Page 20 of Visions in Blood
Devon repositioned himself in the chair, ready for the long wait.Even delegating most of the work to his cadre, he’d been overtaxing himself.It sometimes happened with problematic negotiations, but the stakes were larger now.Between keeping tabs on Lorenzo, Cressa storming into this life, his complex plan to regain his Council seat, and this dreamwalker business—he shouldn’t have gone so long between feedings.Now, in order to fully recover, he would need to feed in smaller doses for the next three days, so he didn’t injure his blood source.
For the first time that evening, he sensed someone enter the room.Another sign he needed blood.He should have felt them coming down the hall.Expecting to see Sergi, he was surprised when the diminutive form stepped in front of him.
“Lyra.You know you’re not supposed to leave your room without permission.”
“I know.”Her voice was low, but only mildly apologetic.
“Come here.”He held out an arm, and she crawled into his lap as a child would with their father rather than the grown woman she was.Her willowy stature made her seem more a pixie than either a woman or child.She turned so she could face the bed.“I know how difficult it’s been with our new guest.You’ve handled it very well.”
She leaned her head against his shoulder.“I’ve been sneaking out in the early morning.”
He smiled at her confession and kissed her temple.“I thought so.”
“I don’t think she sees me do it, but she does like to stay up late.”
“You won’t have to stay hidden for much longer.”
“Is she all right?She’ll wake up, won’t she?”
Devon considered his answer.Not because he worried what to say, but Lyra had never shown an interest in anyone else.
“She should wake in a few hours.”
Lyra played with a button on her nightgown.She was still painfully thin, but it didn’t seem to lessen her energy.
“I felt her this time.”
Devon stiffened and turned Lyra to face him.He kept his tone even so she wouldn’t shut down.“What do you mean?”
Lyra glanced away and shrugged a shoulder.
“This is very important, Lyra.For both of you.”
Her fingers moved back to the button before running over the bottom edge of her nightgown.Her head lowered, and her voice was so soft it required a vampire to hear her.“Sometimes I can feel her dreams.”
He blanched at the thought of Lyra seeing him with Cressa.
She lifted her head so quickly, she bumped her head on his chin.And her words chilled him at the thought she could read his mind.“I can’t see the dreams.But I can sense she’s having a special one.”
That shocked him.How does one perceive someone else’s dreams?If only Lyra would share everything she saw when her nightmares were upon her.Was it possible that Cressa sensed Lyra, most likely without even knowing it?
Lyra trembled, and he hugged her.His next question only a guess on his part.“But something changed tonight?”
She kept her voice low and whispered into his ear as if keeping it from whatever ghost might be lurking.“I don’t think it was Cressa.”
He could barely breathe.“Who was it?”
She shook her head.“A bad person.”
He hugged her tighter, caressing her arm until the tremors faded, and then he kissed her forehead.“Go back to bed, Lyra.I promise I’ll figure this out soon.”
Her smile was huge when she jumped up, and it almost broke his heart the trust she had in him.She gave Cressa a tentative glance.“I know you will.”She kissed his cheek and almost skipped out of the room.
He listened to her footsteps until he heard the door click shut upstairs.
“Simone is driving someone over for you.She’ll be here in a couple of hours.”Lucas placed a refreshed tray on the table in front of the hearth, then stood over Cressa.“Shall I cancel her sessions for tomorrow?”
“Yes.Thank you for everything, Lucas.”
