Breathless (33 page)

With Frost’s teeth firmly entrenched in my skin, I crumpled to the ground. I lay there, writhing in the most excruciating pain as she drank from the fountain of blood pouring though my veins. This entirely new sensation was intensely sensual and entirely horrific. I could, quite literally, feel her draining the life from my body. More disturbingly, I could feel an overwhelming thirst building inside of me.

Chaseyn had released his hold on Alexei, realizing his father could do no more harm to me now than had already been done. He ran to my side. Mina remained entangled with her one-time husband, doing her best to keep him at bay. With Frost and I interlocked, there was little Chaseyn could do. Though he was undoubtedly much stronger than Frost, pulling her away with the necessary force, he would risk wounding me past the point of repair.

“
Cordelia, look at me. Focus on my eyes,” Chaseyn pleaded.

Rolling my eyes upward from where I lay on the grass, I could see him staring back, but it was hard to focus on anything other than Frost and the pain she was inflicting. I struggled to maintain my gaze, but my eyes deceived me. I pulled her closer, tighter to my body, forcing her teeth to sink deeper and deeper. The sensation was no longer one of pain but of desire. I longed for her to take more.

“
Cordelia, you mustn’t give in,” he cried. “Let go.”

I knew he was right, but I could barely restrain myself. He was prying at my hands, but it was no use. My mind was focused on one thing only, the thought of replenishing my nearly empty veins with Frost’s blood. All thoughts of Alexei and my inevitable demise as his vampire bride had banished. My future with Chaseyn was lost. I was under
her
spell.

“
Frost,” called Alexei weakly. Mina was no match, but she had at least a little effect on his focus. “You must stop now. She has to drink or die.”

“
This is it Chaseyn—your one chance to put an end to this,” Mina called. “You know what you have to do.”

For one brief moment, Frost would have to break free from our embrace in order to slit her own wrist so that I could drink of her blood. This would complete the transformation. I was all too eager, and just as reluctant to release her from my grasp as she was to release me. As she pulled away, gingerly disentangling my fingers from her hair, Chaseyn lunged forward, pushing her to the ground. She lay on her back struggling to break free when Alexei eased his way out of Mina’s loose hold and almost literally flew across the yard to fend off Chaseyn.

The two wrestled together—a mess of legs and arms kicking and punching—in a lump on the ground. Yearning for the nourishment my body needed, I reached out for Frost, and, gaining her attention, pulled her closer. Despite the fact that I was near death, I had gained immeasurable strength.

Alexei forced Chaseyn to his feet, drawing him farther from where I lay crumpled beside the swing I was so peacefully employing just a few moments earlier. In one swift motion, Alexei pushed Chaseyn back against the old oak tree, and the ground rattled when the weight of his body nit its trunk.

“
You inherited more of me than I would have thought possible,” Alexei said gleefully.

“
You can’t take credit for any part of me,” Chaseyn said through gritted teeth. He was holding up to Alexei, but for how much longer was uncertain.

“
Ah, but I can, son,” Alexei said smugly. “We both fancy the same woman.”

Pushing with all his might, Chaseyn managed to gain a few feet of space and grab Frost just as she was about to open her own vein for me to drink. Swiftly, Alexei swooped to the scene and slashed a small, clean gash in Frost’s wrist before tossing his son a good five feet through the air. Chaseyn’s body came to an abrupt halt only when it made impact with another large tree, which snapped in half and tumbled quietly over. Alexei’s laugh roared powerfully through the yard in a din that rivaled a thunder clap. There was no time for him to rejoin the effort, so he did the only other thing he could and called out to me.

“
Cordelia,” he shouted madly. “Please look at me.”

Chaseyn was on his knees. I looked at him swaying there in the pale glow of the soft moonlight. The breeze blew through his perfect locks, which were adorned with bark chips from the fallen tree.

“
You have to look at me,” he called. “Forget about Frost.”

As he said the words, I felt the first drop of her blood on my skin. Narrowly missing my mouth, it landed in the crease at the corner of my lips. My tongue struggled to reach the solitary bead.

“
Stop it, Cordelia,” Chaseyn begged. “You mustn’t taste even a single speck of her blood, or there will be no way to reverse the process. Please.”

During Chaseyn and Alexei’s tussle, Mina had escaped inside. Now, she returned with Eli—who had fallen asleep on the couch earlier—at her side. The two of them lunged toward Frost, tackling her to the ground. At the same moment, Chaseyn leaped from the ground and rolled me as far from the scene as he could. By now, the open wound on Frost’s wrist had started heal, and I was breaking free of her trancelike hold.

“
Now,” Chaseyn yelled as he tossed Eli a thick splinter he had been cradling gently in his hand. In true quarterback form, Eli caught the stake one handed and rammed it into Frost’s chest, in the place where her heart would be if she had one. Frost let out a horrifying groan before collapsing limply in Eli’s arms. Acknowledging defeat, Alexei looked at Chaseyn and I huddled beneath the eave and sounded his displeasure.

“
You may have won this time, son, but this is far from over,” he warned then disappeared into the thick black of night.

“
Is she dead,” Eli asked Mina, clearly horrified by the potential crime he had just committed. “It would be self defense, right? What’s the story?”

“
She’s fine, Eli,” Mina assured. “A stake through the chest is simply a means of incapacitating a vampire temporarily. Once we remove the stake, she will heal immediately. I’ll take care of her from here.”

I was slipping in and out of consciousness as they debated the matter of how to proceed, my blood having been drained nearly dry. Chaseyn had made provisions for just such an event and had a supply of my blood type on hand. Meanwhile, Mina scooped the rumpled mass that Frost had become into her strong arms—not to be seen again in Amarillo.

“
What is all the ruckus out here,” my grandma shouted from just inside the door to her house. “I’m trying to get some sleep, and it’s nearly impossible with all this noise.”

Chapter 30 - Healing

One would think that being drained of all your blood to the point of near death would be very exhausting, but it was surprisingly refreshing. The healing process began almost immediately. Although, I later learned that it was enhanced by an ages-old herbal remedy that Mina had in her possession from a recent visit to Romania.

“
She had hoped we would have no use for this but knew that if our plan went awry, we would need to stimulate immediate regeneration of any cells that were depleted during the attack,” Chaseyn explained, trying to sound matter-of-fact. “As I’m sure you have concluded, it expedites the healing process by increasing the speed of blood flow through the veins.”

For at least three hours after the attack, I lay forlorn in the darkness of the master bedroom while Chaseyn struggled to bring my vitals back to manageable order. Thanks to Frost, I had inherited a temporary, but very powerful, ability to hear every step as my grandma paced back and forth in the hallway.

“
What is in that stuff? I feel great,” I said, hoisting my upper body onto my elbows. It was around noon—only nine hours after the fateful event that had left me practically for dead.

“
Whoa,” Chaseyn said, guiding me back down to a restful position. “Not so fast. I know you’re feeling better, but you still need to rest.”

By Tuesday, my body had regained its full strength, and Chaseyn felt certain I could make the short flight home comfortably. Though I would miss my grandma, and even Hank and Eli, I was happy to be making my way back home.

“
Here, put these on,” Chaseyn said, handing me a pair of ridiculously large DKNY sunglasses.

“
I’m not wearing these,” I protested. “I’ll look like a cricket.”

“
Trust me. You’re going to want to keep them on for a least a few days.”

Stepping onto the front porch in the morning light, I immediately understood. My sight—which, along with my other senses, had been heightened due to Frost’s bite—had not yet been restored to its former state. The sunlight stung like salt on an open wound, and I squinted hard against the bright rays.

We had shared so much over the week that I knew we would be connected forever by our vows of secrecy and traumatic adventures. I thanked the three of them profusely for all of their goodwill and glad tidings. To Eli’s surprise Chaseyn decided to leave the V-Rod in his possession so that he could make the airborne journey home with me.

“
Don’t get too cozy with her. I’ll be back in a few weeks to pick her up,” Chaseyn warned, stroking the handlebars. Eli nodded vigorously, as we drove away with my grandma at the wheel of her 1988 Plymouth Reliant. I knew Chaseyn would never have the heart to take back the bike—it was his way of thanking Eli for helping save my life.

It had only been ten days since I had left home, but I was an entirely different person. Ten days. That was all. Yet, I felt a lifetime older, wiser. Moments after touching down, we were making our way through the long corridor to collect our baggage. My mom was waiting patiently to greet us. In an unexpected show of affection, I ran to enwrap her in my arms.

“
Lia, you look really well,” she said, her eyes glistening with a dewy sheen. “I thought—”

“
You thought I would look a little worse for the wear,” I added, laughing for good measure. By now, Mina’s mystical remedy had healed most of my wounds so that externally I looked much the way I had when my mom had last seen me. “I’m sure grandma exaggerated things a bit.”

“
But I saw the wreckage on the news,” my mom added. I had almost forgotten about the Wonderland fiasco and had certainly not considered the fact that it would be covered by television media. “The mirrors were an awful mess.”

“
Oh, mom,” I said, brushing off her concern. After all, those events were the least of my worries in the big picture. Touching the places on my wrists and neck where Frost had left her mark, albeit nearly nonexistent now, I continued my reassurance. “I was a little black and blue at first, but I’m fine now.”

“
I was so worried,” she added anyway. I knew the remains of the stitches entrenched in my temple would give her a fright, but she managed to maintain a brave face for my benefit. “Chaseyn, I’m so glad you brought her home safely, but why were you there?”

“
It was the four-month anniversary of the day I first laid eyes on Cordelia, and I wanted to surprise her. I really hadn’t planned on staying long, but I couldn’t leave once I knew she had been hurt. I’m sure you understand.”

She nodded in agreement and put her arm around me as we walked through the revolving doors to exit. Chaseyn followed behind with my bag. As I slipped the sunglasses over my eyes to shade them from what I was sure would be an overpowering burst of light, my mother looked at me curiously.

“
I caught a case of pink eye from Eli, and my eyes are a bit troubled by bright light. I’ll need to wear these for a few days,” I said quickly. She seemed satisfied with the hasty explanation.

During the drive, my mom jabbered on about all that I had missed at home—namely a myriad of wedding preparations for her pending nuptials to Kevin. I bobbed my head up and down at all of the right moments, I hoped, knowing that I was preoccupied with my own thoughts of the future.

According to Chaseyn, Alexei had numerous children who were prepared to do his bidding should a suitable opportunity arise. What, exactly, had become of Frost, I was uncertain. Neither Chaseyn nor Mina would explain the exact measures they had taken to ensure she would never again be in a position to reprise the events of which she had executed this past week. However, having survived her attack, she could no longer commit the act of transforming me into a vampire herself. She could only aid another in his or her attempt. This was a small bit of comfort, though I doubted she would be part of such an ambush again.

As we pulled into the driveway, I made a promise to myself that I would not worry about Alexei and his intrepid offspring, with the exception of Chaseyn. I could not live in fear of the seemingly inevitable. Once he had carried by bag upstairs, Chaseyn kissed my cheek and left my mom and I to catch up on the most current local events. She pulled swatches and samples from a big box in the kitchen, and together, we reviewed the wedding selections she had already made and those still in need of confirmation. After a few hours of idle chitchat and picking at finger foods, the doorbell rang, and my mom hopped to her feet.