Page 71 of Blood Bound

KATHERINE

“Your father really meant to hurt him,” Xenia says when she sees me pulling out the last baobab arrowhead from Gabriel’s arm. It clatters into the steel bowl, joining the rest of what I’ve pulled out.

50 bullets in his torso, 28 arrows broken off in his right leg, staked through the arms so viciously that it left splinters… don’t get me started on the number of arrowheads in his stomach. All that plus scars from his fingers regrowing and the UV lamps.

My father wanted Gabriel to suffer, and it fucking breaks my heart.

“I know,” I say, tears clouding my vision and watching as a tear falls onto his bloodied chest and slips down his side. Xenia reaches for me and I shake my head. “No, I need to do this myself. It’s my fault they caught him.”

“Kat–”

“No!” I exclaim, throwing down the tweezers and glaring at her. “This is on me! I shouldn’t have sent him away that night, Xen, it nearly cost him his life!”

She cringes away from me, sighing. “I’ll leave you, then,” she says and walks out of the room.

I sit down on the chair next to my bed and hang my head in my hands, sighing. It was wrong of me to snap at her like that; she’s just worried about me, and so are Valentine and Church, but I sent them away and refused their help.

For nearly six hours I’ve been removing bullets, arrowheads, and splinters from Gabriel’s body while he hasn’t moved a muscle. I wouldn’t allow anyone else to touch him or help me for the selfish reason of needing to be the one to save him. That, and the guilt.

We’re in my apartment, which I realize is legally under no one’s name, so any fucking vampire can just waltz in. I haven’t slept in nearly a day and I don’t think I can close my eyes if his hasn’t opened.

I get a bowl of hot water to sponge him down and wipe the blood away, watching as the wounds slowly start to heal and ruin the intricate artwork adorning his body. It’s a small price to pay, but at least he’ll live. After towel drying his body, I clean off his signet ring so I can put it where it belongs.

Caressing his fingers after sliding the ring on, I bring them to my lips, and all resolve snaps.

The tears I held back all rush to the surface and a sob trembles through my body, knowing if we had been a few minutes later, Gabriel would have died. I still don’t understand how my father ended up on the floor nearly drained, but that’s a question for when Gabriel’s feeling better.

“I hope… those tears aren’t for me… little lamb.”

My heart constricts and I momentarily forget how to breathe when I hear the voice I didn’t think I’d hear for at least another day or two. I cup my cheek with his hand and peer up into his pained eyes, noticing a small smile forming on his face.

“Gabriel…” I trail off, words failing me when he strokes my cheek with the pad of his thumb.

“Don’t waste your tears on me,” his voice was hoarse and wet because of some arrows that were embedded in his lungs. “Please… don’t…”

I shake my head and kiss his fingers. “It’s not a waste. I nearly lost you,”

He smiles, cupping my chin. “I won’t die… before I make you mine, sweet girl,” he says and his hand goes slack in my grasp.

A whimper shoots through my body and I jump to my feet, wrap my arms around his neck and cry freely, without a hint of shame.

He’s going to be okay. There’s so much I need to make up for, and I’m finally ready to shed my old skin and start my life with him.

I’m done fighting this, done fighting what I feel and now that we have cleared things up between us, things should go smoothly from here.

At least that’s what I thought.

“We have a bit of a problem,” Valentine says when he walks into the bedroom and gestures with his hand for me to join him in the living room.

When I walk in, I see Church standing off to the side with his arms crossed and jaw clenched. Xenia is sitting on the couch with her elbows braced on her knees, looking worried. I look up at Valentine and frown.

“What is this about?”

Valentine sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Amara went to the council with the news that the Vampire King’s Fated is a Décès. They’re requesting Gabriel come to Blutholz Castle the second he opens his eyes.”

I blink. “Why is this a problem? They know he has his Fated, as asked of him.”

Valentine looks at me as if I’ve lost my mind. “Kitty Kat, you’re a Décès; the family responsible for the destruction of 80% of our kind. What do you think the council will do to you?”

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