Dire Destiny of Ours (23 page)

I knew he was right, but it didn't help with the pain.

Phoebe kissed me on the forehead, stood, and took a chair next to Michael. He didn't say a word. It made me wonder how well Phoebe was integrating into the family after her time as public enemy number one when serving as Daelissa's top strategist. True, she'd been brainwashed, but that probably didn't make it any easier on her.

I welcomed the distraction of thinking about other people's problems, but it was short lived as my eyes were invariably drawn back to the table. Once Meghan finished dispelling the barrier, Flava began channeling a gentle weave of Murk around Elyssa's feet, coating her body as the old spell faded. Elyssa was soon bound in a skintight ultraviolet layer of glowing energy.

Meghan backed away and watched intently as Flava slowly rotated her finger above the area with the wound.

The Seraphim paused, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. "I pray the Primogenitor give me the strength to heal this woman. Guide my hands and let them not waver." She opened her eyes and looked at me. "I must ask you all to remain absolutely quiet. Elyssa is so near death that it will require my full concentration."

I gulped, nodded.

"I will put up an isolation barrier," Meghan said. "I will be the only one inside with you."

Flava nodded. "A wise precaution."

Meghan waved her wand in a circular pattern and flicked it. A transparent bubble formed around them. Flava looked with interest at the wand and asked Meghan something, but the bubble blocked all sound. Meghan showed her the wand, said something, and tucked it away in a holster at her side.

Flava seemed to brace herself and bent over Elyssa. She worked for what seemed like hours as Meghan dabbed sweat from her forehead and occasionally gave her a sip of water from a bottle with a straw. At long last, Flava backed away and closed her eyes. She spoke with Meghan.

I jumped up from my seat and paced back and forth. From what I could tell, Elyssa was still in Flava's preservation spell. I looked at the two healers and waited for some encouraging gesture to tell me that everything was going to be okay.

Meghan sighed. She turned and saw me standing there. Tears trickled down her cheeks. Flava dropped to her knees and buried her face in her hands. Her body shook with sobs.

"No." The words emerged as a hoarse whisper. "No!" I shouted. All hope drained from me. There was no sorrow. No regret. No anger. Only a numb cold emptiness.
She's gone forever.

Meghan flicked her wand and dispelled the isolation bubble. The room filled with the sound of Flava crying. Meghan came up to me and gripped me in a tight hug.

I stared at the still form on the table unable to make myself move.

The ultraviolet energy around Elyssa's body slowly dissipated. Her skin looked pale as ice.

"She did it." Meghan sounded as if she hardly dared believe her own words.

Comprehension seeped into my dulled mind. "She did it?" I asked.

"Elyssa will be extremely weak until she's had a chance to feed on blood and eat food, but she will live." Meghan released me. "Don't let her do anything strenuous. I'll be right back with blood."

Elyssa's fingers twitched. I dashed to her side. Her eyelids fluttered open. She stared blankly at me for a long moment, nostrils flaring.

I leaned down. "Baby, it's me."

The love of my life looked at me. She drew in a long breath through her nose. She stretched languorously, releasing a contented sigh. Her full, luscious lips peeled back in a sensual smile while she gazed at me through heavy lidded eyes.

With a hiss, she jerked my head down and buried her fangs in my neck. I felt warm liquid trickle down my skin. Euphoria rushed through my body with a comfortable weightlessness. I felt a dopey grin stretch my lips. A warm, fuzzy sensation invaded me. I understood what it must be like for a woman who'd just gone for a long walk on the beach and was just now curling up with a good book and a glass of wine next to a blazing fire.

I'd been bitten by vampires, but even that feeling paled in comparison to this. Elyssa's bite was like no other.

"Elyssa!" Leia and the rest of the family surrounded the table.

I held up a hand. "Let her feed."

Thomas bore an uncharacteristic grin on his face. "It's against Templar protocol, but I'll let it slide this one time."

Even Michael smiled as his little sister nommed away on my neck. "Don't let her drain you. If she kills you, she'll turn into a full vampire."

I widened my eyes. "Seriously?"

He nodded. "That's why Templars don't allow dhampyrs to live feed." He shrugged. "Though I'm sure most of us would have the self-control to stop."

"I very nearly killed someone like that once." Phoebe shuddered. "It was a very hard time."

Wooziness made my knees buckle. I tried to disentangle myself from Elyssa, but she'd latched on tight. I pushed on her head, but was afraid I might injure her.

Leia reached over and pinched Elyssa's nose shut. My girlfriend made an awful gagging noise and jerked her head back. Thomas pressed his daughter's shoulders to the bed. Elyssa's face was a bloody mess. She screamed like a wild animal and struggled against Thomas's grip. Michael gripped her flailing feet.

Meghan appeared at the door, eyes raking us. "What in the world is going on in here?"

"She took me by surprise and fed on me," I said. "Why is she acting like this?"

Meghan reached under the table and pulled diamond fiber straps across Elyssa to fully secure her. "Her body is in survival mode."

Elyssa abruptly stopped struggling and slumped into sleep.

"It will be at least a day or two before she is fully conscious," Flava said. She pushed herself to her feet and wiped at swollen red eyelids. "I saw inside her mind. I now see what you are to each other." Her head bowed. "I would like to return to my people now."

I hugged her and kissed her on both cheeks. "Thank you, Flava. You don't know how much this means to me."

She trembled in my grasp. "I do understand. Completely." She pushed away. "I know you would like to stay with your beloved. Can you ask someone to take me back to Ketiss?"

As much as I wanted to stay with Elyssa until she woke up, I felt the weight of other responsibilities settling on my shoulders. "Can you give me a few minutes? I'll walk you back myself."

She gave me a miserable look. "Of course." Flava took a seat in the corner.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked Meghan.

The healer set up a blood pack and inserted a tube into Elyssa's mouth so she could suck on it. "She's beyond exhausted." Meghan looked admiringly at the Darkling. "Her work is amazing. I wish I were so capable."

"Perhaps you could collaborate with the Darkling healers," I said. "Even though your magic operates on a different level, I'm sure there's plenty both sides could learn from each other."

"That's a good idea," Thomas said. "Healer Andretti, you're the official liaison to the Darkling healers."

Meghan looked as if she wanted to protest. Instead, she pressed a fist to her chest in a Templar salute. "Yes, commander."

I returned to Elyssa's side. Phoebe looked up from cleaning the blood off her sister's face and smiled. "Her skin is already looking better. I guess drinking your blood really helped."

I still felt a little woozy from blood loss. "I hope so." I kissed Elyssa on the forehead and stroked her hair. "Wake up soon, my fair maiden. I love you." I kissed forehead, her eyelids, her nose, and even her bloodstained cheeks. I could hardly wait to feel her respond to my kisses once again. I looked at Phoebe. "Take good care of her. I'll be back soon."

"I'll let you know the minute anything changes." Phoebe reached across as if to touch my hand, but seemed to rethink it and simply offered a smile.

Elyssa is alive!

Life was once again filled with promise, but I had an army to train if there was to be any hope of winning this war and keeping us all alive.

Leia caught my attention as I prepared to leave. She handed me a fresh uniform. "I think you've gotten all the use you're going to get from your Nightingale armor."

I looked down at my tattered outfit and chuckled. "I'd kind of forgotten about that." I went into a restroom and threw on the new clothing. It felt good to be back in fresh armor again. I found Flava sitting in a chair. "Are you ready?"

She nodded and stood.

We walked in silence toward the doors leading into the way station. The Darkling seemed absorbed in her own thoughts, so I didn't bother her with all the grateful hugs I wanted to give her.

"Are you feeling okay?" I asked.

"I am just very tired." She kept her eyes on the ground. "I would like to meet the woman who has captured your heart once she awakens."

I smiled. "She'll want to meet the sera who saved her life." I felt proud of myself for not referring to her as a woman, though being back in Eden made it harder to keep the differences between races straight.

The Darkling troops were nowhere to be seen when we arrived back at the way station.

"I am still amazed by these arches," Flava said in a quiet voice. She stared in open awe at the massive Obsidian Arch in the center of the way station. "What does this one do?"

"There are arches just like it located all around this realm." I pointed toward the control room. "An Arcane in there can link two of the arches and send you instantly to your destination."

"Arcane?"

I was about to launch into a deeper explanation about all the various arches when two Templars called out my name from across the cavernous warehouse space. I recognized them instantly.

"Yo, Justin!" Ash had gone from being a thin Asian emo Goth to a muscular Asian Templar with the kind of thick black anime-styled hair that made him look like someone out of a comic book.

"Dude!" Nyte dragged out the "u" as he and Ash jogged over to me. Nyte's carrot-top was cropped close and he positively towered over Ash. He'd put on slabs of muscle and his voice even seemed deeper.

I looked at Nyte's thick red beard. "Are you a hipster Templar now?"

Ash laughed. "He thinks it makes him look manly."

I looked Nyte up and down. "I feel like I'm breathing testosterone just from being in his presence."

"He's so manly that he only produces bear hormones now." Ash elbowed Nyte in the ribs.

I noticed my two friends were looking at something else and abruptly remembered Flava. "Oh, this is Healer Flava of the Tarissan Legion from the Darkling nation."

"Hello, Healer Flava of the Tarissan Legion from the Darkling nation." Nyte grinned. "With a title like that, are you also the mother of dragons?"

Flava offered him a smile. "You may call me Flava."

"You've sure grown a lot more confident." I regarded Nyte with surprise. "The first time you met Nightliss you just about wet your pants."

Ash slapped Nyte on the back. "Since we've been helping Katie recruit noms to feed the Darklings, we've kind of gotten used to angels."

Flava tapped me on the shoulder. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but might I ask where my people have gone?"

"They relocated to Queens Gate," Ash said. He pointed across the space to the control room for the Obsidian Arch. "You can go in there and they'll portal you to your people using an omniarch."

"Thank you." Flava turned to me. "If you don't mind, I would like to rejoin Ketiss and the others."

"I'll walk you over," Nyte said.

I was about to suggest that all of us walk with her when I noticed the way Nyte's eyes seemed to shine as he looked at Flava. "We'll be here," I said and winked at Nyte.

As he and Flava walked toward the control room, Nyte gave us a thumbs-up behind her back.

"How's Elyssa?" Ash asked. He and Nyte had been her best friends when we'd gone to high school.

"Alive, but with some recovery time ahead of her." I filled him in on how Flava had healed her and how Elyssa had tried to suck me dry.