Page 185 of Eternal Surrender

I eased myself up and reached for her hand. “Did anyone hurt you?”

She pointed to that circled brand of hers and then glanced up at Paradom. “They saw this and stayed away.” She took my hand and squeezed it.

My gaze slid over to Raven. “He kidnapped you?”

“Yes, and him too.” She gestured to Angus who was still caught in Paradom’s clutches. Ingrid shifted closer. “I never made it out of the Ritz. Within an hour, men burst into our room and all three of us were brought here.” She frowned. “My captors got kidnapped.”

“Raven’s plan got derailed,” I said, my mouth dry. “This place belongs to Sovereign.”

“What is that?” Ingrid whispered, her wide eyes sliding up toward Paradom.

“He’s one of us,” I explained “But something. . . happened to him.”

“What exactly?” Ingrid asked, her fearful stare now locked on the doorway.

Aiden was silhouetted there, and he had something in his hands. I staggered to my feet, readying to protect Ingrid despite my unsteady gait.

Aiden took a careful step closer. He was carrying an urn. “You were asking about your friend, Lucas?” Aiden lifted the lid and flung its contents over me.

A cloud of grey dust billowed, covering me entirely in ash.

My chest wrenched, and I froze in utter horror.

Aiden was handed a small device and he raised his arm, pointing it toward the ceiling. Paradom screeched and let go of Angus, dropping him to the floor. Paradom landed at Aiden’s feet and scampered out the door behind him. The door was locked again.

I slumped to my knees, wiping my face with trembling hands, trying to fill my lungs with breaths that I couldn’t catch. I cursed myself for bringing Lucas here, the pain in my heart dimming my vision, blurring my eyes. Ingrid was speaking, but I couldn’t make out her words.

Raven’s voice came out of the dark. “We’re all dead.”

Angus crawled toward Raven, whimpering.

Ingrid pressed her wrist against my lips. “You have to.”

Gently, I nudged her hand away. She looked around, and I could only assume it was for a sharp object.

“No,” I insisted, squeezing my eyelids shut, hating my weakness.

“Otherwise we’ll all die in here.” She pressed her wrist to my mouth again.

I nuzzled into the crook of her arm and punctured her flesh with a delicate bite, tasting her blood, wanting to turn away but I feared wasting her precious offering.

Sharing in more than just her life source, her essence too, drinking that which might just save me. Save us.

She was trembling. . .

Her love for me pouring out with her blood.

I buried a fang into my thumb and used the scarlet liquid to heal where I’d punctured her flesh. I hugged her into me, holding her tighter than I ever had.

A key turned in the lock and the door slowly opened.

Sebastian’s head peeked round and he quickly entered, still dressed in the garb of a monk, throwing an uneasy glance over at Raven.

Sebastian knelt by my side. “Can you walk?” As his eyes adjusted to the darkness he reacted to the grey-tinged ash covering me.

“Have you seen my friend Lucas?” I barely managed to say.

“Lucas told me where you were,” Sebastian explained. “They went to find the scrolls.”