but you have beauty lurking behind your bitch shield. Maybe even deep down, you have a good heart." I leaned close and whispered, "But don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
A laugh burst from her mouth. She clamped both hands over her face, trapping her mirth, and regaining her composure. "I would appreciate it if you kept that a secret." She walked away.
Elyssa emerged from her tent a moment later and smiled. We climbed inside a slider. I showed her the key and grinned. "I scored us a private cabin."
She leaned her head against my shoulder, closed her eyes, and sighed. "I love you."
I squeezed her tight against me and tried to pretend everything was all right. Worry tangled my nerves. My calf throbbed where the vampling had bitten it. I was infected. Meghan had as much told me my blood was no defense or cure for the virus, and since I was half-human, it would ravage me every bit as much as it had Felicia.
Guilt pressed against my chest. I should have told the others. But I hadn't. I couldn't. There was only one person I could trust with this for now. And what would I tell her? How could I explain to the love of my life that unless I could find Nightliss and she could cure me, our future together would be cut short? If Nightliss couldn't cleanse the infection, I had at least one more duty to fulfill.
I would kill Maximus.
Chapter 27
The truth hurts. Especially when you have to tell someone you love your future as a member of the walking dead is only days or hours away. But I wouldn't let pain prevent me from telling the woman I loved. After all we'd been through, I owed her that.
Elyssa's eyes widened as though I'd just stabbed her in the heart when I gave her the lowdown. "Let me see right this instant, Justin."
I pulled up my pants leg to reveal two blackened puncture wounds surrounded by pale flesh. I usually healed within minutes, depending on the severity of the wound. Not this time. A shudder ran up my back at the realization of how deadly serious this situation was. Time was ticking. Every beat of my heart carried infection further into my body.
Tears ran down Elyssa's cheeks as she knelt to examine the wound. Her face tightened with anger. "Why didn't you tell Meghan?" She stood, arms akimbo, lips trembling. "We have to tell her this instant!"
"There's no cure," I said, reaching a hand to caress her cheek.
She slapped my hand away. "How—how could this happen?" Her hand wiped away the tears. "I'm not going to just let you die. Meghan can put you to sleep like Felicia. I'll find Nightliss myself."
"And if my fallen angel can't heal me, what then?" I gripped her shoulders. "I'm not going into suspended animation. If Nightliss can't heal me, I want to be awake and fighting until the end." An inhuman growl vibrated deep in my chest as sudden anger surged. "Maximus is mine to kill."
Elyssa's eyes widened. She backed away a step. "Is that what you really want? To kill him? Even if it kills you?"
I pictured Maximus's leering face leaning over me as I lay strapped and helpless, his blood slave for eternity. He'd kidnapped my father. Infected Felicia. Killed scores of Templars. He was an egomaniac, born and bred for destruction by Daelissa herself. A cancerous tumor on the Earth. He had to die.
"Yes," I said, my voice oddly calm despite the sea of boiling rage building in my chest. "I do."
She blanched. "I'm not saying you're wrong. Maximus is rotten to the core. But why do you sound so bloodthirsty? It's not like you."
Maximus laughs. He stands back from the table and points at me as he, Dash, and the Master laugh until they cry while I struggle with futility against the bonds. Rage. Fury. Frustration. My emotions roil through me in a tidal wave. I will destroy—
"Justin?"
I gasped and looked at Elyssa, the vision of my tormentors vanishing like smoke. "I—I don't know." The anger washed away, draining back into the dark depths from which it came. "Maybe I'm just tired. We've been through so much crap. And the dead—god, I don't even want to think about it."
Color returned to her cheeks. She graced me with a wan smile and hugged me, pressing her head against my chest. "We've all been through too much. I don't want to lose you."