Page 57 of Barely Breathing

Costin pulls back, studying me. “Did I hurt you?”

The concern in his voice makes my heart ache. “No.”

“You’ve always been strong.” His whisper tickles my ear. “Stubborn. Defiant. Beautiful.”

Something has shifted inside him. It’s in his expression and in the way he holds me. There is a vulnerability I’ve never seen before.

“I meant what I said,” he murmurs, fingers caressing my skin. “I can’t lose you.”

I search for the amulet in the bedding, finding its familiar weight. I lift my head and slip it back around my neck. The stone pulses warmly, but it feels different now, less like a barrier between Costin and me and more like a bridge. Perhaps this is what I’ve been fighting all along, the inevitable truth that my place is here, balanced between his darkness and my light.

“Then help me,” I say softly, reaching to caress his jaw. “Help me save them. Not because you care about Paul or Diana, but because I do. Because letting innocent people die isn’t who either of us wants to be.”

I let my touch linger on his face, and he leans into it like a creature starved for gentleness.

He’s quiet for a long moment, and I feel the tension return to his body. Finally, he presses a kiss on my temple. “You should sleep.”

It’s not a no. From Costin, that’s practically a yes. I curl into him, knowing that dawn ticks closer and he’ll have to go underground soon.

That moment comes faster than I anticipate. He pushes up from the bed and is dressed before I have time to question it. “I have some important vampire matters I need to attend to before dawn.”

I don’t like the vagueness of that statement. “What matters?”

“Nothing you should be concerned about. There is a message from the European council that needs answered. They do not like to be kept waiting. We’ll talk more tomorrow night. Get some rest.”

I want to tell him I slept all day and I’m not tired, but he drank a lot of blood. Between that and Draakmar’s feverish surges of power, I feel the lethargy seeping into my limbs.

There are still secrets between us and choices to be made, but something fundamental has changed. I’m no longer just his to protect. He’s mine to protect, too.

Chapter

Fifteen

This time, when I wake up disoriented, it is to daylight and the lingering sensation of Costin’s touch. My neck and thigh itch where he fed, and my body aches as a reminder of all that passed between us during the night. I feel closer to him than I ever have. There was a vulnerability in him I’ve never seen.

That has to be real, right? I didn’t imagine it.

I want to trust Costin, but it comes hard.

The amulet radiates warmth against my chest, its magic trying to heal the marks Costin left behind. The wound might fade, but the mark will not.

I realize I’ve been in this room way too long. I’m hiding. That’s not good.

I look at the nightstand, hoping to see food.There is none. Trust Astrid not to enable laziness for too long.

I go to the bathroom to stare at the horror show looking back at me in the mirror. Dark circles mar my under eyes, and my hair is a wild mess of untamed curls. My skin is pale from blood loss, which makes the dried crimson streaks more pronounced. The puncture wounds are healed over. Two pink dots remain as evidence of his feeding.

“In two nights, the werewolves will try to sacrifice Paul and Diana,” I whisper to my reflection as if saying the words out loud will make the idea manageable. It doesn’t. I don’t know what to do. There is a sick anticipation building in my stomach. I want it to be over, and yet I don’t want the night to arrive. The two conflicting feelings battle inside me.

Do I go into hiding? If the wolves don’t have me, they don’t have a complete ritual.

Although, I can’t imagine the Alpha shrugging his shoulders and just letting the two humans go free in response.

A sharp pain shoots behind my eye, and I press my fingers into my temple, closing my eyes tight. It only lasts a few seconds. I blink several times to clear my vision. It’s weird but hardly concerning.

I have to figure this out.

Do I try to amass an army? Use my position as Lord Constantine’s girlfriend to…? To what? Start a war between vampires and werewolves? That would only lead to supernatural chaos and so many more deaths. Besides, that’s too big of an ask. No one will want to go to war over three mortals and a ritual. The supernatural community probably would laugh if I even suggested it.

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