Page 621 of Shadowblood Souls
And now the demon is facing the possibility of losing her. Fuck, I can’t imagine how hard that would be.
If any of my men became deathly ill…
At the rush of anguish that surges through me at the thought, Griffin’s head ticks toward me. I make a quick gesture to deflect his concern and inhale deeply to dispel the uncomfortable thought. But the deepest knot of tension lingers.
We don’t know how our future will go. None of us has shown any clear signs of aging beyond early adulthood yet, but we’re still only in our twenties.
We have no idea whether our lifespans will be extended to anything like shadowkind near-immortality, whether we’ll get the typical human eighty-some years, or if we’ll end up somewhere in between.
How can Rollick stand it, knowing for sure that he’ll long outlive the woman he loves, unless some catastrophe knocks him down?
I shift on my feet, and Andreas comes up behind me. He wraps his arms around my shoulders and tucks his chin next to my head. “I’m sure Dom is doing everything he can for her.”
Our healer is in the bedroom for a long time. It feels as if hours have passed before he emerges, his face drawn and grayed with exertion and his tentacles still resting against his back.
Rollick follows him out and shuts the door behind them.
“Thank you,” he says quietly. “I could tell it made a significant difference.”
Dominic nods. “I haven’t tried to heal anyone in a situation quite like this before. I’m not sure how long the effects will last. But I think I strengthened her heart and the connections between it and her body to almost as good as new—almost as good as if it was her heart to begin with.”
“I couldn’t have hoped for more.”
The demon appears to gather himself, willing away his solemn expression. My gut pinches with the thought that he might feel he needs to offer us some kind of hospitality when he’d obviously rather stay focused on his lover.
“We should get back to the city,” I say before he tries to invite us to dinner or anything like that. “Lots of stuff to do.”
Rollick shoots me a look that might be a little grateful. He follows us out to the SUV that’ll drive us back to the jet.
As the guys pile into the vehicle ahead of me, I glance at our long-time benefactor again. The question seems absurd, but it spills out of me anyway. “Are you going to be okay?”
Rollick sputters a laugh. “It’s not my well-being at stake here.”
I offer him a wry but tight smile. “I don’t think that’s totally true.”
With a soft huff, the demon shakes his head. But then he grasps my shoulder with a quick squeeze. “Hold on to what you have while you have it. Make every moment matter.”
He nudges me toward the SUV, and all I can do is go.
All night, Rollick’s words spin on a loop in my head. I’m glad I told the guys I wanted the expansive bed in my bedroom to myself this once, because I toss and turn so much I doubt anyone next to me could have slept well either.
Hold on to what you have while you have it.
How can I “hold on” more than I already am? The guys and I live together, we spend so much time together…
What if it isn’t enough? What if I end up regretting that I didn’t make the most of the time we have now?
The restlessness lingers after I pull myself out of bed. I emerge to find Dominic and Griffin in the kitchen, Dom slathering toaster waffles with maple syrup and Griffin halfway through an apple. Snowball twines around his feet.
Jacob likes to do his vigilante patrols at night, and both Zian and Andreas often tinker into the late hours—Zee with his latest electronic projects and Drey with his current book. I don’t expect any of them to be up for at least another couple of hours.
My shift at the early learning center, where I’m now an official part-time employee, doesn’t start until the afternoon. I exchange smiles with Dominic and Griffin while I prepare my instant oatmeal, but I don’t know exactly what I’m going to say until the words tumble off my tongue.
“You’re both going to the greenhouse today, aren’t you? Could I come along?”
Dominic blinks at me with obvious surprise, but his next reaction is a smile that’s almost shy. “Of course. Do you feel like you need some re-centering?”
I grope for the right words. “I just… I’d like to see you at work. It’s been a while.”
