CHAPTER 12 #2
Henri, who’d come up on his right, said a word under his breath Alex rarely heard him utter in polite company. “For pity’s sake, Your Highness, but if you don’t find some way to stuff that woman into the palace moat—”
Before he could finish, Daniela swayed beside him, reaching out to clutch his arm. He caught her before she could fall, carefully helping her to sit down on the ground.
“Are you dizzy?”
“Um, maybe a little sick to my stomach.” The words came out slightly slurred. “And my head hurts. I think I just need to sit down.”
Alex swore. He stood, looking for the closest medic, and quickly realized that with hundreds of people who needed to be evacuated, Dani might not be seen to for some time. He pulled out his phone and texted Sera.
His phone vibrated seconds later, his sister’s name appearing on the screen.
“Dani’s been hurt,” he said in a rush, not bothering with pleasantries. “There was an explosion at Cavalieri Industries. She hit her head—”
“Rebels hit the railway station.” His sister was half-shouting to be heard over whatever was happening where she was. “Emergency responders and hospitals are overwhelmed. They put out a call for anyone with training to get to the site and help. That’s where I am now. It’s bad, Alex.”
He swore. “I can’t take her to the hospital. You know there are too many administrators in Cavalieri’s pockets. I don’t trust what they might do. They could easily arrange an accident, some sort of medication overdose, and no one would realize what was happening until it was too late.”
Sera seemed to be walking away from the noise. “Tell me her symptoms, then hand her the phone.”
After Alex described what had happened, the heavy shelving unit coming down on her head, the bleeding that hadn’t quite stopped, he put the phone on speaker and passed it over to Dani.
“Dani, what day is it?”
Frowning, Dani blinked. “Um, Thursday?”
Alex glanced worriedly to Henri, even as he kept a steady hand on Dani’s shoulder.
“That’s very good,” Sera lied. “Now what’s the last thing you remember from before the explosion?”
“I was… um.” Dani blinked. “Sorry, my head hurts. It’s all kind of blurry.”
“That’s okay. Take your time.”
Alex felt the pressure in his chest getting tighter and tighter as Dani stumbled her way through a few more questions in Sera’s neurological exam.
“Okay, here’s what I think we need to do,” she said at last. “There are concerns with taking you to a hospital right now because while I trust the doctors, we can’t be sure that someone loyal to Cavalieri wouldn’t do something.”
“What’s wrong with me?”
“I can’t tell you that without scans, but it’s possible you have a head injury or internal bleeding from when the shelving fell on you.
I want Alex to take you back to the castle and give you some of his blood.
That should stabilize you until we can get you to a facility where we trust the staff and I can go with you to monitor what’s being done. ”
“Won’t that—”
“A little bit won’t make a difference at this point and vampire blood has healing properties, especially for physical injuries. If you have some hemorrhaging, your symptoms will resolve.”
“Blood addiction?” she slurred weakly.
By then, Alex was already scooping her into his arms, ending the call. “I won’t lose you. Sera’s right. Your life is more important. Hang onto me now.”
Shadows swirled around them as he scattered into particles, traveling across the city. Seconds later, he was reforming in his bedroom. He laid Daniela on his bed, then unbuttoned the cuff of his sleeve.
“Your Highness, what can I do?” Henri asked.
“Can you find Daniela some clean clothes? I’m sure Sera has something that would fit.”
“Of course.”
Gently, he helped her to sit up so that she was leaning back against his chest.
“I feel terrible,” she mumbled. “What’s wrong with me?”
“You have a head injury.” The words came out shaky. He couldn’t lose her. Couldn’t. The thought of life without Daniela—
And in that instant, he realized how ridiculous their plan to remove the mating marks had been. He could no sooner give up Dani than he could stop breathing. They had grown so close in just a matter of days and weeks that it felt like they had known each other for lifetimes. She was his. Only his.
“I need you to trust me.”
“You know I do,” she answered weakly.
“Sera is worried you could have internal bleeding, hemorrhaging inside your head. It isn’t safe to go to the hospital. Not when Lara and her father will do anything to ensure she’s put on the throne.” He drew a breath. “You have to drink my blood.”
She blinked in confusion. “Won’t that turn me?”
He hesitated. The answer, of course, was that it could.
“I won’t give you that much. But if we don’t do something…” He shook his head, refusing to let his mind go there. “I can’t lose you, Dani. You’re everything to me.”
His voice broke.
She touched his face. “And you will not lose me. I am yours.”
Alex used his fangs to open his vein.
“Drink,” he implored her. He ran fingers through her hair, encouraging her as she awkwardly tried to seal her lips around his wrist for the first time. “Pull, Daniela. You have to suck.”
Her cheeks colored adorably. But she began to draw from his vein with more confidence.
Henri slipped back into the room, bearing a stack of clothes and two water bottles. “I’ve asked the kitchen staff to send up a cart with dinner.”
“Thank you, Henri.” He cracked one of the water bottles and drank deeply. “What do we know about the second bombing, the one at the train station?”
“It’s still early, but as they were triggered minutes apart, at this time, the authorities are presuming them to be linked.” He nodded. “I’ll be just outside if you need anything.”
The door clicked shut.
“I can’t let you go, Daniela.” Alex trailed fingers through her hair. “It will take time to convince Dante and Isabella to leave. Once I do that, can you get Ava and Evan to agree to go into hiding?”
She stopped drinking, turning to stare up at him in surprise.
A dribble of blood dripped down her bottom lip.
His cock thickened at the sight of it, at the sight of her looking so very much like a vampire.
Lifting his wrist to his lips, he sealed the puncture wound, then bent to kiss her.
Dani shivered, running her fingers through his hair as her tongue traced his fangs.
“How are you feeling?”
“My head is getting clearer.” She bared her teeth at him. “Any sign of fangs?”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “I’m afraid your frying pan is not out of service just yet.” He traced her face. “I must confess that the sight of you with my blood on your lips does things to me.”
“I thought I would be grossed out by it,” she confessed, nestling back into his arms. “The taste was about what I thought it would be, but warmer.”
“How’s the headache?”
“Better.” She stretched, as if testing the answer. “Vampire blood works so quickly. I’m surprised it’s not used more often.”
“It’s most effective for healing physical wounds. On chronic conditions, there’s typically little to no impact. Something like poisoning can still kill us, as you saw. And the practice of giving vampire blood to humans has been outlawed for over a decade.”
“Because no one wants more vampires created. Or is it because the blood source would be gone?”
“Both. We’re sadly no better than any other group in recorded history who has risen to dominance only to immediately hoard power.”
Dani’s stomach growled. “Sorry. I hadn’t gotten a chance to take my break when the explosion happened, so I missed lunch.”
“Henri is having the kitchens send up food. It should be here soon. Would you prefer to have a bath first?”
“That would be wonderful. And then I’m starving.”
While Dani checked in with her sisters, Alex ran her a bath, lighting a few candles and adding bubbles and fragrant oils into the giant marble tub. He was just testing the temperature when her fingers brushed his shoulder.
“This is perfect. I love the candles.”
“Sometimes when I have a headache, I like a good soak without the lights on.” He kissed her forehead. “I’ll be right outside if you need me.”
When Dani emerged a bit later, hair freshly combed and damp from the shower and dressed in one of his robes that hung a bit too long on her, Alex could tell his blood was already having a positive impact.
Her cheeks were picking up color. She padded barefoot across the room to the small table he’d arranged close to the fireplace, no longer so unsteady on her feet.
When he removed the silver cloche to reveal a stack of crisp French toast triangles sprinkled with powdered sugar, her eyes lit up.
He served her first, making sure she got a full plate of toast with syrup, plus savory breakfast sausage, buttery scrambled eggs, and fresh fruit juice, then filled a plate for himself.
“Oh, everything is so good.” She cut a large bite of French toast and swirled it through her syrup. “With what you said before, about leaving… where would we go?”
“We would need time to work out the logistics. Maybe to the fae.”
She set her fork down. “I know that if I ask Evan to leave, she’ll refuse. She won’t want to give up the fight to save the sector. Neither do I, but I have to think of Ava and her safety.”
“I’m not proposing we abandon the sector.
” Alex reached for her hand. “I fully intend to find a way to bring peace and prosperity to everyone in this kingdom, but the oligarchs have amassed too much power and they control the economy. They’ll be difficult to remove.
I need to know that as we work towards reform, our families aren’t being used as pawns. ”
“I was so proud of you today, Alex,” she said quietly. “You didn’t hesitate when people needed you. That took courage. That was the act of a prince, of a future king.”
“I’ve never been the prince they wanted.” He looked down. “My father has ensured that the face I present to the public keeps me isolated. That way, I am not a threat to his rule.”