It was her turn to take care of him.
“It’s the blood.”
Tanner heard the words, muffled at first, but they pushed through his consciousness, and his eyes opened.
He was on a bed. A bed that still carried Marna’s scent, but she wasn’t around.
His brother sat in a chair just a few feet away, watching him.
Tanner leapt up. “You’re alive!” He ran to his brother and yanked him out of his chair. The bear hug he gave the guy could have crushed bones, but, hey, Cody was a demon, he could stand a little pain.
Especially since he was healed now.
I did that.
For once, he hadn’t destroyed or killed. He’d saved someone. How the hell was that for a change?
“Thanks to you,” Cody said. “I’m most definitely alive.”
Tanner stepped back and studied his brother. There was no sign of an injury that he could see. Hell, the guy didn’t even look pale. He’d been moments away from dying—I felt the cold touch of Death, that bastard, coming too close—but Cody was as good as new now.
Maybe even better than new.
“All my life . . .” Tanner gave a quick laugh. When was the last time he’d laughed? “I thought I was just a killer. I never knew I could—”
Cody’s lips firmed. “It’s the blood,” he said again.
Tanner blinked. Then he rubbed a hand over his face. How had he gotten back up to the bedroom? He remembered the glow from his fingers. Marna’s voice, telling him to stop.
He hadn’t stopped. She’d stopped him.
Cody cleared his throat. “I told you, angel blood can amplify a demon’s powers. It . . . looks like that same amplification is true for all supernaturals.”
Tanner’s gaze narrowed.
“Because you took Marna’s blood, you tapped into the dormant genetics your mother passed to you.”
Marna had helped him to become this way?
“I don’t know how long the changes will last. Probably until the blood in you gets diluted, but since you just got a fresh supply—”
Tanner held up one hand. “Wait, I just got a what?”
“You’ve got to understand how dangerous this is. Why you can’t heal again.” Cody’s voice and face were grim as he said, “When you heal, you give your own life force. If you give away too much, you’ll be the one who dies. That’s how . . .” He glanced away and rubbed a hand over his face. His shoulders were tense as he muttered, “I never told you. I didn’t want you to hate me.”
Now what the hell was the guy rambling about? Cody was alive. Tanner was alive. He could freaking heal. Shouldn’t they be doing some celebrating?
Cody lowered his hand. “You tried so hard to protect me, but there was one day you weren’t there.” Cody glanced back at him. “I should have told you. Years ago. I know. It’s just that you were the only family that ever mattered to me. I couldn’t . . .”
Tanner’s heart began to beat faster. He didn’t like this, and the punch in his gut told him that dislike was about to get one hell of a lot worse. “Told me what?”
Silence. Cody swallowed and his gaze kept holding Tanner’s. When had those lines appeared on Cody’s face? When had he stopped being the kid that Tanner protected and turned into the demon who stood before him?
Then Cody spoke. “One day, you were gone—off training with Brandt—and our father came at me.” His hand lifted to his chest. “He drove his claws into my heart, and he left me to die.”
“What?” And his brother had neglected to tell him this damn important fact? “You almost died?”
“But . . .” A rasp of breath, then, “Your mother was there. Katherine found me.” Cody swallowed and still held Tanner’s stare. “Her hands were glowing, and she put them right on my chest. My whole body seemed to pulse with power when she touched me, and Katherine kept telling me, ‘It’s gonna be all right.’ ”
Tanner could barely remember his mother. Only glimpses. Flashes. The impression of someone good.
She loved me. He’d held tight to that one truth. Always.
“But helping me made her weak.” Cody’s voice broke. “Just like helping me today made you weak.”
“I don’t feel weak.” He felt stronger than ever before.
Cody shook his head. “That’s only because your angel gave you blood. Without her, you’d still be in a coma.”
He stiffened.
“There wasn’t an angel around to help your mother. There was only our father. He found us. Saw what she’d done, and when he attacked, Katherine was too weak to fight back.” Pain whispered beneath his words. “And I was too scared. I stood there, and I watched her die.” A stark confession.