Warrior (Relentless #4)(220)

I shifted restlessly. She’d been connected to Nate for no more than a minute. At least five had passed since she laid her hands on the vampire.

The bubble suddenly grew brighter and hotter until it was impossible to look upon and unbearable to be near, forcing us to retreat several feet.

My throat went dry when I found myself shielding my eyes against the same sphere of light I’d seen in Nate’s cell.

Oh God. I knew what she was about to do, and I was powerless to stop it.

“Holy Mother!” someone said as the sphere pulsed and the lights in the house flickered.

And then it was gone.





Chapter 43





Sara was slumped motionless across the vampire, neither of them moving.

My heart stuttered as I knelt beside them and lifted her off the vampire. Turning her in my arms, I laid her on the tile floor. With shaking hands, I checked for a heartbeat, and I sagged when I felt her strong pulse.

A girl screamed.

I looked over into the terrified brown eyes of the vampire – no, the human girl – as she sat up and scrambled backward to cower against the cupboards. Wailing, she curled into a tight ball with her arms wrapped around her head.

No one approached her. Everyone seemed at a loss about what to do.

All I cared about was Sara.

“Sara, wake up.” I patted her cheeks and gave her a gentle shake.

No response.

I brushed the hair from her face. “You promised you wouldn’t do this. You need to open your eyes.”

Nothing.

Desperately, I leaned over her and cupped her face with my hands. “Goddamnit, Sara, do not do this to me again.”

Her eyelids flickered. Dazed green eyes stared into mine.

“Why am I on the floor?”

The relief that washed over me would have sent me to my knees, had I been standing. I hugged her to me, burying my face in her hair.

“Fifty years. I’m locking you up for the next fifty goddamn years.”

“Can’t breathe,” she wheezed.

I lowered her to the floor and studied her face. “How do you feel?”

“Great.” She blinked in confusion. “My butt is cold.”

I smiled, almost giddy with relief. “We can’t have that.”

Sitting on the floor, I swept her up to settle her onto my lap. “Better?”

“Much better.”

She let out a deep breath and leaned into me as if she hadn’t the strength to do anything else. That was fine by me because I didn’t want to let her go.

Our happy reunion was soon interrupted by the sobs of the girl Sara had healed. Sara pulled away to look behind me, letting out a gasp when she saw the girl. She tried to stand, but I held her close.

“It’s not safe.”

She touched my face. “Yes, it is. Trust me. She won’t hurt anyone else.”

I looked between her and the girl, unsure of what to do. The girl might not be a vampire anymore, but there was no telling what state her mind was in after decades of being trapped in her own body with a demon.

I released Sara, and she crawled over to the girl, approaching her slowly like you would a wounded animal. When she was a foot away, she stopped and spoke softly to the girl.

“Shhh, it’s okay. You’re safe now and no one is going to hurt you.”

The girl began to cry harder. Sara reached out to lay a hand on her shoulder. “My name is Sara,” she said in a soothing tone. “I know you’re scared and confused, and I swear I won’t let anything hurt you. I’m just going to sit here with you until you’re feeling a little better.”

She sat on the floor beside the girl, her hand rubbing the girl’s back. The girl looked more terrified than threatening, but I wasn’t leaving Sara alone with her.

“Sara?” I called to her softly.

She smiled reassuringly and shivered. “We’re good. Can I get a blanket for her?”

Jordan ran and got two blankets – one for Sara and one for the girl. Out in the living room, everyone else stared at Sara and the weeping girl, whispering among themselves.

I didn’t blame them. It was my second time witnessing this miracle, and I still couldn’t believe it. Aside from Chris, Jordan, and me, no one here knew what Sara was or what she could do. We were filling people in on a need-to-know basis. This was going to be one of those situations.

At one point, Sara inclined her head toward the living room, but I shook my head firmly. Their questions could wait. Sara and her new charge were more important.

Slowly, the girl quieted, inching closer to Sara until her head was in Sara’s lap. Sara stroked her hair like a mother comforting a frightened child. It made me think of Sara with our future children. She was going to be an incredible and loving mother someday – after I had her to myself for a few decades.

When Sara started showing signs of discomfort, I picked up the sleeping girl and laid her on the loveseat in the living room. I had no idea what we were going to do with her when she woke up, but the way Sara hovered over her told me she was already feeling protective of the girl.

Geoffrey looked shaken when he came to stand beside Sara and me. “Is she really human again?”

“Yes,” Sara said.

He stared at the girl who had been a vampire an hour ago. “That’s…not possible.”