Chapter 21
TWENTY-ONE
Seven
I’d watched Christian storm out of the room, his mood as dark as I’ve ever seen it.
I don’t know what it is that Crymson said to him, but it can’t have been good for him to look so volatile.
I wait a few minutes after he leaves before I slip into the room.
Immediately, I notice Crymson where she sits on the chaise lounge, her body slumped where she’d fallen asleep.
She hadn’t even tried to get on the bed. She hadn’t cleaned up.
Cursing Christian for leaving her in this state, I carefully pick her up and cradle her against my chest. She curls against me, her fingers stroking my shirt, her breathing somehow ragged even in her sleep.
She feels lighter than I remember, and when I gently lay her down in the bed, I frown down at her sleeping form.
Rings of exhaustion line her eyes now when they never had before. Her cheeks look taut in a way that makes my brows furrow. Only as I study her body do I realize what’s happening.
She’s losing weight.
Why? I’d given her an apple. . . was that only yesterday?
Was it yesterday? Rorrick said humans eat more often, but once a day should have been sufficient, right?
Looking down at her body, I realize that can’t be the case, not if she’s losing weight.
Even as I stare at her, her stomach grumbles loudly, begging for food. She doesn’t even stir.
We’d fed from her. Fuck, we’d fed from her while she’s not eating enough.
Suddenly, her little stumbles in court make sense.
Her exhaustion had been heavy on her eyes, but we’d had no choice but to parade her around.
She’d fallen asleep on the chaise not because it was more comfortable, but because she didn’t have the strength to move.
Panic strikes me. We’re not feeding her enough.
“Fuck,” I hiss, running a hand through my hair. “Where the fuck do we find food for a human?”
I’d had to go all the way to the border just to find that apple.
And why hadn’t she told us? I look down at her sleeping form, at the way her lips part, and realize she would have never told us to begin with. Not when her death looms on the horizon. She probably assumed she’s dying anyway so it doesn’t matter.
But it matters to me. It shouldn’t, but it fucking does.
I don’t give a fuck what Christian thinks. We can’t let her die. She’s not his.
She belongs to us . And she needs to feed.