Page 48 of Until the Heart Stops
I turned to face her fully, searching her face and the bond for any hint of revulsion, but there was only compassion. She was searching me as well, looking for signs of pain. I stroked my knuckles across her cheek.
“I suppose we have time now to get to know one another,” she mused, leaning into my touch.
My smile grew bigger. “I suppose we do.”
Yet we were not completely safe, not yet. There was still the matter of his followers, the rest of the Covenant. But for this moment I would allow myself the relief of knowing she lived, that the horror of her destruction had not come to pass.
Lilith’s face fell, brows tugging together. A flash of pain slithered through the bond and I slipped my arm beneath her legs.
“It’s okay,” I soothed as she whimpered, curling in on herself. “It is only the first death.”
She was beginning the true transformation. The first death was the worst as her body changed. But with Seth’s powerful blood coursing through us both, I hoped it would not take nights as it usually did.
I cradled her in my arms, moving through the halls and up the stairs toward our rooms. I sensed the others inside as I pushed through the doors.
“Callum,” Mateo murmured.
But it was Seth I focused on, standing beside the hearth with his hands clasped behind his back. I’d thought perhaps I’d feel a slice of betrayal when I saw him next, but there was only a sense of calm. Lilith groaned again, clutching her stomach, and Seth nodded.
“It will be quick,” he said in his accented voice. “And, with my blood, close to painless, if you will allow it.”
A primal part of me tensed at his offer, but I gave a sound of agreement, turning toward my rooms and moving to lay her gently on my bed. I smoothed her hair back from her face and Lilith’s nose scrunched as she breathed through the pain.
“Your body is dying, but it is only the transformation.”
“I…know,”she all but snapped.
Of course she did. With all the research she’d done in these last few weeks I wondered if perhaps she understood the process better than I did. I touched the bloodstained dress she wore. “Do you want to change out of this?”
Lilith nodded. With jerky movements she sat up, hissing with each wave. I could remember my own transformation as if it happened only yesterday. Though Mael had been powerful, it had been two thousand years since he’d last drunk Seth’s blood. The first death took five days to finish and I writhed in agony each night.
I summoned one of my tunics from my wardrobe before helping her undo the ruined belt around her waist and tug off the gauzy fabric. She clenched her teeth as I slipped the shirt over her head and we worked together to get her arms in.
“Your…magic,” she started before pausing as another wave hit her. “It’s strong.”
Nodding, I encouraged her back onto the bed. “Stronger now than it was before I drank from Seth.”
She froze. “What?”
A knock rapped on the door. “May I enter?”
I raised my brows at Lilith in question, pulling the thick duvet over her bare legs. Her eyes, now a mix of brown, green, and gold swirling together, flicked across my face and I knew she thought I was evading the question.
“Come in,” I answered, and this would be an answer in and of itself.
Seth slipped into the room. His hair was free as it always was, but he wore the clothes of this time, down to a deep purple waistcoat and gold pocket watch. Unlike Mael’s, his face was the perfect expression of tenderness as he observed Lilith, approaching with even, measured steps.
“Hello, young one,” he greeted.
Her eyes widened as she looked at him, newfound senses pricking at the back of her neck. Lilith recognized what others of our kind had not in Eamon’s ballroom. But perhaps that was due to the fact that a fraction of his blood was now in her veins.
Then again, a fraction of his blood ran through all our veins.
“Goddess,” she breathed.
He hummed, reaching out a hand in offering to her. “She is quite pleased with you, yes.”
Lilith placed her palm in his but groaned as anotherpang of death pulled her in. Seth placed a tender hand on the back of her head. “I would like to give you a gift, if you allow it. A gift I have given to your mate.”
