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release Nathan.
Let her, Bella urged, and then Nathan was free.
He fought it at first, trying to hold back the madness. I can t. I want to
stay with you.
You can t have me. I heard my voice speaking in a gentle Scottish
lilt.Marianne s voice. Kill me.For the last time. Set us both free.
When his arms closed around her body, they crushed the air from my lungs.
When his fangs pierced my neck, she cried his name.
Tears poured down his face as he drank my blood. That was a part of me I
couldn t mistake. Though Marianne s soul was in my body and I was crowded into
her mind, my blood was his. It mocked him as he tasted it, but in it he saw
the truth and acceptance. No matter how many times he replayed this night, he
couldn t change what he d done to her, and now he knew he shouldn t wish to.
As I died, so did Marianne, but Ihad a much farther distance to fall. Her
eyes closed on Cyrus s ballroom, her second death as much a relief as the
first one, and this time she died with her husband s name on her lips.
When her soul left my body I came jarringly awake, shivering uncontrollably
from the blood Nathan had consumed from me. His mouth was still fastened to my
neck, but he no longer drank. He kissed my wounded flesh and sobbed, crushing
me to the rock-hard wall of his chest.
She is gone, I heard Bella say, and for a terrifying minute I thought she
meant me.
Nathan lifted his head. His eyes met mine and went cold. My heart froze with
them. It wasn t me he wanted. For a moment, he d held his wife in his arms
again. Now that she was gone, only I remained.
To his credit, he masked his grief quickly, trying to smile for me as though
his tears were joyous at being reunited with me. Did I hurt you?
More than you know.I didn t trust myself to answer him. Instead, I eased from
his grip and tried to stand.
When I collapsed, Max caught me. Instead of easy encouragement, he whispered,
I m sorry I let you do this.
He d seen it, I realized. He d seen Nathan s disappointment when he d found
it was me in his arms.
I will tend to Nathan. You make sure she is all right, Bella instructed.
I wanted to lash out at her, to slap her or scream at her, but I didn t have
the strength and it wasn t her fault, anyway. All she had promised was to cure
Nathan of his possession, and her ritual had done just that. She d never
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guaranteed I wouldn t be left empty and hurt in the process.
Max scooped me up in his arms and carried me to the living room, to lay me on
the couch. We ll get some blood into you.
You could let the rest out of me. I tried to make it sound like a joke, but
the horror of the suggestion was evident on his face.
Don t say that. You re justupheaved by this whole ordeal. He squeezed my
hand. I can t imagine what you went through.
Hell. The word bubbled from my throat and I coughed, spilling wetness onto
my lips. When I wiped it away, I saw it was blood.
Max went to the kitchen and made a horrible racket. He hurried as if my life
depended on it, and in a way, I guess I was in danger. But it would take a lot
more to kill me.
The floorboards in the hall creaked, and Nathan emerged from the shadows. His
hair was still matted, his skin marred by the sigils he d carved there in a
time that seemed ages ago. But he was at least half-dressed, in a pair of
jeans, and the feral anger was gone from his eyes.
The tenderness on his face broke my heart as he stroked my hair back from my
forehead with the palm of his hand. Thank you.
It was no problem. It s still not the worst dinner party I ve been to. I
smiled weakly, but inside I fell apart. I loved him enough to sacrifice
myself, at least symbolically, on the altar of his pain. While he clearly
appreciated my devotion, it was impossible for me to forget who he really
wanted. I could never be Marianne. And he wasn t ready to give her up.
And he knew that I knew. He lifted my hand in his and kissed my palm. Don t
hate me.
I can t hate you. I love you too much. I didn t fight my tears any longer.
He held me, but it was a bittersweet comfort. Touching him, smelling him,
feeling the pull of the blood tie between us wasn t enough. It would never be
enough.
At least now we were acknowledging it.
The floorboards in the hall creaked again as Bella joined us. Max stepped out
of the kitchen and Nathan reluctantly let me go.
I wiped my eyes as I watched Bella ease open the door to my bedroom. After
what I d seen and been through, I didn t have the strength to explain why
Cyrus was in our apartment. Maybe now isn t a good time to
Where is he? Bella stepped into my room. The light clicked on and she
swore.
Who is she talking about? Nathan asked as I used his shoulder for support
to stand.
Before she returned with the folded paper in her hand, I knew where he d
gone. There was no time to shield Nathan s feelings. She s talking about
Cyrus. And I know where he s heading.
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Desperation
Howcould you have let him into my house? Nathan raged for the third time
since our conversation had started.
I took another hurried swig of blood as Max wrenched open the weapons closet.
Inside, axes and crossbows and sharpened stakes were stockpiled, as though we
were planning a return trip to the dark ages. Not that I d be good for much. I
was still weak from blood loss, but I was quickly recovering. Whatever [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] - zanotowane.pl
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