“Turn me. I know…” A wet, sucking sound replaced her breath. “What I’m asking for. I love you. Turn. Me.” The monitors flat-lined.

Fuck. It was all on me, now. Whether she lived or died, it was my blood that would condemn her to her fate.

I nodded, and slashed open my wrist with a fang, placing it over her mouth. “I love you more than I ever thought possible,” I told her as she began to drink, the suction weak. “You give my life purpose and meaning. You make me grateful for every sunset. I love you, Lyric.”

Her sucking grew weaker, and her eyes fluttered shut.

“She’s not feeding enough,” Gabriel muttered, pushing the equipment out of his way.

“Take it!” I shoved my other arm at Gabriel.

He nodded in understanding and jumped into action with supernatural speed, hooking up a line from my vein directly to hers.

“Hang on, love,” I whispered, the flat, monotone sound of the monitors filling my head. This wasn’t the end. It couldn’t be. She was too young and had too much left to experience. She’d barely seen anything of this world. I hadn’t had nearly enough time to love her.

The blood stopped flowing from her chest and the wound healed, the flesh knitting itself together, but still, the monitor droned on. How long had it been? Minutes? An hour? Time had no meaning as I held on to the flickering light of our bond and pulled.

“You will not leave me,” I growled, leaning my forehead to hers. “Do you hear me? Get back here and fight with me. Love me. Scream at me. Just come back.”

No one spoke.

No one dared to move a muscle.

The droning monitor ceased, and my gaze flew to the screen. Beep. Beep. Beep.

“She has a heartbeat,” Gabriel said with obvious relief, coming to Lyric’s other side with his stethoscope.

I felt the edges of my vision dim, and my grip on the bond slipped.

“Alek!” Ransom shouted, catching me before I even realized I’d begun to fall.

“That’s all you can give her,” Gabriel said softly, taking the needle from my arm, then Lyric’s. “There’s nothing more to do than monitor how her body accepts the blood. I’ll get you a hu—”

“No,” I barked. I would not feed while she lay close to death.

Gabriel and Ransom shared an exasperated look, and I nearly punched them in their Ken-doll perfect faces.

“Alek.” Ransom sat me in a chair that the nurse had brought over. “You have to feed. The Queen may or may not have just survived an assassination attempt. Your second in command is still unconscious. We don’t know if there is another attack planned, and we need you at full strength, if only to defend Lyric.”

I arched a brow at his last tactic, but it worked. I couldn’t defend the estate against any kind of assault in this condition. “Fine. Get me a bag.”

A nurse nodded and ran off to do just that, and I sat back between my wife and my best friend to do the only thing I could—wait.

It had been hours, and neither of them had yet to rise. I rubbed the skin between my eyebrows and took what comfort I could from the steady pulses on the monitor.

“There’s no reason he should still be out,” Gabriel muttered, redressing Lachlan’s wound.

“I’ve seen the Scot take far worse wounds and walk off the battlefield,” I agreed, rubbing my thumb over Lyric’s hand and wrapping my powers even tighter around the bond between us. If not for that steady, bright glow, I would have been on the floor already.

“Exactly.” Gabriel stood over Lachlan, his brow furrowed.

“How is she?” Julian asked, leaning on the doorframe. He looked about as haggard as I felt.

“Still not awake,” I answered.

“She will be.” His confidence was both assuring and really fucking annoying.

“You’re so sure of that?”

He nodded, pushing his blond hair out of his eyes. “I found her bloodline. She’s a Seer from her father’s side, and she might not be the last one. This will work, Alek.”

“Tell me something, if we’ve had the knowledge to turn humans all this time, why would it be hidden? Why would only one, obscure coven practice it?” I watched the even rise and fall of her chest, trying to convince myself that I hadn’t killed her.

“Your father knew,” he said softly.

My gaze snapped to his, narrowing. “Say that again.”

“The text I found regarding human transformation bore the signature of every king in the back. Your father’s was last. My guess is he didn’t have time to pass the information to you.” He sighed, studying Lyric. “Think about it. If we knew we could turn humans and humans knew, they’d never leave us alone. Mortals are obsessed with immortality, and giving it away means risking our exposure as that particular coven learned the hard way.”

Tags: Samantha Whiskey Onyx Assassins Fantasy
Source: readsnovelonline.net