Page 54 of Gua rdian of Blood and Shadow

I wanted to touch him, to hold him, but I hesitated, afraid of causing him more pain.

His eyes found mine, those distinctive silver irises now dull and clouded with exhaustion, but recognition sparked in their depths. “Sophie,” he whispered, his voice like sandpaper against stone.

Just my name. Nothing else. But the relief in that single word was everything.

“I’m here,” I said, finally reaching for him. My hands hovered over his face, tracing the air above his wounds without touching them. “I’m sorry it took so long.” I whimpered. “I’m so sorry.”

Javier positioned himself between us and the shifter commanders, his back to us, his body coiled with lethal tension. Through our bond, I sensed his focused vigilance, his eyes tracking every movement in the room while giving Gavin and me this moment.

Gavin attempted to push himself upright, but his arms were too weak. “You shouldn’t have come,” he rasped, collapsing back onto the hard floor with a grunt. “It’s too dangerous.”

“I wasn’t going to leave you here.” I slid my hand into his, careful of the raw wounds around his wrist. His skin was like ice. “I couldn’t.”

His fingers weakly curled around mine, the gesture speaking volumes about his depleted state. The Shadow King’s corruption clung to him like an oily film, seeping from the wounds left by the manganese restraints.

“How bad is it?” I asked, though I could see the answer in the hollows of his cheeks, the labored rise and fall of his chest. Could sense it in the shadow taint wafting off him.

A ghost of his familiar, self-assured smile crossed his lips. “I’ve had worse.”

The attempt at humor broke something loose in my chest. I laughed, a sound closer to a sob. “Liar.”

The Sun commanders shifted uncomfortably, looking away from our reunion, perhaps finding something too relatable in the display.

“I need to feed you,” I said, keeping my voice low. My eyes cut to the watching shifters, then back to Gavin. “Now. Before Veris returns.”

Gavin’s eyes widened slightly. “Sophie—”

“No arguments.” I helped him sit up part way, settling his head on my lap. “You need blood to heal…at least to cleanse away that awful shadow taint.”

His lips parted, protest forming, but I saw the hunger flare in his eyes. The darkened veins beneath his skin, telltale signs of severe blood deprivation. How long had it been since they’d allowed him to feed? Days? Weeks? Had they been starving him the entire time he’d been their captive?

I glanced at Javier, who gave me a terse nod without breaking his vigilant stance. Silent permission. Understanding.

I held my wrist in front of Gavin’s mouth. “Take what you need,” I whispered. “Hurry.”

He shook his head, though it was a weak gesture. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop.”

“If I have to bite my own wrist, I will, and that’ll hurt a hell of a lot more than if you do it.” I pressed my wrist to his lips. “Do it, Gavin. We don’t have much time.”

His eyes held mine for a long moment, silver depths still clouded with pain but now burning with something else. Hunger. Need. Desire. With agonizing slowness, his lips parted, and I felt his cool breath against my skin.

“I’ll stop when you tell me,” he promised, his voice steadier than it had been moments ago.

I nodded, bracing myself. When his fangs pierced my skin, the initial sting made me bite back a gasp, but it quickly transformed into a wave of warmth that rushed through my veins, straight to my core. Not the overwhelming, desperate hunger of our firstcommunion, but something deeper—a connection reawakening after too long apart.

Through our bond, I felt the shadow taint recoiling from the moonlight in my blood. My power moved through him like a cleansing fire, burning away corruption, closing wounds, restoring what had been damaged. With each pull of his mouth against my wrist, his presence in my mind grew stronger, a flicker becoming a steady flame.

The intensity caught me off guard. Pleasure built low in my belly as his feeding continued. My head tipped back slightly, eyelids half-closing. I fought to keep my breathing steady, aware of the shifters watching from across the room, their expressions a mixture of fascination and disgust.

I glanced down to see color returning to Gavin’s skin. The wounds around his wrists and face looked less angry, parts even beginning to close.

“Not yet,” I whispered, pushing my wrist more firmly against his mouth. “Take more.”

Gavin made a sound low in his throat, half-protest, half-surrender. He gripped my arm tighter, holding me closer as he drank deeper. Power flowed between us, awakening something primal and possessive. I felt his hunger shifting, transforming into a different kind of need.

My free hand tangled in his hair, my nails scraping lightly against his scalp. The gesture was meant to be soothing, but the way his body tensed told me it was anything but. The pleasure building between us was spiraling toward something we couldn’t surrender to—not here, not now. Not with hostile eyes upon us.

“Enough,” I said, breathless, and with tremendous effort, I pulled my wrist away from his mouth.

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