Chapter 30
Chelsea
Eryx lies limply on the floor. One moment he was kissing me. The next, he’s bleeding out.
Oh God. He’ll die if I don’t stop it.
“Stave! Stave!”
No answer.
“Help!”
Elmore.
I race to my nightstand and open the compact. “Elmore! Elmore!”
Please be there. God, please be there. I only just found Eryx. I can’t… He can’t…
Elmore’s face appears, his brows stitched with worry. “I’m here, Chelsea. What’s wrong?”
“I was attacked. Eryx is hurt. Bleeding. We need help.”
“Give me one minute.”
He vanishes from the mirror, and I rush back to Eryx.
Stop the bleeding, Chelsea. Stop it.
Right. I rush to my bed, yank the bedsheets off, and using my teeth, I rip a strip and press it to Eryx’s chest.
“Stay with me, Eryx. Stay. Please.”
Tears fill my eyes, but my mouth is so dry my tongue sticks to the roof.
His lips were on mine minutes ago. Claiming me. Kissing me like I was everything. And now he might die. He doesn’t get to kiss me like that and die.
I won't let it happen.
I’m panicking, adrenaline-fueled.
My back burns where the creature clawed me, but I shove the pain aside. Eryx first. I’ll deal with my wounds later.
I’m not sure how long I stay there. The sheets turn red. I replace them. They turn red again.
When it feels like help will never come, Stave rushes into the room, and I exhale a sigh of relief.
From her place at my side, Echo barks, as if asking what took him so long.
“Mistress!”
“I’m fine. It’s Eryx. He’s bleeding!”
Stave takes one look at Eryx and drops to his knees. He presses his hands to Eryx’s chest, and deep purple magic ripples out from under his palms, creeping over the wounds.
The bleeding slows to a stop. I pull the sheets back to look at the damage. The ragged edges of the deepest wounds have been knit together—not completely, but enough to stem the flow.
Stave pulls back, breathing hard. “There's magic in his injuries. I can’t purge it, but the bleeding’s stopped. He'll need rest. Days of it." Stave looks at me and frowns. “You're wounded too."
"I'm fine—"
"You're bleeding down your arms. Let me heal you.”
I look at Eryx, unconscious, chest barely rising. “Not until I know he’s stable.”
Stave’s voice and expression softens. “He’s going to pull through. I got here just in time. But you won’t be any use to him if you lose a lot of blood, and he’ll kill me for letting you. So…allow me to heal you. Please.”
My gaze darts to my hands. He’s right. My back is bleeding so hard the blood runs down my arms to my hands.
“Okay,” I relent.
Stave crosses to me. I’m still kneeling beside Eryx.
When he places his hands on my back, I hiss in pain. The room tilts.
I rock forward.
"Mistress—"
"I'm fine. Just hurry."
“Your wounds have magic in them, too. This may hurt a bit more.”
That’s an understatement. Searing pain skates down my spine, and I shudder as my skin closes.
“What did this?” he asks.
“Some sort of shadow monster. It vanished when Eryx killed it.”
My hands shake as I say it. I almost died. If Eryx hadn't woken up—if he'd been thirty seconds slower—
I shove the thought away. He saved me. Now I save him.
“We’ll have to reinforce the shields, the wards.” Stave curses like he blames himself. “Can you help me get him to bed?”
“I think so.”
Stave helps me to my feet. My back still hurts, but not nearly as bad as it did a few seconds ago. He hoists Eryx up, and I wedge myself under his arm. We drag him to his room and settle him on top of his bed.
Echo pads in behind us and jumps onto the mattress, curling up at Eryx’s feet as if guarding him.
Stave studies him for a moment, his expression darkening. “She has nightmare magic.”
My blood goes cold. “What?”
“The sorceress who killed his father. We thought Eryx inherited all of Nightmare's power. But she must have stolen a fragment—just enough to hide from him. Just enough to…” His gaze drops to Eryx's wounds. “To do this.”
This information settles over me like ice cracking across a pond. The woman who killed Eryx’s father stole part of his magic. Does she want the rest? Is that why I was attacked? To hurt him?
I lace my fingers through his and close my eyes. He’s warm. His heart beats. He’ll live. I open my eyes and look down at him. My heart convulses. His expression is peaceful, but he’s covered in blood.
Too peaceful. Too quiet.
When he fought the creature, his voice doubled—him and Nightmare speaking together. A sound I felt in my bones. Now…nothing. Just silence.
What if the attack hurt more than just his body?
Stop worrying, Chelsea, and do something productive.
Right.
“I need warm water and cloths to clean him.”
Stave nods. “I’ll get it.” He starts to leave and stops, turns around. “Please thank Elmore for me. Eryx means more to our world than he realizes.”
His gaze settles on Eryx briefly; then he inhales sharply. “The cloths and water. I’ll be right back.”
While Stave’s gone, I pull the covers up to Eryx’s waist and study him. It’s the first I’ve been able to look at him without bracing.
His jaw is sharp. His nose has a bump that suggests it’s been broken before. The color is returning to his cheeks and his lips—soft, perfect—make me want to kiss him again.
That kiss—my body heats just thinking about it. How he told me to repeat that he’s beautiful.
I trace my finger along his jaw, memorizing the sharp line, the bump on his nose. “Did no one ever tell you that you're beautiful?” I whisper.
My throat tightens. He needed to hear it so badly he made me say it twice. While bleeding. While dying. How long has he believed he's a monster? “You might have darkness, husband”—the word catches in my throat—“but that doesn't mean it has to swallow you.”
From the doorway Stave clears his throat. I whip toward him, my neck flushing from embarrassment.
“The cloths and water.”
“Thank you.” I take them from him. “I’ll tend to Eryx. Please, um…”
Stave nods. “I’ll make sure the manor is locked down, and I’ll call in extra security.”
My chest loosens. “Thank you.”
I place the supplies on the nightstand and drop one of the cloths into the water, then wring it out.
“Mistress?”
Stave hovers in the doorway.
“Yes?”
A slight smile flickers on his mouth. “I’m glad you’re here.”
I return the smile. “Me too.”
And then he leaves me to clean and care for my husband.