Page 190 of To Ashes and Dust
I needed it, more than anything.
70
DAMIEN
Istood frozen, the dagger gripped in my hand, blood oozing from my wrist as I held it out to her. Vincent lay frozen on the floor beneath her, his burned hands held out in surrender, wide eyes locked with mine as his chest heaved.
“That’s right. Come to me,” I said. “I have what you need.”
Her blush lips parted, her tongue sweeping across the small fangs peeking into view, but it wasn’t the fangs my gaze latched onto. Pale orbs stared back at me, the only remnants of those hazel eyes now a sliver in the silver of her right iris, a fragment of what she once was. She’d been changed. Shewasimmortal, and she was dangerous.
I could tell by the way her glazed eyes locked onto the blood dripping from my wrist, crystalline veins lighting her silver iris’, pupils expanding and contracting at the subtlest movement, and how the pain and hunger had etched into her beautiful face, that she wasn’t herself, wasn’t in her right mind. She didn’t even seem to recognize me or Vincent. I’d seen very few immortals get this bad in my lifetime, had experienced it myself once. It wasn’t a place our kind dared to risk falling into.
Bloodlust.
Be careful, she may be a bit... bitey.
Fucking Eris. She knew this was going to happen, must be sitting in her castle in the Godsrealm laughing to herself. Cassie didn’t deserve this kind of suffering.
She grimaced briefly, before her eyes locked back on my wrist.
“It’s okay,mea luna. I know it hurts,” I breathed. “I can fix it.”
She climbed off Vincent, pale eyes flickering as she pushed herself to her feet. I prayed Ethel didn’t show up, that no one else did.
“You okay, Vincent? Don’t speak, just nod.”
Vincent nodded hesitantly. I knew it wouldn’t take him long to heal, but Gods, she’d burned him, his skin red and peeling in places already, the scent of burned flesh lingering in the air. It was dangerous enough that Vincent was here. I didn’t care if she hurt me, but Anna needed Vincent. I couldn’t let Cassie hurt him more than she already had.
Vincent lifted himself up, but I gave a short harsh shake of my head, praying he saw and remained still. We couldn’t risk drawing her attention from me again. We might not be so lucky a second time. He froze, heeding my warning, his eyes flickering to Cassie as she tilted her head.
I braced myself as she lurched forward, crossing the few feet between us. My ass slammed into the dresser as she crashed into me, her lips finding their mark.
Vincent shot to his feet, ready to intervene. I threw my other hand up. “No!”
He halted, eyes wide as Cassie bit into my already sliced wrist, and I ground my teeth together at the searing pain. “But she—”
“I’m okay. Get out of here, now.”
I bit down against the pain as she drew on my wrist, and he hesitated.
“What if she takes too much, Damien?”
“I’ll be okay, I promise. Make sure no one else enters the house until I give the all clear.”
Vincent’s eyes flitted to Cassie once more before cursing under his breath and slipping out the door quietly. Cassie’s body tensed as the door clicked shut, her lips threatening to release me. Shit. I couldn’t let her stop. She needed the blood. I didn’t know exactly what Eris’ magic had done to her, what her body had undergone during the change. I flexed my hand, causing the blood to flow faster, and she immediately lost all sense of anything as the blood flooded her mouth, and latched onto my wrist again.
There was nothing gentle about her feeding, and I braced myself against the nightstand as she drew deeply at my wrist. She wasn’t getting enough, and her pulls grew more desperate. I needed to get her to my throat where she could get more blood. She broke the contact before I could do anything, hot panted breaths spilling out over the wound on my wrist. Blood dripped down her lips, droplets staining the white silk of her gown, and... Gods, if the sight of those blood tipped fangs didn’t stir something in me.
My body tightened, and I tried to ignore it, tried to ignore every instinct roaring to life as she fed from me.
Her eyes wandered, as if she were realizing her surroundings, and for a moment I caught a glimpse of her beneath the surface of the predator that had taken over. I slid my hand down her back, and she stiffened, her gaze jerking to me, pupils expanding as our gazes locked. She resurfaced again at the sight of me, if only for a moment, her brows scrunching as she blinked.
“Here,” I coaxed, pulling my hair from the side of my neck, and her eyes dropped to my throat, to the vein thrumming with what she wanted.
“I don’t...” Her voice was pained, and she withdrew as if fighting with herself, with the instinct to feed. Gods, I could only imagine how confused she must have been.
I stopped her, pulling her back against me. “Don’t fight it,mea luna. It’s going to be okay. I’m going to make it better.”
