Page 69 of The Royal Street Witch
Cassius nods and raises his eyebrows toward Bastian’s room, so I push him to the bedroom door, Cassius walking slowly behind us. I cast the doors open and once inside, Cassius gathers my once hefty boyfriend into his arms while I slide open his bed, where Cassius deposits him.
“Vampire blood has healing effects, but we can only tolerate small doses of it. The injection from Curtis and the blood from Jerimiah will start the healing process. But he’ll need to feed more often than usual to regenerate his cells,” Cassius tells me as I slip Bastian’s shoes off.
I nod, playing off that it’s something I’m comfortable with.
“Men,” Bastian whispers, and I pull the covers up to his chin. An order to his brother.
“He’ll take whatever you can get,” I say because now isn’t the time for my jealousy bullshit.
“Jerimiah can provide mostly, but you’ll kill him if he’s your only supplier. I’m working on others.” Cassius pulls out his phone as I slide out of my shoes and pull off my sweatshirt. I need a shower and food, but I just want to lie next to him, just for an hour at least. I just want to see his chest rise and fall, full of already dead organs that were on the brink of being extinguished.
“I’ve made up a room for myself and will retire for the day. I’ll be staying here. As his caretaker.” Cassius’s eyes penetrate mine, his head tilting forward, his middle part so perfect even in his time of great distress.
“As will I.”
At that he turns, shutting the double doors, and I slide next to Bastian, my head on his chest, his arm automatically wrapping around me.
“So tired,” he whispers and coughs, blood sputtering between his lips. I freeze, but the cough subsides and I wipe his mouth.
“He’s right, you know. It’s over.” There’s such a sickness inside of me, taking root in my bones, a sick worry that he’s still in danger and I just need it to be clear. The potion days are over.
“Over,” is all he whispers before his breathing evens into that rhythmic sleep sound he makes.
FALLING ASLEEP IN HIS ARMSis all I could ask for right now, heaven on Earth, a couple of hours of peace. But the grumbles of my stomach and bladder awaken me.
In the shower, remnants of blood wash down the drain, and a flashback of the hotel room grips me, the blood-filled tub, the soaked floor. I cling to the glass, catching my breath and remind myself that it’s over, it’s over. We made it.
But it’s not enough. I turn the shower off, wrap a towel around my body, and walk as fast as I can just to see him still sleeping soundly and I exhale shakily, chanting to calm myself.
Food—I need food, so I wrap my hair in a towel and pull on a maxi dress. Tiptoeing downstairs, I realize that Jerimiah and Cassius are somewhere in the house, and it makes me uneasy. It is daylight and Cassius should be sleeping, yet when I enter the kitchen, there he is—seated at the long island, his head in his hands, a bottle of red wine in front of him.
His head whips my way before I can turn around, so I keep on course.
“I thought you were sleeping.” And when he says nothing, I cross my arms, announcing, “I need something to eat.”
His graceful hand gestures to the pantry where I grab the cereal I left last time, but there’s no milk, so I just pour it into a bowl and consider leaving but instead place the bowl on the counter. There’s so much I want to say, tell him that I agree, the potion days are over and that I know I’m to blame but I just watch him, my lips parted, unable to spew it all out.
“I didn’t want to sleep, just in case…he needs me.”
He looks awful now, eyes red and skin greyish in hue. I’m sure he needs to feed and sleep as well, but his duty to Bastian has taken precedence. His devotion to his brother is clearer than crystal.
“Thank you, for getting us home.”
His fingers spin the glass on the table, nails long and pointed. Cassius is all beauty and goth and everything you would expect from a true vampire, a real Lestat.
“Will he be okay, Cassius? Please tell me he will be okay.”
At that, his mouth curls into a sardonic grin, eyes meeting mine. But he sees something, perhaps my complete vulnerability, barefoot and braless, my hair wrapped up in a towel, my heart probably the purest it’s ever been. So his grin falls and he takes a sip from his glass.
“He’s gray, his body almost diminished of blood. I’ve seen it before. It’s going to take time for his body to rejuvenate. He’ll be weak for a long time. But he will be okay…eventually.”
I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding and swallow. “I’ll do whatever I can, you know. I love him more than anything.”
An eyebrow rises in amusement and he pulls out the bar stool next to him. “Have a drink with me.”
If this is an olive branch, I’m suspicious. But for Bastian, I grab a wineglass from the cabinet and set it next to the bottle on the counter.
Cassius pours it half full as I sit next to him.
