“What was that?” Kaira said.
Henrik rolled them over to relieve her of his weight, pulling their joined hands where they could see them.
She sucked in a breath and slipped her fingers from his to examine the interlocking pattern of shield knots closer.
The design was so tightly drawn that the strength of the blood match could not be denied.
Her pulse tripped into a sprint, fluttering against his skin everywhere they touched. “What is this? What does it mean?”
“It’s a mating mark, precious Kaira.” He tilted her face toward his and steeled himself for what he’d decided to say if this match came true. “And it means you have some decisions to make.”
Chapter 11
Mating mark?
“What do you mean?” Kaira said, studying the black knotwork on her hand and tracing the tendrils of it up her arm. It was breathtakingly beautiful, all the more so because it matched the pattern on Henrik’s hand, but also terrifying. Because her very blood seemed to sing of its significance.
He grasped her hand, showing her how their marks weren’t just mirrors, but that his actually continued onto her skin, and vice versa. “For a vampire, blood is the source of all life. It is magical and powerful. When two people with an especially righteous pairing of blood are joined together, the magic identifies them as a good match for mating, as a couple who would well sustain one another and bear strong offspring. I have never seen a knot this tight or this extensive. It is a good match, Kaira.” He trailed a finger up her arm, the touch so light it tickled her skin.
Bracing himself on an elbow, he gazed down at her face. Kaira gasped. As if the night hadn’t been filled with wonder enough, Henrik’s eyes were a brilliant royal blue and the wrinkles that had aged his face were entirely gone. The dark circles under his eyes had lightened, and the hollows of his cheeks weren’t as deep. She’d noticed his eyes before they’d made love, but he appeared to have lost twenty-five or thirty years since then.
Happiness filled her heart and tightened her throat, not because he was more handsome. Bonds of affection had already drawn them together, and never would she have imagined that curing his illness meant reversing the age of his appearance. Rather, her happiness flowed from the avid hope that this was proof he was in fact cured. Or could be. “Henrik,” she finally managed to say. “You have to see yourself.”
He touched his fingers to his face and frowned in concentration. After a moment, he rolled off the bed and retrieved his robe from the floor. He held it open to her. “Come with me?”
She nodded and eased off the bed. He wrapped the heavy fabric around her. Miles too big, she wouldn’t have traded it for the world. Infused with his scent, it was almost as good as being in his arms. Almost.
Fingers interlaced, they crossed the room to the bathroom in the corner, where earlier she’d showered and dressed. Henrik flipped on the light and froze, his gaze glued to the mirror. At first, his expression gave nothing of his reaction away. “You should know it may not last.”
Her heart squeezed. She threaded her arm through his and met his reflection’s gaze. “I hope it does, only because maybe it means your illness is cured. Or better, at least.” She tugged him to face her and placed her hand over his heart. “But, Henrik, the man who saved my life, who attracted and intrigued me, who admired my work and who made me feel things I’ve never felt before—that man is in here.” She pressed her skin more firmly against his and struggled with how to phrase what she next wanted to say. “No matter if your eyes are dark or pale, that man will still be here, for me.”
“But you deserve a male who—”
She pushed onto her tiptoes and kissed him. It broke her heart to think he feared she couldn’t accept him because of how his illness had changed him on the outside. Her heart? So much had happened in such a short time, she couldn’t say for sure how she felt about all of it. But there was no doubting that her heart was involved.
When she pulled away, his eyes flashed a vivid, warm blue.
“So what does the mating mark mean in practical terms?”
He licked his lips, the tip of a fang peeking out. “I agree with the magic, Kaira. I feel like I have been waiting for you my whole life. Not just because your blood has the ability to heal me, but because when I am with you, I feel whole in my heart. I feel peace in my soul. We know very little else about one another, and I understand this is all very fast in human terms.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, his tenderness so remarkable for someone so big, so powerful. “But to answer your question, the mark gives us the opportunity—three days—to decide whether to become mates, to build a life together, with you at my side as my queen and my partner. I would share my whole life with you, my blood, and, if this healing takes, I should be able to share my immortality with you, too.”