Bound by Forever - (True Immortality #3) Page 0,102
She sat hoping, hoping to the depths of her soul, that the stunted transformation would eventually heal him.
26
It had been quiet for a while.
Pushing onto her feet, Niamh hesitated a second before she opened the bathroom door.
She feared what she’d find in the bedroom.
Forcing herself to be brave, she stepped out into the room.
Bedside lamps laid broken and damaged. The bedspread and mattress had been torn to shreds and the headboard was cracked in half.
None of that mattered.
What mattered was Kiyo curled up in a ball on his side, on the floor next to the bed. He was now covered head to toe in silvery veins. Even his face.
His breathing was slow and raspy.
He hadn’t healed.
“Kiyo.”
His eyes flew open. Something warm glittered in them. “I knew you were there. I smelled you.”
She’d known he’d probably know. All he’d cared about was that she wasn’t close enough for him to snap his teeth at her.
Niamh threw her hand out and the room repaired itself. Including the bed.
Without a word, she reached for Kiyo and leaned down to help him to his feet. He held on to her, needing her strength. Resolve moved through her as she helped him onto the bed.
“The change didn’t work.” She pressed her hands to the mattress to lean over him.
He gave a slight shake of his head. He looked so strange with the silver veins spreading up his throat into his cheeks. Niamh wanted to kiss each one away. “The pain is better, though. I know I look bad, but I think my body is healing. I can’t die, remember.”
Niamh reached for the sheets and pulled them up to cover his nakedness. He didn’t look like he was healing at all, and there was a fevered flush to his skin.
“Think it might just take a day or two.” He reached for her hand. Trying not to jerk in surprise, Niamh let him thread his fingers through hers. “You changed your hair back.”
She gave a startled laugh. Were men supposed to notice these things? Especially when they were … Her smile died. “I’m me again.”
He squeezed her hand. “You were always you. Hair color doesn’t change that.” Worry darkened his eyes. “You need to eat.”
“I’m not hungry. And you should be the one who’s eating after …” She squeezed her eyes closed. “Kiyo, I’m so sorry about Astra. What you experienced last night …”
“Wasn’t your fault.” He tugged on her hand. “Order some food. I’ll try to eat some too.”
She knew he said the last part because it was the only thing that would motivate her to order room service.
Not long later, she placed the delivered meal tray onto the bed between them. Kiyo let her spoon chicken noodle soup into his mouth before shaking his head against any more.
She supposed it was something. Nibbling on a pork dumpling, she studied him. “So we just have to wait this out?”
His breath rattled. “I think so.”
“The silver stopped you from changing, didn’t it?”
“Yeah.” Kiyo didn’t hide the torment in his eyes. He let her see what the pain had been like. Her eyes stung as he spoke. “The moon tried to force the change while the silver prevented it.”
For the rest of her long eternity, she’d never forget the sound of his agony.
“I’m okay now.” He slid a hand along the mattress to tap her arm. “Kind of deserved it for treating you like that.”
“Don’t even joke about it.” Niamh glared at him.
“I’m not joking.”
“Kiyo, you might have been an insensitive bastard to me, but I would never want you to go through what you did last night.”
“Hey, hey, okay, don’t get upset,” he replied hoarsely, his brows puckering.
Wiping impatiently at the tears scoring hotly down her cheeks, Niamh couldn’t meet his gaze. He already knew by now that she cared too much about him.
“What I should have said … what I was actually thinking … was that I wasn’t worthy to be your first, Niamh. If you’ve waited this long, then you must be waiting for the right guy. You deserve better than me for your first time.” He rolled his head back on his pillow, glaring at the ceiling.
Though the subject made her feel vulnerable, she found herself flicking her fingers at the food tray so it disappeared to outside their hotel room door. Then she laid down beside Kiyo. She felt him looking at her as she stared at the paneled ceiling. “I didn’t mean to wait,” she admitted.