“Oh, please do so.” Cahal grinned, his teeth white and straight, and he gestured for my dad and Ezra to continue. “I’m here if you need the added muscle.”
My fangs retracted instantly at the reminder of pain, and my heart faltered again. I still wasn’t a big fan, even if I had brass balls when they were needed. No matter how tough I got, I didn’t think knowing I was going to be hurt in advance would ever be a tranquil thought.
Ezra eyed his dad, as did Elder Venclaire, but eventually, when my heart fluttered again, Elder Venclaire jerked his head at my feet. “You can hold her legs.”
Cahal nodded and went to my feet. His large hands wrapped around my ankles. He blinked, and his gaze flew to his hands. And a reaction, his response to the difference in our size, just flew out of his mouth, and I was pretty sure it was without forethought. “I might break her.”
Ezra chuckled, grabbing my wrists to cross them over my stomach and hold them there tightly, he muttered, “Dad, just try not to get your brains bashed in.”
Cahal snorted and nodded to Elder Venclaire.
On the mattress, Elder Venclaire rose on his knees, his power rising with him, and he glanced at me with glowing blue eyes. “I’m sorry, but this is going to hurt.”
I blinked. “Yeah.” Um, got that already.
He placed his hand on the center of my chest, directly over my Core. A deep inhale. His power surged the air around us, making me marvel at the strength he had been hiding because I had never felt this from him. Ezra and Cahal didn’t seem surprised by it, but I saw everyone who wasn’t Vampire visibly jerk in astonishment. It was always the quiet, nice ones who surprised you the most with their hidden talents.
I quickly dispelled the idea, though, when he closed his eyes and let his power release down his palm and straight into my Core. And even though I thought my body had no life left in it, I lurched hard, bucking with a scream so earth-shattering it was enough to make Bindi race from the room. Any and all Shifter strength I had came to the fore, and I fought against the surge that felt like a million bee stings jabbing into my Core then scattering throughout my body with twirling stingers the size of switchblades.
Ezra, Elder Venclaire, and Cahal all grunted simultaneously, pressing to keep me contained.
“Ezra!” I screamed, jerking inside his hold. “Please, let me,” I choked, then shrieked another piercing cry, more of the same agony slicing through me, “go! Let me go, let me go, let me go!”
Wordlessly, he held me only tighter, even as he shuddered, curling his legs around my thighs.
I pulled at my legs, feeling the hurled slices race down them, making Cahal brace even further. I shook my head, feeling hot tears trickle down my cheeks. Another shriek left me, and I choked on it. My head automatically turned to Ezra’s neck, and as I started to sob, great tremors racking my body, I scented him. For a moment, I stilled, my nostrils flaring.
My first real scent of him since the silver had evaporated.
I held it in and kept my face directly under his sharp jaw, against the heat of his smooth flesh, as the rest of my body instinctively began trying to again fight away from the pain, tears racing down my cheeks. But I sobbed quietly.
No more screaming. No more pleas.
I had done this.
I was getting my due.
And it was worth it, just for that pure, spicy scent of him. He was alive and strong. I would endure much worse than this to have him healthy, although, death seemed like a kind mercy right now.
Elder Venclaire continued his power surge, his Core filling mine. And that was what sliced through my system. It wasn’t only energy or vitality. It was magic. A Mystical’s very existence.
As a shiver racked me, every muscle in my frame straining, Elder Venclaire murmured, “I’m almost at what it will allow me. I can feel it shutting down.” His voice was quiet, soft, even as he pressed down on me with more strength than I knew he possessed in his refined frame. “Just a few more seconds.”
My teeth chattered as I trembled, and I whimpered on a whisper as my body struggled for release from their prisoning arms.
And then it was gone. Utterly gone. No power flooded the room. No bee stings from hell floating like demon’s playthings inside me. Just nothing.
Ezra’s hands instantly released my wrists, one going to the back of my head and pressing my face more firmly against his neck, the other smoothing down one of my hands to intertwine his fingers with mine, our wedding rings touching. He cleared his throat hard, his chest heaving against my back as he stated quietly, “Elder Harcourt, you had better get the f**k out of here before I murder someone.”
Elder Harcourt’s response was soft. “Duly noted.” I heard him hobbling across the room even as shivers still racked my body as aftershocks. Before he exited, he murmured, “But you are both alive when you might not have been.” A pause. “Remember that, King Zeller.” Another pause, more of a hesitation by the way he stuttered, but eventually he stated, “I also want to say to the both of you…I’m sorry for what…” He sighed. “Just, please, try for control…it won’t be my…” A soft chuckle, his words never finishing, the sound odd. “Never mind, you won’t recall.”
I was confused as hell, my mind still swimming with the fact I wasn’t in horrendous pain, but I heard Antonio growl, “Get the f**k out.”
“Yes, of course,” Elder Harcourt stated softly, and then the sound of his shuffling moved farther away until I couldn’t hear it anymore.
I tried to move, but I realized I was still trapped. And not only that, my body was like a dead weight again, maybe even worse than before. My breathing hitched, and I whispered, “I can’t move.”
Ezra’s fingers dug into my hair, holding my face tight to him. “Let her go.”
I heard Elder Venclaire groan, his hand sliding off me, then the bed wobbled crazily.
Cahal cursed by my feet as he released me, and I felt the bed move again, and he was shouting sharply, “Venclaire! Venclaire!”
Elder Jacobs interjected, “He’s fine. That’s what happens. He has only passed out and should recover in a few hours. His Core will take longer, but he’ll be up and about in a few days.”
Antonio’s voice was closer than before, virtually beside me, asking softly, “Lil? How are you?”
“How do you think she is?” Ezra growled, his grip tightening. “You were in the f**king room.”
I tried to fortify myself, but it came out a croak when I said, “I still can’t move.” It was driving me crazy. It was claustrophobia on a whole different level. “It’s worse than before.” Before, I knew I was dying. It made sense. Now, my Core was semi-filled and I felt somewhat better, and it felt like I should be able to move. But I couldn’t, and my wolf was snarling in boxed-in anxiety, no longer at peace to die.