“You should stay with her, offer comfort. I’ll call you if there is any change.”
Grace glanced at Elliot, unable to hide her solemn expression. “We’ll call you,” he reiterated.
As soon as Grace left them, Alexander began mumbling again. “Eve … come to me … save me.”
“I am here, Alexander.” She put her head on his chest, could hear his heart beating. “I will always be here.”
He muttered something incoherent, but it sounded like ‘Mrs. Shaw’.
“Mrs. Shaw?” Leo scrunched his nose. “He must be dreaming about Stony Cross.”
“She is like a mother to him. She was the only person he had to turn to, the only person to keep him company during those first lonely years.” Just saying the words brought a tear to her eye.
Elliot touched Alexander’s brow with the back of his hand, raised his lids and peered into his eyes. “I think we should try to wake him.”
“I shall call Ivana,” Leo said.
“No. Leave her be. If we cannot manage on our own, then we will call her.”
Evelyn sat up. “Can I stay?”
Elliot nodded. “Of course.”
She watched them place a hand on his chest, decided she would do the same although she knew it would not make any difference. They began their strange mutterings, and so she made her own silent plea.
Wake up, my love. Come home to me. Wake up.
She did not stop until she felt him suck in a deep breath.
“I think he is waking.” Elliot lifted Alexander’s lids, and they could see his eyes shifting left and right. “Alexander? Can you hear me?”
Evelyn’s heart was beating so rapidly she could feel it thumping in her neck.
Her husband mumbled and moaned for a few more minutes but eventually opened his eyes fully. He scanned his surroundings, put his hand to his temple and winced.
“I have … have the worst throbbing pain,” he complained, yet they were the most beautiful words she had ever heard. His eyes fluttered and closed numerous times. “I need to drink,” he suddenly gasped.
Fear gripped her, and she could tell by his brothers’ expressions that they believed the cure had failed to rid him of his addiction to blood.
“Quick,” Alexander gasped, suddenly shooting up to a sitting position. “I need … I need water.”
“Water?” The word rang through the chamber, filling her heart with hope.
Elliot gestured to the opposite side of the room. “There is a pitcher of clean water over there, hurry.”
Leo raced to get the pitcher and the pewter mug. When he returned, Alexander snatched the jug from his grasp and drank it down in seconds.
“Good God,” Alexander panted before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “I … I have never been so thirsty in my entire life.”
Without another word, he shot to his feet, swayed from side to side as he tried to find his balance. “Eve.”
She jumped up and hugged him tight. “I am here, Alexander. I am here.”
“Did … did it work,” he muttered. “Am I cured? I can hardly remember a thing about it.”
Evelyn stepped back, and they all gaped at him. “You look the same,” she said, “although your fangs fell out.” She opened her clenched fist. “See.”
“Good heavens.” He touched his gums with the tip of his finger, then picked up the tooth and examined it closely. “Remarkable.”