
Regina needed blood.Right this minute. From us.
I glanced down at her, trying to wrap my mind around what she was saying.
“Regina, you don’t mean…” I cast my eyes to Vaughn whose face betrayed the same surprise I felt.
“I need blood,” she repeated, “from someone. One of you, unless you have a better idea.”
I blinked rapidly. “There has to be another way. Vaughn?”
“They haven’t given me any more blood,” he replied. “That thermos was the only time.”
“Call them,” I said, glancing up as if I could see Crescent and Dr. Watts staring down at us from the clouds. “Don’t you have one of those talkie walkies or something?”
“It’s walkie talkie and no.” He gestured to his naked body. “Everything I had is on the other side of the lake.”
Regina moaned in anguish. “We need to hurry.”
Time was running out for her, that was clear. She looked terrible. If we waited for help, both Regina and Antonio might be dead and our task failed. And what if this was just a ploy from the vampire to get blood from us? When I glanced at Vaughn to see where his head was in all this, he was extending his wrist toward Regina.
“I’ll do it. Here. But don’t take too much.” His jaw clenched as he prepared himself.
But Regina shook her head. “Not werewolf. Your blood won’t work. Vampires and werewolves are enemies for a reason.”
“What does that have to do with it?” he asked, but her head sagged forward as if she were too weak to answer.
“Forget it. I’ll do it.” I followed Vaughn’s example, extending my wrist toward Regina’s mouth.
Vaughn put a hand on my arm to stop me. “Tally, you don’t have to do this. You’ll be weak. You need your strength.”
