Chapter 2
The Blade Is Broken
TALIA
Ifeel myself rousing.
A feeling of warmth surrounds me as my eyes flutter open, and soft vibrations caress my skin.
I assume one of them is purring, but it’s only one side, so I don’t know which one is doing so.
I hear voices in the distance, echoing as if very far away.
Feeling broken, burned, and used up, I try to push myself into consciousness by reaching out.
First, I try Rafe, but it doesn’t work. I try Deli next, but nothing happens.
I don’t know if that’s because something is wrong with me or if something bad has happened.
It’s a little scary.
“She’s coming around, I think. She looks weak, though. Do you have any ideas?”
That’s Rafe—I’m so glad he’s here. I’d cry if I could figure out how to do anything.
Talia’s voice is cold enough to freeze ice. “She needs to eat. Can you tilt her up a bit?”
I shiver at her tone. That’s not the kitty I’ve spent time with; I don’t know who that is.
Rafe moves me, and I feel him wrapping his arm under me and holding on. “Like this?”
It hurts, and I cry out in pain, but it’s all in my head, and they can’t hear me.
Damn it, this is frustrating!
“It’ll do. I can cut us; together, we can spare enough to get her mobile again. I can’t risk healing on my own. Everything isn’t replenished, and the seals are giving me trouble. I’m spent.”
My new mate growls at her, muttering something, and she snarls back.
It’s a real snarl, and the tension in the room skyrockets.
It prickles over my skin like needles. They stop speaking aloud, arguing where I can’t hear them by mistake.
Their aura feels so angry, and I don’t know why.
Maybe they’re worried; hell, I’m worried.
What the hell is wrong with me?
“Fine, goddamn it, I’ll do it. Hold her and I’ll do it myself!”
“You can’t drain yourself again; you know what you look like. Woman, stop—”
His voice cuts off when I hear the distinctive ‘shink’ sound of her claws, followed by a growl of frustration.
A trickle plops onto my lips. She didn’t give him the option to continue arguing; she did it.
The scent makes the serpent take notice, and my nostrils twitch as its vicious instincts respond.
Everything inside me hurts, but the fangs drop anyway.
My lips part unbidden to let dry, cracked lips moisten in the flow of her essence.
“It’s done—she’s feeding.”
I don’t feel her near me, only him. The blood is hers, but I’ll be damned if I know how she’s getting it to me without being within reach.
“What do we do now?” Rafe asks.
“I have to keep it flowing. Keep her mouth open if she closes it. She needs to feed for a bit to get stronger.”
“But you shouldn’t—”
I hear a glass slam on the counter, and pieces tinkle on the parquet as they scatter. “I said I’ve got it. Don’t push me.”
Blood droplets came first, but now it’s a trickle, and I rouse enough to swallow past my bruised and ravaged throat.
As her blood nourishes me, the serpent responds to it.
They’re not waking me up as much as the snake.
I can’t deny the warmth spreading through me, though, so I suppose it can’t hurt for her to continue.
“I think you need to reconsider.”
“Shut up. I feel her—well, not her, but close enough.”
“It’s a step in the right direction. If you would listen—”
“No.” I feel a shift in the air as she loses the grip she’s had on her emotions. “I can’t do what I need to do if you won’t stop bothering me. Please let me finish this.”
I wish I knew why she sounds so small and defeated.
“Fine, I’ll stop. But you’re wrong, and you know it.”
The air changes again, and I feel the ice return.
His hand strokes over my hair as he murmurs, “I hate to be the one to suggest this, but do you think Si—Taurus should be in on this? I think he’ll be pissed that we haven’t called him in yet.” His voice drops and he murmurs, “Possibly more so because I ran out without a word last night.”
No! Don’t call him! He’ll be angry with me. Oh, fuck.
It registers that Rafe abandoned him without a word after I smacked him down. Taurus will be petulant and bitter.
What have I done? Oh, please let her say no; I’d tell her no, but I still can’t reach Rafe, and she’s like a frozen wasteland.
“Did you lose your fucking mind last night? I can’t believe—”
Deli stops talking, and I feel like they’ve switched to mind-speaking again. I’m left to wonder what that sentence ended with. I wonder what is with her; she’s shuttered head to toe. I wonder why she asked if he had lost his mind.
What else can I do right now besides wonder?
I feel the hunger inside driving me, and the serpent uncurls, wanting more while they argue. I cling to consciousness, wanting to heal and stop the ache that is resonating inside me. I don’t want the snake to take over. That never ends well.
Rafe speaks out loud again. “I know. He won’t be talking to me soon. It doesn’t matter much without her, anyway. I can’t lose her, and this isn’t working. Even if it does, you’re—fuck it. We have to get her better. Nothing else matters.”
“If we call him, he can help. I can only do this for a little longer, and it’s not doing what we need it to. Primary blood is special. Feeding on him may speed this along.”
The steady but slow flow of blood finds a connection inside me, and for the first time, I connect—albeit by a thread—to the serpent directly. Through a slow, torturous process, I move towards the people I hear.
I still can’t feel or see them, but it’s progress.
My mate nods and sighs. “This is my doing. I’ll find him. He’s at their house, and he’s been drinking. Christ, this will not be fun.”
Rafe goes quiet, reaching out to my erstwhile primary in his head. She doesn’t say a word, nor do I feel her coming any closer.
It’s a void in the entire back half of the room and I have no idea why.
~Mate, we’re at the mansion. We need your help. We need you. Please. ~
~You need me now, do you? It’s a delightful time to notice it, Sampson. What is it this time—a kitten up a tree, perhaps? I’m a little too pissed on the bottle to be playing some sodding game.~
A sigh runs through him, and his posture slumps. My mate must not have been very receptive. It’s likely he was downright nasty.
~This isn’t about me, and it’s not a game. Your family needs you. Even if you’re pissed at me, even if you can’t bloody stand me, we need you to help us. Even if you love only the women, you have to come.~
His teardrop lands on my skin. He’s crying and trying to hide it.
I don’t know why, but that worries me. We all get angry sometimes; there’s no reason to cry.
I’m the one trapped. Why is he crying, and why is she hiding in the other part of the room?
His hand slides over my hair, and I know he’s covering up his tears.
~Fine, mate. You need me.~
~Thank you.~
“He’s coming.”
He moves again, trying to wipe off his face before Taurus pops into the room like a bull in a china shop. The cat doesn’t say a word, but I hear the crystal clink, and I assume she’s pouring scotch into her new, unbroken glass.
Hearing the clink of another bottle on a table and scenting a lot more scotch, I realize Taurus has arrived. It smells like he ate the distillery. This will be interesting. “You got me, so what the bloody buggering hell is going on?”
Ah. Now he’s seen me. The quick change from drunk to pissed off and yelling tells me that. The bed dips as he climbs on, snarling under his breath.
“What happened to my woman?!”
Growling, my new mate shifts to keep me from sliding.
“No, I bloody goddamn love you, but that’s not the point.
She tapped into the cat to find me. Blade felt that I left, and she hit the current, mate.
I didn’t even know the kitty had that kind of power, and Blade was wielding it like a toddler with a broadsword.
She almost took me out. The cat blinked us here, and we passed out.
It was too much power, not enough skill, or something. ”
He looks to her for help because none of them is talking. No one is addressing the white elephant in the corner, and I’m waiting for someone to bring this back to me.
Finally, the cat gives in to the standoff.
“What I need is someone else strong enough to feed her. She’ll be fine, but I can’t keep doing it.
You have enough of me in you, and you’re her primary.
Are you sober enough to donate? I need to stop soon.
” There’s a pause you could drive a truck through before she adds, “If you’re wondering, I didn’t encourage or ask for any of this.
She grabbed me and tapped in without asking.
I couldn’t get her off me. By the time he came through the portal she had made, he had to pry her off.
I barely got us home because it stripped me down. ”
“That’s true,” Rafe murmurs.
I feel the tension in his body as my primary snarls low at him.
“You and I’ll deal with what you said later, mate.
I think it’s love of her that’s causing the problem.
” He turns away from him, shifting his position on the bed to look at the cat over by the bar.
“I’m sober. Seeing your woman looking as near death as she does and feeling what I feel inside now that I’m here isn’t easy. Fucking hell, she drained herself.”
There’s a spike of anger that echoes from that side of the room and a tiny millisecond flicker of hurt.
Fear follows it and pain, then ice again.
“I didn’t allow her to do it. I know what she looks like.
Talia used me without my permission as a magickal signal booster in her secret shielded place. Don’t blame me for this.”
“She’s toasted all her circuits. Why? Why’d she do this?” Taurus asks, his fingers stroking over my face.
I hear sniffles and feel movement, but they stop as quickly as they start.
“Her shields got fried. Didn’t either of you feel that?
She’s sucking in a lot of pain right now.
Give her some shielding before we do anything else.
” He turns again, looking for her. He must wonder why she’s so far away.
I still am. “I’m sorry, love. I know that none of this is your fault.
Knowing Talia like I do, you’re the only reason she’s still here. ”
Rafe clears his throat and murmurs, “I’m not used to the empathy yet; I didn’t think.
The cat cleaned us up before I woke up. She was already up and about.
When Blade wouldn’t wake, I kept her warm and cocooned.
She started stirring, and my primary suggested she feed her.
It seemed like a good plan, what with the healing factor and all. ”
“Let me guess: you got the snake and not much else, right?”
“That’s why I need you to take over. It’s not helping, and I need to replenish.” Deli sighs and muses, “Plus, I want ice cream. Maybe some black olives. Possibly garlic bread, too.”
Why does she sound so far away? Why did it feel like the blood she gave me came from well above me and not from a close appendage? What is going on with her? I can’t see anything, and it’s making me crazy that I can’t tell them what I need.
Rafe growls, frustrated with his questions and her flippancy. “Do you two think we could focus on fixing her? A little help is why I need you two here.”
“What the bleeding hell did I do? I’ve been on my own all sodding day!” Taurus shouts, sounding like he’s ready to explode. Suddenly, he chuckles; he caught the cat’s preggo cravings. I guess it soothes him a bit because he relaxes on his side of the bed.
Rafe’s right, though. They need to focus. I want out of here!