Page 57 of Betrayed In Crimson
“Silas…” He lies on the ground. Still. Unmoving. Viktor kneels beside him. I don’t remember moving, only that suddenly I’m there, collapsing beside him, my hands clutching at his chest as sobs rip through me. “No, no, please.”
“He’s still here,” Viktor says softly.
“I thought—” My voice breaks. “Morbius, he turned to ash, I thought—” I can’t finish.
I look at Viktor, desperate, broken.
He meets my gaze, something steady in his expression. A small, certain smile touches his lips. “He’s still here,” he repeats.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
LILITH
I sitin the armchair by his bedside, a blanket wrapped around my shoulders, staring at the same spot on the wall. Four days; four days of Silas just lying there, completely motionless. A corpse. No pulse, obviously. Cold to the touch. Not breathing. Viktor assures me that he’s alive; well, alive in the vampire sense. I’ve never heard of a vampire going into a coma, and yet here we are.
“You really should feed, or at least sleep,” Evelynn says softly as she enters Silas’s room.
I give her a tight smile. “I can’t. Every time I close my eyes, I’m either haunted by Silas choking on black blood or Morbius’s lifeless, dead eyes staring back at me.” I sigh. I hate that my mind went to Morbius—for all that he caused, for all that he did—and yet a part of me still aches at his loss. God, I want to hit something. Destroy anything.
“You could take one of Hex’s elixirs,” Evelynn suggests yet again.
I shake my head. “No. I’m not going to be out of it. What if something happens, or he wakes up? Have Lucian and the others found anything?” I ask.
Evelynn shakes her head, sighing. “No. I think they’ve read every book there is on bond breaking and its effects. So far, nothing.” She glances away. “Lucian isn’t sleeping either,” Evelynn mumbles, her voice broken and sullen.
That’s the atmosphere in the club: sullen. The mood is dire, desperate; a darkness blanketing us all.
“I’ve put the bar up for sale,” I say, not looking at Evelynn.
“No,” she whispers in shock.
I look at her, my eyes red, sore, and dry. I swallow. “I can’t. I can’t keep living in a place that destroyed my life,” I choke. “I can’t take much more.”
Evelynn nods, blinking back her own tears. “I understand.” She pauses. “When will you go?” she asks.
“As soon as I know he’s okay.” I swallow.
“I know I shouldn’t say this.” She pauses.
I interrupt her before she can finish. “I know, I know it will hurt him.” I pause. “I’m not saying I’ll go forever. But I…” I sigh, leaning my head against the back of the chair. “Fuck, I can’t keep doing this,” I breathe. “The pain that place brings me. I just can’t.”
“I get it. I do,” she assures, though I can’t tell if she’s holding back on wanting to say something else.
I changed the subject. “Any word on Cain?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “Lucian said he doesn’t think we’ll hear from him for a while now.”
I nod. “Yeah, it’s a lot to find the wife you thought you killed, to witness her dying all over again.” I rub my face, running my fingers through my filthy hair. I haven’t even bothered to shower. Black blood still stains my hands, my body. I hold myhands out in front of me, trembling. I clear my throat. “Can you stay with him? I think I’ll have that shower now,” I swallow.
“Of course. I left you clean clothes and a towel in there for you, for when you decided you’d want to,” Evelynn says with a nod.
I give her a tight smile, giving Silas one last look, just in case he decided to open his eyes at that very moment. He doesn’t.
I turn the shower on as hot as it will go. I remove my clothes and step in, the room filling with steam. The water beats down on me, black-stained water pooling at my feet. A wracked sob tears from me, and I cover my mouth, trying to muffle the sound. I sink, sitting in the base of the shower, my back against the tiled wall. My body shakes, raw, pained sobs ripping from my chest that I can no longer contain. I didn’t think it was possible to shed any more tears, and yet here I am. Painful, gut-wrenching sobs. The shower gets turned off, and a towel is draped over me. I feel strong arms pick me up off the floor, and I cocoon myself against them, unable to control my anguish any longer.
“Shh, it will be okay.” A deep voice soothes. Cain.
I lift my head from his chest and look up at him. His normal, vibrant red eyes are dim, with dark circles around them; he looks gaunt. “You came back.” I sniffle.
