clutching a wound on his chest, and I quickly peer around his shoulder so I can see the damage on the other side too. There’s a short sword still buried between the armored plates on his back where the Brogue obviously aimed with brutal precision.
When I pull back to look at his front again, his eyes are glazed with pain. “Don’t you worry, I’m going to take care of you, okay?”
“Toreon…” he grunts out.
I cut him off. “Will be fine as soon as I take care of you,” I say in a reassuring tone.
I look up at my sisters. “Quick. One of you cut my hands.”
Delta frowns, but Medley immediately rushes over, Delta hot on her heels. Stopping in front of me, Medley flips her scythe over for the end that doesn’t ash people. “Do it deep,” I instruct her. “I don’t want to heal too fast, and he’s going to need a lot. Do my wrists too. Probably faster blood flow.”
“No, Sable,” Vudu grits out, though each word he speaks sounds labored and shaky. “I don’t...want...you hurting.”
Gah, this guy. Could he be any more selfless?
“I’m fine, Goliath the Gargoyle,” I tease before I lean forward and press a kiss to his cheek. His skin feels thick but smoother than I expected, almost suede-like, and the contact moves like a current through me. I’m a little surprised by that.
With Toreon, the draw made sense to me. We’d been through a lot together, and a certain bond was bound to form from that. But I don’t really know Vudu. I’ve only had a couple interactions with him. But it appears that doesn’t matter in the slightest to the sensations that just moved through me like an electric shock. It seems that him being Toreon’s protector, and therefore my de facto potential mate, is all my body needs to know to be on board.
He turns his head and blinks at me in a daze, both from pain and the effects I’m sure he feels from my quick kiss, but when my playful nickname filters in, his heavy brow comes down in a frown. “I’m not this...Goliath. I’m Vudu,” he says hoarsely.
Delta chuckles behind me. “I guess he didn’t get a chance to watch that old cartoon while he was growing up in Hell. But you’re right. Totally looks like him,” she tells me.
I give Delta a small smile, appreciative of her helping to calm me by making this situation feel light and manageable. I nod, agreeing with her assessment, and then look over at Medley and hold my arms up to her. “Do it.”
Medley nods tersely, obviously hating that she has to hurt me, but knowing it’s a necessity. “Wait, what the fuck is exactly happening right now?” Delta asks with bewilderment.
“Sable is their perfect mate. Her blood can heal them,” Medley explains, just before she sinks her blade into my palms.
I clench my teeth, not letting myself make a noise of pain. My darkness perks up, like it’s asking if I need it, but I pat it down to rest. This pain is for Vudu and Toreon. I don’t want to be numb to anything when it comes to them.
Medley makes short work of slicing my palms and wrists, and as soon as she does, I inch closer to Vudu until I’m practically sitting on him. I place my palm right over his hand where he’s gripping his chest. I try to angle it so that my essence can drip as much into the wound as it can, and I anxiously chew on my bottom lip as I will the blood to sink into his hand and cut just like it did with Toreon.
Come on, come on…
Agonizing moments pass and nothing happens.
“It’s not working,” I whisper, my eyes filling with tears. “Toreon, it’s not working!” I barely recognize the sound of my own frenzied terror as my voice rings across the room. “Delta, pull out the blade from his back, maybe that’s why.”
She wastes no time coming forward and yanking it out, but as soon as she does, Vudu hisses in pain and his head starts to slump again like he’s about to pass out.
I surge into action. “No! Stay with me, Vudu!” I order.
My eyes zero in on the wound seeping from his chest, and without waiting a moment longer, I pull at the hem of his top and slip my hands beneath the black leather of his uniform.
My hands skim up his bare skin, feeling the smooth ridges of