Page 80 of Hot Blooded
Daniella
Fat tears drop onto the page as I finish. Alastair takes the book slowly from me and closes it.
“This chapter is over, brother.”
I wipe my eyes.
“Maybe we should burn these too…” he suggests.
“I need to remember. Tressa didn’t want me to drink from another, and I starved for a week, and then the roses…”
Alastair gives a knowing nod as he steers me from the room. “Don’t do it again. Feed from her a little more regularly. Bring in bagged blood if you have to, no matter how vile the stuff is,” he grimaces, and I give a little laugh.
I grumble, “You’re right…” But the truth is, it won’t matter. Tressa is gone.
“I usually am,” he says somberly.
***
Alastair and I stand in the cool night air next to the giant fire that roars and licks up into the sky. Small pieces of debrisfloat on the breeze. Daniella, being released. He was right, this feels healing.
“How are you going to win her back?” Alastair says as we both finally start to sober up from our binge earlier today.
“Beg. I don’t know if it will work though,” I warn him.
“And why is that?” he asks.
I rub a hand over the back of my neck. “She wants me to change her.”
“Fuck.”
“Yup. You heard the judge. I can’t change Tressa, or I’ll be thrown in jail for the rest of my infinite life. I’ll lose her forever.”
The fire pops and crackles.
“And if you don’t change her?” he questions.
“She probably won’t return to me. And I’ll still lose her forever.”
“You at least have to try to rectify this. You’ll never forgive yourself if you don’t. Go to her, Reign. Go tonight.”
“I don’t even know where she is,” I groan. “Even if I wanted to run out right now.”
Alastair pats my back. “She’s at the Treetops hotel with Lena, in Telluride.”
“How do you know that?”
“Don’t worry about it. Just go.”
Chapter 42
Tressa
The next morning, I’m still in bed when a knock on our hotel room door jolts me awake. Lena and I exchange a surprised look. We didn’t order room service, although maybe we should have. I’m in desperate need of coffee after drinking a bit too much last night. Lena shrugs while I move across the room to answer the door.
Once the door opens, I stumble back, looking up into dark, intense eyes framed in heavy lashes that I’d recognize anywhere.
“R-Reign,” I murmur, utterly shocked to see him here at the door to our hotel room.
