Page 119 of Bound in Blood

It all hurts too much.

And I’m tired. So very tired.

Axl pulls me into his arms, and I curl into his body, my eyes closing despite how much I fight against it.

“Will she be okay?” he whispers.

“Yes,” Alexandros answers. “But she has lost much, and it is in her nature to feel others’ pain as acutely as her own. And she is exhausted. Let her sleep.”

I want to stay awake, to bask in the comfort of their presence, but I can’t. Too fatigued and too overwhelmed by guilt and despair, I let the heavy blanket of sleep take me under its weight.

Chapter

Sixty-Four

XAVIER

Satisfied the tub is full and exactly the right temperature, I turn off the tap and head back into the bedroom, where Ophelia is suckling on Axl’s wrist while Alexandros checks her over. She is battered and bruised, but fuck me, she is still the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

When I think of what she gave up for us, of how much more she was willing to give… When I allow myself to feel the pain of losing her, I can’t fucking breathe. So I push the thoughts away and focus on the fact that she’s here. She’s safe. We all are. And now we get to spend the rest of our long lives loving and being loved by her.

I crawl onto the bed next to Alexandros and assess the damage. Her clothes have all been removed now, and only the cut on her hip remains, a cut so deep it still hasn’t fully healed. Axl gently pulls his arm from her mouth, and she licks her lips. “Should I be enjoying blood this much?”

“When it makes you better, yes,” Axl says.

“How are you feeling now, Cupcake?” She slept for four hours straight after she told us about what happened in the netherworld.

She offers me a faint smile, her eyes remaining closed. “Like I got run over by a horde of the undead.”

I bite back a grin and skim my hand down the curve of her ribs. She doesn’t wince, so her bones must have healed there. “A warm bath will help you feel better.”

“Sounds like heaven.” Her words float away on a whisper.

Alexandros dusts his fingertips over her hip. “The external wound should close soon, but the worst of the bleeding has stopped, so that is a good sign.”

I dip my head. “Then let me help.” I slice a cut on my tongue and flick it over the small open cut that still remains. The mix of my blood and saliva knits the skin back together fully, and her sweet taste coats my tongue. I heard her concern about her blood not tasting the same, which is ludicrous, but I’m happy to have the opportunity to reassure her now.You still taste better than cupcakes.

Thank you, Xavier.

When her cut has stopped bleeding, I pick her up and carry her to the bath, but she’s still so exhausted that I can’t risk putting her in the water alone. Any one of the others would happily jump in there right now and hold her, but this is my time to step up. Alexandros held her at the ruins, Malachi carried her back home, and Axl cradled her while she slept. Now it’s my turn. I kick off my shoes and step into the tub fully clothed before sinking down into the water with her in my arms.

“Xavier, you’re still dressed,” she murmurs.

“Yep.” I look at the soot and grime from my clothes darkening the water. We all stayed in bed with her while she was asleep, irrationally afraid to move in case she was taken away from us again. I really didn’t think this through.

But she settles back against me and purrs like a kitten, so I wrap her in my embrace and rest my lips on the top of her head.She smells of fire and soot and blood, but she is still the sweetest thing in the entire world.

When Alexandros walks into the bathroom, he arches an eyebrow at the dirty water and shakes his head.

I hold her tighter. “I didn’t want to let her go.”

“I understand that.” He reaches into the dirty water and pulls the plug, then grabs a fluffy towel from the rack. The pink one Ophelia brought with her when she moved everything from her dorm room. “Give her to me.”

I stare at him.

“Whilst you remove your clothes and run some fresh water. I understand not wanting to let her go, but I will hand her back as soon as you are done.”

I rest my lips on her temple. “We’re gonna get out for a minute, okay?”

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