Finally, he turned back to her.
“Did you know some believe the aurora to be a bridge to heaven? A portal between this world and the next?”
Kaira nodded. The mythology surrounding the northern lights had long fascinated her. It was ancient man’s way of explaining something that, for them, had no tangible explanation. “The Norse believed the lights to be the reflections of the Valkyries’ shields as they escorted dead warriors to their final resting place at Valhalla.”
His expression was serious. Somber, even. And sad. “Strange that I keep finding things in common with you, Kaira.”
She smoothed her hands over her lap and debated whether to give voice to her suspicions, the ones she’d developed when they’d first met in the gallery. And that were even stronger now. She took a deep breath and figured she didn’t have much to lose. If he wanted truthfulness, she’d give it to him. “You mean, like, the fact that you’re sick, too?”
He blanched. “Why do you say that?”
“Takes one to know one, maybe? I’ve been around sick people for a lot of years.” She picked at a thread on the thin blanket and shrugged.
He returned to the foot of her bed, his gaze penetrating into the very heart of her. When he finally spoke, his voice was tight with urgent grief. “Unlike you, I have no name for it. And there are no medicines to keep it from getting worse. It shouldn’t even be possible, but that doesn’t make it any less real.”
She nodded, butterflies whipping up a whirlwind in her belly. Suspicion of another sort bloomed. “And you need me because...”
“Because yours is the first blood in years that has actually provided me any sustenance, and I think you can save my life.”
Chapter 7
Kaira’s lovely face paled. She swallowed, hard. “Is my blood why your eyes turned bright blue last night?”
“I believe so,” he said quietly, watching her every movement, her every reaction.
“And they’re pale again today because...?”
Henrik tilted his head, hating that he’d put this on her while she lay recovering in a hospital bed. He hadn’t intended to just come out and tell her, but learning she was sick... He was as struck by the similarity of their situations as he was panicked by the idea that he’d found his salvation only to learn that she might be taken away.
He couldn’t let that happen. At least, not until he knew more about what her blood might be able to do for him.
“Because it wasn’t enough. I’ve been afflicted with whatever this is for a very long time.” He sighed and pressed the call button on the rail of her bed.
Jakob pushed through the door almost immediately and bowed his head in a gesture of respect. “My lord?”
Henrik turned his gaze to Kaira, intrigued by the expression on her face as she observed Jakob. The male was handsome, he supposed. At least, he’d never had a problem finding a woman to bed. No doubt she found him more attractive, and how could he blame her? Still, a sharp wave of jealousy sloshed through his gut. He shoved it away. “Kaira, do you have the medicines you need wherever you were staying in Tromsø?”
Her face fell, as if she were disappointed by this solution to her problem of getting the care she needed. She worried her tongue over a scab on her bottom lip. “Ja. I’m at the Nordic Hotel. Or, was, I guess.”
Henrik had to look away. Her sadness and resignation made it hard to breathe. And the wet sheen her pink tongue dragged over her lip made his jeans suddenly snug. “Jakob, go to Miss Sorensen’s hotel, pack her belongings and bring everything back here.”
Kaira sat up. “I have two cameras and lenses in the room safe. The code is 5-2-9-3. Please be careful with them.”
Jakob nodded. “Of course. Anything else?” His gaze was full of questions Henrik couldn’t yet answer.
“Nei, go while you still have the night. It’s going to be tight to get back in time.”
He smirked. “I’ll make it.”
The door hadn’t closed behind Jakob when Kaira spoke. “So, what? You want to drink my blood again?” She drew her knees up under the blanket.
At least her directness saved him the trouble of figuring out how to tell her what needed to happen here. “Ja.” He dragged a hand through his hair. Suddenly, an idea took shape in his mind. As much of a monster as this probably made him, he had to find out how feeding from her fully would impact his malady. But perhaps he could do something for her in return.
What if she fed from him, too?