his abs and then the outlines of more plating that starts right where his pectorals do. His entire torso is covered in slick blood, and I get as close as I can to his wound without making him drop his hold on where he’s trying to staunch the bleeding. I don’t know if it makes a difference where I’m touching him, but it won’t hurt to be as close to the wound as possible.
Hands splayed, I urge all my blood to sink into his body. “Come on,” I chant, using my shoulder to lift up and swipe away the tears that start to fall down my cheeks. “Work, godammit!”
I can’t help but think that I should’ve gotten to him sooner. I shouldn’t have debated. The moment those pricks pulled their swords on him, I should’ve jumped into action.
I don’t know why my blood isn’t working on him. Maybe he’s lost too much of his own blood and my power can’t help him. Maybe my connection with Vudu is missing something? I don’t know, but it’s not working, and every time he sucks in a choppy, ragged breath that sounds like his lungs are filling with liquid, my heart shatters more and more.
“Don’t you dare die, big guy,” I tell him, unable to keep the sob from my voice. “Toreon needs you. I need you,” I admit. “I’m supposed to be your perfect mate, right? I need you to take my blood so that we can make it out of here and figure this mate thing out. You know, go on dates and do the fun things that come with forever,” I tell him with a watery smile. “Please…please don’t die.”
I beg him. I beg the universe. I beg the whole realm of Hell. I got dealt a bad hand as a human. Can’t the world give me a damn break as a demon?
A groan spills from Vudu’s gray lips, his head falling forward with a heavy thump against my head, and my heart just breaks. Into a million pieces.
I’m going to lose both of them. Vudu right here beneath my palms, and Toreon several feet away, in a heap on the cold floor, alone. Their lives and deaths tied together by magic I can’t even begin to comprehend.
And I can’t stop it.
I thought I was broken before. I thought having a splintered mind was the most painful thing I could ever endure.
I was wrong.
A shattered heart is much, much worse.
26
Please.
That one word repeats over and over in my head, made heavier with the weight of Vudu’s head drooping against mine. I squeeze my eyes tightly as hot, furious tears fall. Tears that feel like they come directly from the pits of Hell, scalding my lids as they leak out and drip down my cheeks.
This isn’t how things were supposed to happen. We were supposed to beat Morax and his minions. We’re the good guys. The good guys are supposed to triumph.
Buried against his chest, I curl my fingers against Vudu’s skin, feeling our blood mingle. My hands and arms are wet, either from his blood or mine, and I can’t even tell if his heart is still beating because his plating is so thick, so I can’t feel any kind of comforting thump.
My fingers press harder against him, like I just want to dig into his chest to scoop out his wound and toss it aside where it can’t touch him anymore. I wish that the demons who stabbed him were still here so that I could tear out their hearts, light them on fire, and shove them down their throats, making them swallow a fiery death.
I pause as my enraged thoughts send an unusual wave of vengeance-laced heat through me. I look for Ire in my thoughts because this warmth feels like something more, like the source isn’t just me. But I don’t feel another presence in my mind. And then it dawns on me. I gasp and feel Vudu’s skin beneath my palms. It’s heating up. Fast.
Stunned, I reach out with my senses, because I can’t bear to hope just to have it stomped on. But no. I confirm the heat is real, and it’s not just at my hands, but everywhere I’m touching Vudu.
My eyes snap open, and I see what I hadn’t noticed before. Through the thick hide of his leather shirt, red light is shining through. Dim at first, but with my next blink, it flares so brightly that I can see the outline of