Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 117336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
I clench my jaw, not answering. She has to pull through. She has to. Yet every time Gary comes in to check on her, his expression is more concerned. I look over at the table nearby, the pitcher of water full, the soup uneaten. Her breathing sounds thick and ragged, and I worry something is happening to her lungs. I just hold her closer to me and close my eyes, because I will not entertain the thought of her leaving me.
I did not mind being a “broken” Salorian with emotions and attachments when she was at my side. But the thought of losing her is destroying me from within. I think of the boy in Old Yeller, whose heart was shattered by the loss of his animal. I did not understand when I read it why he was so upset.
I wish I still did not understand. I wish that desperately. I will be a thousand times more shattered if Melina leaves me here alone. She does not have to be my mate anymore if she does not want to. I just need her well. I bury my face against her neck, breathing in her scent, the pleasant scent of it off due to the sickness. "She is…struggling."
Rachel makes an understanding noise in her throat. When I look up, there is pure sympathy in her eyes. "Jurik and I sent a message to Fort Shreveport, asking if they had meds to spare. No one wants to come to Fort Dallas to bring them directly, but they agreed to leave them in a drop-off spot midway between here and Fort Shreveport if they do have some. We'll fly out to check again in the morning."
"My thanks."
"It's for Melina, of course," Rachel blusters. "Everyone loves her. She's needed." The unspoken words hang in the air. No one knows what you will do if she leaves us.
She doesn't need to say it. I don't know what I will do if my mate leaves, either. I will follow behind her, and in the process, I might take this whole shit-filled world with me if they let her die. But…perhaps not. Rachel and her mate have cared enough to reach out to another fort. Even if no one in that fort will approach Fort Dallas because I am here, it is appreciated. If they have nothing for us…
Rachel gets quiet, and Jurik grunts. I glance up and see that they're communicating privately, Rachel's expression vague and Jurik's eyes whirling as he hovers protectively near his mate. I can feel the stream of their thoughts flicking just out of reach, but I don't push or try to eavesdrop. I don't care enough. Instead, I stroke Melina's back, holding her tight against my bare chest because that seems to be the only time she doesn't shiver.
"I heard something else from Fort Shreveport," Rachel volunteers after a moment. "I don't know if it'd work, but it's a thought."
"What?" I look up. At this point, I'm willing to try anything if it will help Melina fight off this unseen menace that is pulling her from me. "What is it?"
She clears her throat. "Fort Shreveport had a few people that ran into the Black Plague earlier this year. It was in an outlying settlement, and they thought that two of their people were going to die. Both of them were given drakoni blood and both of them lived."
I sit up. "Drakoni…blood? How?"
"An infusion," Rachel says, pointing at the inside of her damaged arm. "You put a needle here and a tube, and feed the other person your blood. It might work, but it might not." She grimaces. "I was warned it might change other fundamental things about them, too. Scent, ability to hear drakoni, or it might not work at all. I do know one of the drakoni used it to save his mate in their fort. I'm just throwing it out there."
I gaze down at my mate. I think of her smelling like Jurik, or Vaan, because their blood is inside her, and I want to crush something out of pure jealousy. "Will my blood work?"
"Seeing as how you're practically the same as the drakoni? I can't imagine why not." Her tone is sarcastic. "You view yourself as different but you're really not, you know. Anyhow, I thought I should say something. Jurik didn't want me to, because he thinks you'll blame me if you lose her." She gets to her feet, casting a worried look at Melina. "But I have a feeling if you don't do anything, you might lose her that way, too. So fuck it."
I say nothing as she leaves, her mate a step behind her. Give Melina my blood. Give her my immunity. Will that work? It sounds too easy. But what if my blood isn't as strong as drakoni blood and she has to take someone else's blood on? Will that mean she's no longer mine? The thought terrifies me, but the thought of losing her frightens me even more.