Page 81 of Seducing Hope (The Hope Legacy)

Zac whips his head around to look at me. “What is it?”

“Eitr.” They stiffen and look at Natia with pity. The pain must be excruciating. Eitr is the Poison of the Gods—a rare paradoxical substance, containing both death and life. But I’ve never known anyone to survive it. The death is slow, as the poison corrupts the soul.

I place my hands on her wound again, but Zac grabs my wrist. “You can’t take that much into yourself. It could kill you. She won’t survive… It’s already taken root in her soul.”

Clenching my jaw, I grasp her hand. Her body is on fire, but her hand is ice cold, a sign her organs are shutting down. Roaring my rage at the world, the windows shatter; the shards pause like glittering diamonds before being swept away into the night. The howling, icy wind rushes inside, swirling around each of us and stealing our breath. My emotions trigger my squad to appear, one by one. I wrap Natia in a blanket as they gather around the bed.

“Find him!” I snap, not caring who does it. Zac shouts various commands, and Barney replaces the glass in the windows. Jed can’t seem to tear his eyes away from the sight of Natia, visibly shaken to the core as he watches the life leech from her.

I slide my body next to hers and push the damp hair from her face, wanting nothing more than for her to open her eyes. Time passes slowly, as I mentally beg her not to die.

“You are a warrior—now walk through those fires of hell and emerge victorious like you promised. You have truly brought me to my knees, Natia. Now return and fucking keep me there.”

A breeze washes over me, the promise of a storm in the air. I cast a glance at the windows to check Barney has mended them all.

“Nice to know… Now be quiet, I’m busy trying to live here.”

I stare at her unmoving body, not sure if I imagined her voice in my head. It’s impossible. She squeezes my hand, almost imperceptibly.

“You think too loud. Go to sleep or something. But no groping—it’s not an attractive quality when you can only get a woman who’s unconscious and on the brink of death.”

I almost laugh, placing my forehead against hers.“Fight this, Natia.”

The breeze is gone, but the scent of the storm lingers. She lies still, making me question if I have hallucinated.

***

Sometime later, Nathan comes with a tray food and water for me. When he sees me next to Natia, he pauses and blinks. I’ve never offered comfort like this to anybody. I dare him with my eyes to say something.

He holds his hands up. “It’s not that. Do you know how long it’s been?”

Glancing at the clock, I see it’s eight. “About seven hours… your point?”

He shakes his head. “It’s eight o’clock atnight. It’s been over twenty hours.” I glance out the window, noticing for the first time the inky black sky.

“She’s survived longer than she should,” he remarks, in shock. “Can I look at her wound again?” I pull back the blanket to expose the top half of her body. We both stare at the wound. The tendrils of black have receded, so only a small spider web surrounds it.

“She’s fighting it,” I whisper, in awe of her strength.

Nathan cocks his head. “I think we should remove the blade.”

“No. Apart from the poison, we don’t know what kind of damage the knife has done. I can heal it, but it will take even more out of her body. She is only human. We should wait.”

Natia’s seductive voice slinks through my mind; she sounds stronger.

“Stop being a pussy andtake the knife out, and do something about my leg—it itches, and I can’t move my arms to scratch it. Also, thishumansaved your life, so suck it up, oh mysterious one.”

Nathan frowns and glances around. Finally, he stares down at her. “Did she just…?”

“You heard her?” I can’t believe this. He nods, speechless.

“Am I not speaking clearly enough for you two? Take out the knife and scratch my leg!”Natia snarls, clearly irritated.

We both chuckle. I can almost hear her mental eye roll.

Nathan retrieves several towels from the bathroom. We wrap one around the wound, ready to stanch the flow of blood. Nathan grips the hilt and tugs on the blade. The second it’s out, I lay my hands across her heart and start to heal her. A brief pain shoots through me as I remove the last of the poison.

Nathan and I stare at her expectantly. She lifts her hands to my head, pulls me closer, and presses her lips to mine in a soft kiss, before nipping my bottom lip, hard. I jolt as she opens her eyes, a small smile playing on her lips.

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