Paul put his hand over hers. "We aren't going to let that happen. Josef thinks he can take us both over the mountain. We'll abandon the truck and coffin as soon as he wakes and feeds. We can't take the time to drive and go through all the borders of each country. Josef can cover a lot of territory flying us all night."
"Both of us? Can he do that? One maybe, but two?"
Paul shrugged. "He says so and I have to believe him. Josef will be up anytime. I think that he's aging at a faster rate because he isn't kept away from society like most Carpathian children are. He's in human society and learning modern technology, probably ripping it off from everyone around him that he comes in contact with, but still, he understands it all. He has to grow up faster. In human years he's no teen and he's treated like a man."
Skyler rubbed her temples again. She didn't have the strength to heal her own headache. "I thought with Josef giving me blood last night, I'd heal faster. It's not like I don't have some Carpathian blood in my system already."
"He said you wouldn't. He said to get you somewhere safe and have you sleep as much as possible. He said psychic healing takes longer than a mere body healing, and you were pretty far gone." Paul took a deep breath. He looked shaken. "I honestly thought you weren't going to make it, Sky. I know you'll go back to Dimitri and try again to rid him of the silver . . ."
"I have to find a way to rid him of the silver. He won't last until we find him. He's dying, Paul. I hate letting him suffer just so I can heal but I know you're right. I can't go to him like this and do any good at all. He's hanging in there, and now he knows I can find him, that should give him hope. He knows I'll come back."
"I'll get you something to eat. There's a restaurant across the street."
"Soup, maybe," Skyler said reluctantly. She couldn't imagine keeping food down, her stomach rebelled at the thought of it. "You know I'm a vegetarian."
She had been given two blood exchanges by her parents, just in case of an emergency. It took three to convert her completely and bring her fully into the Carpathian world. Since then, she hadn't been able to look at meat. Sometimes it was difficult to force herself to eat fruit or vegetables.
"Don't worry."
"And knock, please, before you come in. I'm going to take a quick shower." The bathroom looked a good distance away—at least ten whole steps. She was that shaky.
Paul glanced from her to the bathroom door as if he might be reading her thoughts. He never talked about his psychic gifts, but he had jaguar blood in him and he had to have something. He couldn't actually read thoughts—he would have said so. He just knew her really well.
"I can carry you in. Maybe put a chair in the shower for you."
"I can make it," she reassured him. "I'm not going to do anything stupid." She was crawling into the freakin' bathroom on her hands and knees if she had to. Paul was not carrying her. She was already feeling like a little bit of a burden to Paul and Josef. They both had to take care of her last night. Not only had she failed Dimitri, but she'd put both of them—especially Josef—in danger.
Paul pushed off the bed. "I trust you, Sky. Josef will beat the crap out of me if anything happens to you."