A Tangle of Hearts (A Shade of Vampire #44)(13)

She was met with silence. She looked uncomfortable and deeply offended, and I somehow wanted to make it better. I continued cleaning her skin, reaching down to her chest. She suddenly turned her head to face me.

“Go any lower, and I will tear your head off,” she whispered, sending chills down my spine.

Bijarki noticed the tension as he applied the medicine on the last leg cut. “Jovi, what did I tell you—”

“I heard you the first time!” I snapped. I had zero patience left. I switched my focus to Anjani. “You can struggle and growl all you want, but the facts are obvious. You are hurt and filthy, and I can’t let your wounds get infected from all this swamp dirt. I didn’t risk my life and my friend isn’t lying there unconscious for you to die on us because you’re stubborn!”

I had mustered all my strength to project all of that in one fluid sentence. I even surprised myself.

Anjani’s expression softened. She turned her head away, silently allowing me to continue wiping her down, one inch of perfect skin at a time.

I couldn’t help taking all of her in—each curve, each line. Even the crimson paint and the patches of animal hide stretched over her breasts spoke of a fierce young woman, genetically engineered to seduce yet expertly trained to hunt and kill.

Bijarki left us for a brief moment to speak to Draven, but I registered the look he threw me over his shoulder. It was riddled with warnings.

I was well aware of the potential dangers, but I couldn’t stop myself from wanting to see this incredible creature safe. The touch of her skin shot billions of electric signals through my fingertips.

The way she shifted on the bed made me realize that she was responsive to our contact. I just wasn’t sure whether her response was one of discomfort or something else.

My head was heavy with guilt whenever I looked over at Phoenix, but every time I looked back at Anjani, my chest constricted, and my senses threw me for a loop.

Beautiful, but damn straight deadly.





Serena





[Hazel and Tejus’s daughter]





I swapped Field’s shirt for a fresh towel dipped in water and applied pressure to Phoenix’s head wound. My hands trembled, and my breath was ragged. A thousand thoughts raced through my mind as I watched the scene unfold before my eyes.

Vita followed Draven’s instructions and retrieved a bundle of endemic herbs from a cabinet behind us. I was surprised by his calm demeanor and his accurate memory. Even blind, he still knew where everything was and what was needed to treat Phoenix’s wound.

Across the room, Aida cleaned Field’s cuts. Her face was flushed, her hair tousled, and her gestures rushed. Given her feelings for Field and the little faith that she had in herself when it came to him, I figured she was very uncomfortable being so close to him.

On the other side, Bijarki and Jovi looked after the wounded succubus. She looked our way occasionally, as if scanning us. I guessed she was trying to ascertain whether we were friends or foes. I was tempted to mind-meld with her to find out what her true intentions were and what she was doing near the house in the first place, but I had to save what little energy I had left to syphon pain from Phoenix.

I looked down at him. A slight frown drew his eyebrows closer. Bruises bloomed across his jaw in soft reds and violets, and his lower lip had cracked. I couldn’t stand the sight of him hurt. It cut me to the core.

“Blend the red sage dust with water and let it sit for a minute,” Draven instructed Vita.

I watched her obey him, her fingers shaking on the wooden bowl. She had never endured this much stress over the course of just a few days—none of us had. Since we weren’t official GASP members yet, in The Shade, our biggest problems were fitting into dresses and picking out colleges to apply to. Our life back home seemed like a different lifetime now.

“Crush the roots and black seeds in another bowl and pour the red sage mixture over them,” Draven continued almost mechanically. He leaned against the bedside for support.

Vita obeyed, and I watched as she mixed everything into a thick, dark red paste.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“A proprietary blend we apply to open wounds. It’s extremely effective.” Draven softened his tone when speaking to me. I couldn’t help but wonder whether it was out of pity or something else. I took a deep breath and heard my pulse drumming in my ears.

“What next?” Vita asked in a hushed, quivering voice. Draven’s hand rested on her shoulder. She looked up at him and pursed her lips.

“First take a few deep breaths and relax your hands. I can hear how unsteady they are from the sound of you handling the bowl,” Draven replied calmly.

Vita nodded and followed his advice. Draven’s hand left her shoulder, passing through his ruffled hair before it settled on the side of the bed.

“Now you can apply that paste on his head wound,” he continued. “Do it gently, and spread it around the wound as well. Once it dries up, it will stay there for a couple of days before it falls off by itself.”

I removed my hands from the back of my brother’s head, leaving room for Vita to work. I looked at her and felt an indescribable amount of affection and gratitude. Tears stung my eyes.

“Thank you, Vita. You’re doing an incredible job. You’ve got this,” I said, trying to reassure her. She smiled, nodded, and started applying the herbal mixture to Phoenix’s head wound.