Page 129 of Mortal Shift
“Fed him again,” she demanded. “Give him your arm.”
“What? No.”
I turned my back on her and snatched up a white towel from the small table beside Thaden’s bed, then held it out to Sam.
“For your wrist,” I said. He flicked a quick glance at Thessalia before accepting it with a nod of thanks and holding it to his wound.
“It would have healed on its own,” Thessalia said, her forehead pinching in disdain. “My venom ensures humans don’t bleed out.”
“It’s called courtesy,” I replied. “You should try it sometime.”
“Fine. The human is comfortable.” Her lips curled around the word like it was the most irrelevant thing in the world, and I ground my teeth together, seriously starting to doubt the future of our tentative truce. “Now let my brother feed from you.”
“I already told you. No.”
“I would have thought you in particular had a vested interest in my brother regaining his health…and his voice.”
“And I’d have thought you in particular knew how I responded to being given orders.”
I locked eyes with her and neither of us broke it for a long moment. Tension crackled through the room, and I was pretty sure we were only moments from one of us taking a swipe at the other. This was getting us nowhere fast. She was right, I did want Thaden to recover—but I’d backed myself into a corner. And if I backed down now, she’d think she could order me around whenever she wanted, and once she had Thaden back, she had no reason to keep playing nice.
“I want to speak to the rest of the feeders,” I said. “No consequences—for any of us.”
“Who are you to make demands of me?” Her eyes widened in fury and she loomed over me. I stared calmly back at her.
“The one whose blood you want. That’s the deal, take it or leave it.”
She curled her lip, but we both knew she had no choice. Eventually, she nodded.
“Fine. Feed him.”
“And any blood he drains from me counts against Sam’s debt.”
I nodded to Sam, because I doubted very much Thessalia had taken the time to learn the name of a lowly human. Her mouth popped open and I wondered if I’d ever seen her truly shocked before. I didn’t think so. But now shock and outrage warred on her face for three long seconds before she regained her composure.
“Only Domina Astor could authorize something like that.”
I shrugged. “Fine. Call me when it’s done.”
I turned on my heel and made it one step away before her hand caught my wrist, then quickly dropped like she’d thought better of it.
“Wait!” I heard the panicked flutter in her voice. She swallowed. “Okay. I’ll make it happen. Allow him to feed. Please.”
I nodded and turned back to her. “I’m trusting you to keep your word.”
Which was a stretch, I knew—but I had witnesses to our deal. It seemed pretty unlikely that the healer would speak up for me, but the apprentice seemed like she wasn’t a completely soulless monster. Of course, appearances could be deceptive, but I really did need Thaden to wake up so he could tell everyone the truth.
Exhaling heavily, I rolled up my sleeve—no sense ruining any more clothes with blood—and held my wrist over Thaden’s mouth. For a moment, nothing happened, and my breath caught in my throat. If this didn’t work…
His nose twitched and then his lips peeled back. His teeth flashed fast as a snake, catching the inner side of my wrist and latching on, and my breath exploded from me in a gasp. His eyes were still closed, but he drank deeply, and I felt myself getting lightheaded from the speed he was draining me. Shit. I pulled back, but I was no match for his strength, even while he was unconscious.
Abruptly, someone pulled my arm from his mouth, and I barely felt the pain of it. My forehead wrinkled. Nice as it was not to be in pain, that probably wasn’t a good sign. I turned a questioning look to Thessalia and swayed on my feet. Had the walls been wiggling like that the whole time? I didn’t think so. Oh—
“Fuggs..ake,” I slurred. “Stupid endorthings.”
Thessalia rolled her eyes and I saw Sam quickly avert his. At least Thaden hadn’t made me orgasm this time.
A snort sounded from beside me and my eyes widened.
