Spurned Queen

Chapter 60: Walk Away

Aevran

She was still asleep. For seven days she had been lying in a bed, in a coma. If I had know this was what would happen, I... probably still would have done it, but with much more caution.

As the vampire king, I was an expert in everything that had to do with blood. I knew just how much blood I needed to take from her that day in order for her to pass out. Taking it quickly made her faint faster. But I had never marked anyone before, and in the heat of the moment, I had failed to account for the temporary weakness that followed marking. I drank too much blood; that was why she fell into comatose instead of simply falling asleep. But a few days later, her body was as healthy as it should have been. The doc at Wolfsbane said my mate was still trying to cope with all that had happened and was using sleep to organize herself.

It was okay, I had told myself. But that was a lie. It was not okay, and it killed me to see her lying there, motionless, expressionless, for days on end. But I couldn't leave her side either.

I had seen the massive display of power she showed in Arabia. It was impossible that anyone would be completely fine after all that. Not to mention her brother's death, which had hit her hard. Since that day, people had begun to call her the "Scourge." It was a terrible nickname that I hated with a passion, but it spread like a wildfire among all supernaturals. By now, everyone who didn't know her by personally knew her as the "Scourge."

I wanted to ensure that I was there with her all the time so she wouldn't drown in everything memory would hit her with as soon as she woke up. Thus, I barely left her side, leaving only to shower.

Since the doctor recommended that we surround her with familiar things, her mother(who bore a striking resemblance to her daughter) sang to her every night, singing what sounded like a lullaby but which I had never heard before. Also, I had sent for Kaiden.

I was still contemplating how I was going to explain the situation to her. There was no way I would tell our nine year old daughter that Alexa was in a state of deep sleep from which she may never wake, when the thought scared me.

I flew through the busy hospital and shifted as soon as I spotted Kaiden. Large eyes stared at me in wonder.

"Aevran," she greeted, pulling her hand from Imogen's and running to hug me. It was a strange but sweet feeling. I wondered if she would take offense if I picked her up.

"Hello Kaiden," I said, hugging her back. I settled for messing up her already messy hair. "I missed you, kiddo."

"That's what Aunt Imogen said," she grinned.

I raised an eyebrow. "Aunt?" I asked Imogen.

She waved a dismissive hand. "Soon enough," she smiled. She had been smiling a lot lately. Despite all that the last battle had taken, it had given her a beautiful gift — her mate (some warlock named Devin or something). I deeply regretted not treasuring my time with my own mate before now.

"Did you thank Dreiga for bringing you?"

"Yes. She said I should ask Aunt Trisha to give me something to eat since we were in a hurry to get here," she explained. "But why can't it just be Lexi? Isn't she here?"

Imogen and I shared a glance. "Look, Kaiden, why don't I take you to get a bite, and meanwhile I'll tell you about your mom, and what you're gonna do," said Imogen, my savior. She led Kaiden away before the child could notice that we had completely dodged her question.

I, meanwhile, went back inside. My bat wings carried me swiftly back to Alexa's room.

Opening the door, I heard screams.