Page 124 of Mage of the Dragon Prince
With an agonized groan, Vanra moved his right arm to touch the wound on his left rib cage. He shouted out in pain, gritting his teeth as he tried to heal himself. But he had lost too much blood. His body went limp in Kitaro’s arms, making him fear the worst. “Stay with me, Vanra!” He caressed the human’s face with a trembling hand. “Please, I cannot lose you! Youmustheal yourself!”
Kitaro watched in horror as the green poison flowing through Vanra’s veins moved closer to his heart, making it slow. His beloved was dying right in front of him, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.
Suddenly, a purple glow emanated from the silver ring that Kizoshi had given Vanra. A purple dragon fire emerged, which penetrated the wound. Vanra whimpered in pain as he curled up on himself. But as the glowing light spread through Vanra’s veins, it slowly pushed the green venom out of him. It trickled out before the gash slowly closed itself.
The purple light pulsated around Vanra’s heart for a few moments before it ran down his arm and up to his ring finger. It somehow moved from inside the human back into the ring, where the amethyst continued to flicker. Kizoshi’s gift had saved his life.
The cave reeked of blood, making Kitaro’s dragon howl with rage. He wanted to kill every snake shifterin the world for bringing Vanra so close to the brink of death.
Kitaro scooped Vanra into his arms to carry him closer to the fire. He cradled the human against his chest, drawing comfort from the sound of his strong heartbeat that had come so close to stopping forever.
“I’m so sorry,” Vanra whispered, drawing Kitaro’s attention. “This is all my fault.”
Kitaro shushed him. “I am the one to blame. But you are safe now. That is all that matters.”
“If only I had been stronger.” Tears gathered in Vanra’s eyes.
Kitaro wiped away Vanra’s tears as they fell. “You were strong enough to heal yourself. That is the only thing that matters now. You are safe.”
Vanra weakly tried to move away, only to get pulled back into the embrace. “But the blood,” he weakly protested. “It must smell awful to you.”
He held Vanra even closer. “All that matters is you are still alive.”
Vanra passed out with one last whispered apology. The purple glow from earlier once again spread through Vanra’s body, pulsating inside of him.
“I am the one who failed you,” Kitaro said, although Vanra couldn’t hear him in his unconscious state. “I should be the one asking for forgiveness.”
They were safe from harm, but Kitaro felt no relief. His terror over coming so close to losing Vanra made him hold the human eventighter. It reassured the shifter that Vanra was still alive. He would be fine once he had some rest.
Kitaro rested his head against Vanra’s with a shaky sigh. He held him for the rest of the night. The fear gripping his heart never quite left him.
Chapter 64
Auslin
His wound may have healed, but Auslin still felt wretched the next morning. He stirred in Kitaro’s arms with a confused noise.
“You are safe, Vanra. Rest.” Kitaro kissed the human’s temple.
Memories came back to Auslin about the fight. He glanced around the cave, noticing the huge bloodstain across from them. His eyes went wide when he saw how much there was. It must have been awful for Kitaro’s strong sense of smell.
“We can go somewhere else,” Auslin weakly said. He tried to move, but his body wouldn’t cooperate with him.
Kitaro pulled Auslin back against his chest. “No, we are staying here.”
“But all that blood.” Guilt ate away at Auslin over what he was subjecting Kitaro to it.
“All that matters to me right now is you are safe.” Kitaro held Auslin tighter. “We will stay until you have recovered your strength.”
“I’m so sorry.” Tears welled up in his eyes. “I thought they were all dead, so I was watching your fight. I didn’t see him come at me until it was too late. I should have paid more attention?—”
Kitaro shushed Auslin. “I am the one who owes you an apology. It is my job to protect you, but I let you down.”
“No, you fighting the leader was keeping me safe!” Auslin didn’t want Kitaro to feel bad for what had happened. “Please don’t blame yourself. I was stupid and let my guard down.”
“Perhaps we should stop trying to blame ourselves. I would rather focus on the fact that you survived.”
Auslin snuggled into the embrace. “You’re probably right.”
