Take Courage, My Heart

Chapter Forty-One

Everything got washed away by the crying, leaving me in the end nothing but an empty, emotionless heap. Leander was still all around me, whispering soft words against my jaw. Even though he was fairly close to me, I couldn't exactly make out what he was saying. His voice was so low, and the words were all slurred together, but his tone was distinct, and it was laced with comfort.

"Help him inside," Ezra said, leaning close to us and tapping Leander on the back. "I'll clean this up."

Leander breathed out a thank you and then he touched my face, softly drawing my focus to him. I blinked a few times, having zoned out into the nothingness and my eyes went up his face until my gaze aligned with his.

"Is it okay if I carry you?" he asked. I blinked once and nodded, accepting the fact that I didn't have the strength to put weight on my legs.

I had fed on Syndey to the point of killing her and I had drunk some of Jonathan's blood, but it appeared to not have been enough to heal me up and keep me going. I hadn't slept either and it was starting to take a toll on me.

Leander was careful with putting his arms around me, placing one arm around my back and another underneath my knees, and pulling me up from the ground. The cool air dried up the tear tracks on my face and I set my head on Leander's shoulder and breathed out slowly in an effort to collect myself. The warmth of the cabin made me shiver as we entered, and I looked up to check who had opened the door for us, smiling back at Frankie. A conglomeration of voices drew my attention to the middle of the room, where the rest of my family stood. It was mostly my Dad's and Fiona's voice. She was calling out my name, tugging against Jessica who was holding her back, while he was calling out for Caleb who had taken off towards us the moment I had lifted my gaze.

I wiggled against Leander's hold until he took the hint and set me down. I didn't waste a second, ignoring all the grime and blood on me and crashing Caleb into a hug.

"We thought you died!" he cried out, shaking in my arms. "You didn't follow us and then he shot you and– why didn't you follow us?!"

I pulled back, shaking as well, and grasped him by one shoulder, my other hand going to the side of his face and tilting his head back so I could look better at the wound Seraphina had caused. It was still enflamed, but it had scabbed over. It was healing well. His jugular underneath his skin was pulsing with a hypnotizing rhythm. I jerked forward and with the movement something in his demeanor shifted, turning panicked.

"Leander–" Frankie called out, but I never turned to check out why she sounded so harried.

The next thing I knew, my fangs were tearing into flesh, and I was swallowing mouthfuls of blood one after the other. Screams reached my ears, followed by Leander's stern voice telling everyone that it was under control, that it would be best if they left the room– if they went to their bedrooms until the next morning. I opened my eyes and saw Adam and Caleb a few paces away from me, both looking scared. My fangs were still in someone's skin, blood was still hitting my tongue. It took me an uncomfortably long moment to realize that I was biting into Leander. I shivered against him, the feel of the rest of his body pressed up against my back now registering.

"Kei!" Leander yelled, urgent and booming. I cringed but didn't let go of him. I needed more.

"I brought ten to be sure–" Keisuke said, and I snapped my gaze to him, as he set ten blood bags on the ground by Leander and me. With a blink, I realized we had somehow gotten on the ground, our legs tangled together. I didn't let go of Leander's arm, still drinking his blood, both of my arms tightly holding onto him.

"It's fine. It's alright. Frankie..." Leander hummed, and the eldest vampire came into my view in a split second.

"Hi, darling," she cooed at me. She reached for one of the blood bags and attached a butterfly needle to it. "They kept you dry, didn't they?" she went on, her voice remaining comforting. A low growl vibrated in my chest, and I bit deeper into Leander's arm. He let out a hissing breath, but even though he could he didn't push me off.