Page 92 of Claimed By Shadow and Blood
Something cold wrapped around me and pressed under the cloak and then into my wounds. His shadows. I remembered their touch from the prison. At first, I stiffened, but then some of the pain lessened. Vad folded me closer to his broad chest, and his warmth engulfed me. His heartbeat thudded against my ear, so fast it seemed that he had been running.
A warm and satisfying humming buzz pulsed through my body.Yes. I breathed out, relief flooding through me amid the exhaustion and the pain. My eyelids slid shut as the world faded, and one single thought remained: I was safe.
“Briar,” Vad pleaded. “Stay with me. I need you awake.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Vad
My shoulders ached with tension as I knelt at the bedside, watching over Briar. I wasn’t moving until she woke, and I could beg Fate to let her pull through this with no permanent injuries or scars. If I had found a quicker way… if I’d demanded the trials not be finished, she wouldn't be in this condition tonight.
Until her eyes opened, I wouldn't leave this spot, come void or high water. I wanted to soak in all the minutes we had left together before she was sent home.
The darkness in my bedchamber mirrored my mood and gave my shadows the room to pulse and curl. They had coiled around the bed protectively, a few tendrils near her and against her. But I held them back from fully touching her, not sure if they would make her chances of recovery better or worse.
At this point, it seemed anything I did led to something worse.
She lay in the center of my bed, scrubbed clean and bandaged, her copper curls fanned against the obsidian sheets.Physician Morlo had attended to her personally, along with one associate he said he trusted with his life.
They had scrubbed her clean, stitched her long cuts, bandaged her, and, after examining the arrow that had been stuck in her thigh, provided the antidote to reverse the effects of the venom. The bastards who’d tried to kill her had dipped it in a venom that kept blood from clotting. It was the same type that had been used on Rhielle, and likely my father.
Morlo had insisted that, based on what he had seen of Briar in the other trials, she would be up soon and with enough strength to attend the coronation and wedding. He’d said it with confidence and pride shining from his eyes, as if he was watching his own family members getting their happily ever after. He’d promised to return to check on her as soon as he completed the next round of tests on the hair sample. He’d said, “Briar suits you well. I haven’t often thought this, but…it seems that you were made for one another. It reminds me of your father and mother. It’s a beautiful thing.”
It is…was.
And that had reinforced how stupid I’d been to make the vow. Understanding had struck me that, now that I had her, I had to let her go. Still, I could only acknowledge his words, unable to tell him that Briar was going home.
The tugging in my chest increased as I remembered what it had been like when my parents were together, and the pain the memories brought was enough to make me bite back a groan. My parents’ love had been doomed, and perhaps mine was as well. The only way to save Briar was to deny our connection and send her back. I couldn’t even argue with Bryn, after she’d almost died yet again.
My room was decorated in black with touches of gold. Lying among the silk sheets in my massive bed, Briar looked like abrilliant wildfire gem in a setting of onyx. The black put her presence front and center in the room.
Like she was meant to stay here by my side.
I bowed my head and pressed her freckled knuckles to my lips. My beloved. Always mine in my heart for eternity. No one else could replace her, nor would I want anyone to. Our time together had been brief, but it would remain the best part of my existence, always.
Where we touched, a buzzing sprang to life under my skin, and something in my chest yanked me toward her, like a desperate need to be closer to her. In such a short amount of time, my kingdom and realm had collapsed in on itself, compressed into the shape ofthiswonderful woman.
Gently, I placed my hand over hers and breathed her in, savoring the scent of cinnamon and ginger along with the warmth of the hazelnut red tea.
Brushing her hair from her brow, I memorized the rhythm of her breathing and craved far more contact with her. The only thing holding me back was not wanting to harm her anymore, especially with the injuries all over her body.
Time usually didn’t mean much to me, not when I was immortal. But right now it was a paradox because I both wanted her to wake so I could talk to her and apologize, and didn’t want her to wake because, when she did, I’d have to let her go.
Bryn promised that he and one of his most trusted attendants would be waiting for us two hours from now in one of the secret passages. I’d been annoyed and surprised to discover Bryn even knew about them, which I needed to follow up on later. It seemed he intended to use the old portaling doorways to get Briar home, though I wondered how he had managed to restore them. They hadn’t been in operation since my grandfather’s time.
More questions for another time. Right now, I just wanted—no,needed—to focus on Briar.
I kissed her palm and was surprised to find that her injuries had already scabbed over. I ached to pull her into my arms and kiss my way down her neck.
She stirred, her lashes fluttering.
My heart leaped, and my breath hitched. “Briar?”
Those beautiful green eyes opened, and my heart melted. In my mind, I chanted,Anything for you, my love, so long as you are safe.I had to keep repeating it so I remembered there was no way to keep her at my side now.
“Vad.” My name fell from her lips.
It cut so deep I had to restrain a pained breath.
