or Cullen. Eventually the waiting room was filled with people: her photographer, her agent, Frank the security guard. The one person she looked for, waited for, knew she could lean on, the one person she dreaded most, didn't come.
Dayan. She would never be able to look him in the eye. Why hadn't she just listened to them all? Lisa hadn't wanted it all to be true. Murders didn't happen to regular people; she and Corinne were finished with that world. She had worked hard and found a new life. One that didn't include murder. She sat quietly, her fists clenched tightly, wanting to cry and cry forever.
Dayan lay locked in the earth, counting the minutes until he could rise without danger. He burst from the soil, dirt spewing like a geyser as he shot into the sky, shape-shifting as he did so. The sun was low but had not set, and the light hit his eyes so that they burned and wept. Or maybe it wasn't the sun. Dayan didn't know for certain as he winged his way swiftly across the sky toward the hospital where she lay.
His world. His life. The best part of him. She lay dying in a hospital. He knew it. He felt it. He kept his mind firmly merged with hers so that she couldn't possibly release her spirit from her dying body.
You will hold on.
He commanded it with every fiber of his being, bent his entire will to ensure her obedience.
I am so tired. Rest then, but you will not let go. I hear them talking. They do not think they can save my baby.
There was sorrow in her mind, in her heart. A terrible weariness as if she had given up along with the doctors, as if she could no longer continue to struggle against the tremendous odds.
Do not leave me alone!
he cried out. It was a plea. An order.
No one needs you as I do. Do not leave me alone ever again. Dayan. You are strong. So very strong. There will be another for you.
Even in her darkest hour she was thinking of him. Of Cullen and Lisa. She was piecing it together in her mind. Their future. Their happiness. She arranged it the way she thought would work best.
Dayan surrounded her waning spirit, locked her firmly to him.
There will never be another for me. Never. Should I survive your loss and continue for all eternity, I would no longer be me, but something hideous, an abomination. An evil monster. I will not become such a creature. I would choose to follow you into the next life. We are one, Corinne. One. There is no Dayan without Corinne. You have no choice but to live. For the daughter you carry inside you. For me. For our unborn children. For Lisa. I will not release you. Not now. Not ever.
He was much closer now, moving swiftly as the sun sank below the horizon. Colors splashed the sky blood red, and the wind was beginning to pick up, an ominous sign. Dayan was no longer the easygoing poet, the gentle man Corinne knew. He was a male Carpathian at full strength, and something was threatening his lifemate.
He strode unseen past the doctors and nurses, leaving a freezing cold in his wake. Past Lisa, huddled in the room where Cullen lay pale and bandaged and still unconscious. Dayan spared his friend a quick glance, attempting to assess the damage as he hurried to Corinne. Without her, he couldn't help Cullen or anyone else. His first thought, his first duty, was to Corinne.
She lay on the bed, hooked up to lines and bottles. She was very pale, almost transparent. Despite the oxygen, there was a blue tint around her mouth. Corinne looked small and thin beneath the single cover. She looked a mere child, a waxen doll. She was laboring hard for each breath. Leads ran from her heart to a machine and from her abdomen to another machine. Dayan stood looking down at her, his heart in his throat. She looked so fragile, he was afraid to touch her.
There was a familiar stirring in his mind. Warmth. Reassurance. Total confidence.
Dayan? We are much closer. Bring her to the healers. We are gathering.
It was Darius. His friend. His family. Darius could always be counted on.
Dayan allowed himself to breathe.
Cullen is in need. I cannot take the time to attend him. I will hold Corinne to me as long as I am able, but should I