Warrior (Relentless #4)(163)

“Tristan is sending two healers with the jet,” I told him. “I don’t want to wait until we get her home.”

Chris entered the living room. “Good idea. Do they have any ideas what it could be?”

I shook my head. “There are several species of demon with venom that can cause some of these symptoms, but according to Jordan, they didn’t come into contact with any of them.”

“Tell us again what happened at the party,” Chris said to Jordan.

She repeated what she’d told us earlier. “She didn’t eat or drink anything except the Glaen, and the only demons I remember her touching were the ranc and the gulak. The only other demon that got close to us was an incubus.”

I stiffened, thinking immediately of Draegan’s friend Rhys. “An incubus?”

Jordan snorted and grinned. “Sara would have fried his man parts if he’d touched one of us. Trust me. My girl doesn’t mess around.”

I smiled at the pride in Jordan’s voice. She and Sara had grown close, and I was grateful she’d been with Sara out here. Although, that didn’t make me feel better about Sara being anywhere near an incubus.

Chris leaned against the wall by the large window. “How was she after she drank the Glaen? It’s a powerful drink from what I hear.”

Jordan shrugged. “She was kind of silly, like she was drunk, but not staggering. She even hugged me.”

Roland snickered. “Sara hugged you? That must have been some good stuff.”

Chris looked at me. “Could her Mori be sick from the Fae drink? She’s only half Fae after all.”

I’d seen faeries drinking Glaen at Adele’s and at other clubs like hers. It was their version of alcohol, and what Jordan was describing was the effects of the drink on them.

“My Mori is fine.”

I looked down at Sara, relieved to see she was awake and to hear her Mori was okay. “How are you feeling?”

She made a face. “Same. Thirsty.”

Jordan ran to the kitchen and returned with a glass of water and a straw. She held the glass while Sara sipped the water. “Better?” she asked.

Sara smiled wanly. “Yes.”

“If it is a venom, it won’t take long for the lab to figure out which one,” Chris said, distracting me from Sara and Jordan’s conversation.

“You guys can identify every type of demon?” Peter asked.

Chris smiled. “It’s a necessity in our line of work. We’ve been cataloguing demons for almost a millennium.”

Peter whistled. “Damn.”

“Sara, your hand is like ice!” Jordan cried, pulling my attention back to them.

“C-can’t get w-warm,” Sara stammered, shivering.

I reached out to touch Sara’s face as Jordan leapt to her feet. “Nikolas, look at her. I think she’s turning blue from cold.”

I lifted Sara easily onto my lap and wrapped my arms around her, pushing my body heat into her. Jordan covered us with the blankets as Sara curled into a ball and pressed her shaking body against mine.

When Sara let out a small moan of pain, I knew my heat wasn’t enough this time.

“Fill the tub with hot water,” I ordered Jordan who ran to do it. I held Sara and rubbed her back and arms while the tub filled. She clutched my shirt and held on to me like she was afraid to let go.

“It’s ready,” Jordan called.

I stood and let the blankets fall away. Sara cried out as I carried her to the bathroom and set her down in the large claw-foot tub full of hot water. As soon as I sat her in the tub, her weakened body slid down. I caught her before her head went below the surface.

The tub was big enough to fit both of us, so I got in behind her and pulled her back until she rested against my chest, submerged in hot water almost to her neck. I vigorously rubbed her arms, but she continued to shiver uncontrollably. Her head fell forward, and she wept brokenly. I could feel her slipping away from me.

“Stay with me, Sara,” I pleaded, hugging her tightly.

“I’m scared,” she whispered.

Her words terrified me because she sounded like she was giving up.

“I did not chase you halfway across the country to let you leave me again,” I said. “You are one of the strongest, most stubborn people I’ve ever met, and you are going to beat this. Do you hear me?”

She didn’t answer, and I raised my voice. “Do you hear me, Sara?”

“Yes,” she mumbled.

Seconds later, I sucked in a breath as the water around us began to fill with golden specks that multiplied before my eyes.

“Look!” Jordan cried.

“What is that?” Roland asked as he and the others pushed into the bathroom to see what was happening.

Jordan smiled broadly. “It’s her magic – or the water magic. I’m not sure which.”

Chris stood behind Jordan. “Whatever it is, it’s helping. Her color is improving.”

I’d never seen Sara’s water magic, and I stared in awe at the glowing particles that were attaching themselves to her wherever the water touched her. Immediately, her shivering stopped.

She sighed and sagged against me.

“That’s it. Hold on, Sara,” I said against her cheek. “The healers will be here soon.”