And What I Found There - Book Two

36. Holding My Breath

He cannot be dead.

Seriously?

Dead? Vyndren?

Never.

And yet my Dark Rider is dead.

I cannot believe it, but he really is. My poor, poor Vyndren.

This is all my fault, I think guiltily as I gently stroke his hair. I should have never went poking around in that church. All the signs were there! I mean, I had thought my vision wanted me to go there to look around but now I realize it was trying to warn me to stay away. I should've trusted my instincts... I should've trusted my Dark Rider when he said it was trouble...

I heave a shaky sigh, it feels like I've been sobbing for ages, and now I whimper as I lay down beside Vyndren, my head on his shoulder, my arms wrapped around his arm. I lace my fingers through his hand as more tears silently slide down my face.

I feel so alone... so broken, and so horribly scared. I'm not sure what to do anymore. I mean, I can't stay down here forever... I nervously glance at all the blood around me. Something might smell this and come looking for an easy meal. I mean, Vyndren and I are both soaked in blood -

OMG wait! I swiftly sit up and look Vyndren over in the near pitch darkness. Blood! Blood ought to revive him! Right? I frantically look around. Damn, nothing sharp in here - Wait, I study Vyndren's sharp, jagged wings. I slowly get to my feet to grab one of cold spikes that line the edges of his frightening wings.

I take a deep though shaky breath, bracing myself, and now slide the bow of my hand under one of these claws.

I gasp at the grueling ache this causes, blood blossoms from my hand and forms a pool in my palm before it overflows and trickles onto the ground. I drop down to my knees and pour my fresh blood over Vyndren's lips. My blood gushes down either side of his face but he doesn't so much as even twitch.

"C'mon, Vyndren, c'mon." I squeeze my palm and more blood flows from my cut and runs down my arm as I press my bloody hand to his lips. "C'mon, please."

Everything is fading out... I feel so numb, already so spaced out, my own voice is an echo to me.

"Please, please, please," I keep pressing my gushing hand to his lips. "Please, Vyndren, c'mon..."

Now I wearily collapse on the ground beside my Dark Rider, my last thoughts on blood...blood...blood...

***

I gasp and struggle to sit up. Something is different. Something feels...different. I feel different. I groggily look around. I shriek with alarm and wildly wrench my hand away from him. I shudder and inch farther away from Vyndren.

Wait...Vyndren?

He's ALIVE!

"OMG, Vyndren!" I gasp again with shock. "Y-you live! OMG! I-I thought you were -"

"I know, I know," he says quickly and grabs my hand again.

Aww, my hearts melts a little. He wants to hold my - "Ouch!" I widen my eyes in shock as he sucks more blood from my cold, pale hand. "Lemme go!" I yank my hand back. No wonder I feel so different. Violated! That's what it is! He's been drinking my blood! I'm surprised that I even woke up at all! "How dare you?!" I glare. "You could have freakin' killed me!"

"No, you..." He struggles to speak clearly. "I-I...need you," I look him over quickly. He does actually look a little better. My blood obviously did something right. He finally looks like himself again, no wings, no claws, and his skin has return to glowing white although he still has deep wounds scattered across his bare torso and his inky darkrings are still insanely intense and run down his face like ruined mascara. "Just a bit more..." he shakily takes my hand again.

I feel dizzy as I watch his black blood run down his chest. I swallow hard, an unpredicted thirst suddenly seizes me but I try to force myself to keep it at bay. "Look, I-I had another powerdrop." Obviously. I mean, I'm still purple. "I...I don't -"

"I promise I won't hurt you," he says so quickly I wonder if he even hears himself and now he swiftly presses his lips to my wound again before I can even blink.

His icy cold lips send this numbing sensation throughout my entire being and yet I can feel my blood -as if it's suddenly alive- crawling through my veins, traveling against the grain of my veins before its pulled through the wound. I feel like my body has fallen asleep; it's got those dull tingles that occasionally spike with pain if I try to move around too much.

"Enough..." I hiss with pain.

Vyndren growls softly and seemingly forces himself to release my hand, the tendons in his neck strain as he just manages to pry himself away. Now he's roughly panting, his whole torso moving as he tries to catch his breath. Normally he doesn't even breathe but when he's Thirsty, he pants like he's been swimming underwater for miles.

"Sorry," he breathlessly tells me, brushing my blood off his lips with the back of his wrist. He hesitates for a moment as he stares at his wrist and now swiftly licks it clean like a cat before returning his attention to me. "Oh Adara," he gently sweeps me up in his arms, cradling me against him as he nuzzles my temple.

I softly gasp in surprise as my bare arms brush his blood stained across his body. It sends a buzz over my flesh, like a mild shock of static electricity. It gives me goosebumps and suddenly I am very aware of feeling throughout my body, and furthermore, my thirst is instantly intensified.

"Vyn-Vyndren," I stammer as I shakily dab my fingertips over one of the gory cuts across his broad chest. The fresher his blood is, the more of a charge it sends rippling through me, I realize with relish.

I'm trembling all over as I slowly press harder on his cut. Fresh, beautiful black blood rolls free from the wound and gracefully glides over the fantastic muscles of his chest. He gives a soft warning hiss as my fingertip circles the cut. My nail looks like it's painted black now as I slide my finger through his blood, it makes the very blood within my veins feel like it's carbonated, all bubbly and fizzing with energy...

I'm staring as if bewitched at my finger as I lift it to my lips. His black blood is winding its way down my hand and around my wrist, my lips part -

Vyndren catches my hand and curls my fingers up in a fist in his hand. "Oh Adara...I'm so sorry," he kisses my forehead and holds me closer. I'm panting though and restlessly squirming in his embrace. Breathing is more of a challenge than ever being this close to him. I feel like I'm suffocating on the inside, as if I'm behind held down beneath an ocean as my thirst blazes.

I achingly kiss the side of his cold neck and start to trail my kisses farther down, to the slash across his collarbone, my lips just graze his addicting blood -

He yanks me away and now swiftly kisses me, his blood whisked off my lips before I can even enjoy the electrifying charge. I frantically kiss him more intently, as if desperate to chase the precious drops of blood down his throat. He tightens his embrace around my body, tangling his fingers through my matted hair, fiercely kissing me with a passion that radiates throughout my body like the ripples of a puddle in the middle of a rainstorm.

I rake my hands through his hair as I bite his ear. He wildly presses kisses to my neck; his fingertips dig into my back like stakes as he clutches me more possessively. He hungrily bites through the side of my throat with a starved growl of desire.

I gasp with pain as his fangs sink deeper into my neck. The haze of the thirst is suddenly interrupted and now I feel like I'm falling from a high.

It's like all my strength and energy (and life, basically) is rapidly fading away from me. I go limp in his embrace and am barely aware of him asking me if I'm okay... But I can only vaguely register the fact that I'm even in his arms, at alone listen to things that sound like they're a million miles away...

I blackout.