Page 48 of Wicked Heirs

I looked to see Orpheus calling his power with the hand he’d previously had in my hair.

But then Xavier eased from my wrist and retracted his fangs.

He’d done it!

“You just resisted the pull of celestial blood,” Orpheus told him. “And you think you don’t have control.”

Xavier, looking all high and out of it, licked some remnants of my blood off his lips, as he gazed out at me.

I closed my eyes for a few moments, but Orpheus’ fingers brushing my cheek had them fluttering open again.

“I need to sit down,” I croaked.

Instead of sayingI-told-you-so, he helped me onto the grass beside the tree stump.

He conjured a glass of water in the next moment.

“She’ll also need iron,” Xavier said, crouching down beside me and taking my bloodied wrist in his hand.

He swept his fingers over the puncture wounds from his fangs, his blue magic sparking for a moment and healing the bite marks instantly.

“She won’t need it. And you didn’t need to do that. Angels heal exceptionally fast. She just needs to hydrate and rest and she’ll be good as new from the blood loss in a few minutes,” Orpheus told him.

“Some things may not be deemed necessary, but they’re nice and chivalrous acts, Orpheus.”

“Sure,” he said, non-committal. “How do you feel?”

“Incredible. Strong. Clear-headed and sharp.”

“Good, my friend. You deserve it.”

Orpheus tipped my chin up. “Thank you, all right? Thank you for doing that for him.”

“Some things may not be deemed necessary, but they’re nice and chivalrous acts,”I said, repeating Xavier’s words to him.

The two of them laughed.

“Something else, aren’t you, Alena?”

“Don’t you forget it.”

“Oh, that’s impossible.”

“Right there with you there,” Xavier said. “Ore, let’s get her back to her chambers. Let her rest.”

That was the last thing I was aware of before sleep took me.

9

~Orpheus~

I knew he’d seen me.

He was taking his sweet time acknowledging it.

He was aware that I wanted a word, but it was a word he didn’t want to have.

Too bad. It was happening.

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