Fate Forsaken (16 page)

As the clock hit eight thirty in the evening, he knew it was time to rise and shine. “Rho?” he whispered in her ear, wondering why he bothered. He knew he’d practically have to drag her out of bed to get her awake.

She didn’t budge.

He reached his arm out and yanked the bedspread back, exposing her completely to the cool, conditioned air. “Rho, come on. It’s time to get up, angel.” Still nothing.

Staring down at her resting form, he wished she had some sort of human reflex he could test. But she was a vampire, so she could appear practically dead and be faking it.

“No more playing around, woman. It’s time to get up.” With steady arms, he wrapped his biceps beneath her body and flipped her on top of him, just as he had the night before.

She flopped onto his chest like a dead fish.

A chill crawled up Eldon’s spine as he surveyed her lifeless body. He shot out of bed and pulled Rho to the edge of the mattress then flipped her onto her back.

“Rho?” He shook her shoulders, but she didn’t move. He couldn’t check for signs of breathing because vampires didn’t breathe in their sleep. They didn’t have heartbeats, either.
Shit.
“Rho! Wake up!”

He shook her again. One arm slid off the mattress and hung limp off the side of the bed.

The death mark.
Oh, God, no.
This couldn’t be happening.

With one eye on Rho, he rushed to the door and flung it open. “Evette!” he shouted into the hall. “Come quick!”

“Eldon?” Evette’s thick accent sounded from somewhere in the nearby kitchen.

“It’s Rho. She won’t wake up.”

Chapter Sixteen

T
he sound of footsteps echoed, and Eldon rushed back to Rho’s side, shaking her again. “Rho, can you hear me?”

“What’s going on?” Preshea strode into the room, her cropped hair sticking straight up. She took in the scene, and her smirk faded instantly. Tim stepped in right behind her.

Evette barreled into the room, her long skirt billowing behind her. Shoving Eldon aside, she crouched at the side of the bed and took Rho’s hand. The scarf tied neatly around her head kept the dark strands from her face as she peered closely at the unmoving vampire.

Chest pumping, Eldon tried to calm himself enough to think. There had to be something he could do. Some counterspell to the death mark. His mind churned over the possibilities, trying to come up with something that could be remotely helpful. But he came up with nothing. He and his sisters had already been looking for weeks.

Evette flipped Rho’s arm over, exposing the death mark. With a steady hand, she called blue energy to her fingertips and held the magick just over the massive design. “It’s not active yet.”

A tiny dose of relief washed over Eldon at the declaration. If it wasn’t active, it couldn’t be killing her. Not yet.

“Her aura is sluggish,” Lukas said from the doorway. He shook his head. “The spell must be sapping her energy. Has she been tired lately?”

Eldon lifted a shoulder and glanced up at Tim and Preshea, who shook their heads. There were a few times when he thought she’d looked a little tired, but he hadn’t asked her how she was feeling. Between researching the disappearance of the mover’s Kamen and all their personal drama, they hadn’t really spoken about how the death mark was affecting her. Why wouldn’t she say anything? Could their fallout yesterday have expelled too much energy?

Evette patted Rho’s cheek with her hand.

“I know what’ll work.” Preshea strode forward, Tim close on her heels, forcing Evette and Eldon aside. “Rho! Wake up!” With a heavy hand, she slapped Rho straight across the face.

Eldon lunged forward. Blood trickled from the corner of Rho’s mouth, supercharging the anger and fear stirring in his chest.
No one
hit his woman. Especially when she couldn’t defend herself.

Tim pushed Preshea out of the way and launched toward Eldon, wrapping his massive arms around Eldon’s body. “Cool it, man. She was only helping.”

Eldon glared at Preshea from across the room but allowed Tim to hold him back. They needed to help Rho right now, not challenge each other to a fight.

“Headache, dude,” Tim grunted. “You two chill out, or I’m going to be popping pills for the rest of the day.”

Eldon drew a deep breath as Tim’s command settled over his psyche and held him in place. He blew the air out slowly, trying to get a hold of his anger.

“Eldon?” Rho’s shaky voice brought his anger to an instant simmer.

He rushed to her side and perched on the edge of the bed, cupping her cheek with his palm. “Rho, can you hear me?” Her lovely gray eyes fluttered open, the sight a welcome relief.

She grimaced. “My face hurts.”

Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to her forehead and ran his fingers gently along her battered cheek. “You can thank Preshea for that.” He glanced toward the shifter, who stood in the doorway with her arms folded across her chest, her lips lifted into a wide grin. She’d probably been waiting for an opportunity like this for weeks.

“Why is everyone here?” Rho propped herself up on her elbows but quickly sank back into the pillow then covered her eyes with her forearm. “Oh, crap on toast. My head is killing me.”

“You weren’t waking up,” Eldon said.

She dropped her arm and met his eyes. “What?”

“When I tried to wake you up, you wouldn’t move.”

“I’m always hard to wake up. You know that.”

He shook his head. “Not like this. You weren’t responding at all.”

“Have you been tired lately?” Lukas asked from the doorway.

“A little bit.” She frowned, her gaze growing distant as if she were recalling something. “You think it’s the death mark?”

“We need to keep you under close observation.” Lukas’s brows knotted as he eyed Rho, still lying in the bed. He hadn’t really answered Rho’s question either, which only told Eldon he already knew the answer.

“Rho goes nowhere without me.” Eldon met Lukas’s eyes. “And we’re going back to see Trinador tonight.”

“And what if Rho isn’t well enough?” Evette asked.

“She’s doing better.” Lukas surveyed the air, as if it held secrets no one else could see. “Her aura has not changed.”

Evette’s eyes narrowed. “And what of Trinador? How is her aura?”

“You can’t put Trinador in danger again.” Rho’s jaw set defiantly, and she shook her head. “I won’t let you hurt her just for my sake.”

After all they’d discussed the night before, he wasn’t in any mood to argue with her. “We won’t ask her to manipulate the magick. Only to try and help us understand what it’s doing to you.” He ran his fingers through Rho’s long golden strands. “If your energy is going to keep declining, I’d like to know that up front.”

Rho shook her head. “It’s been a busy week. I’m sure I’ve just worn myself out.”

“Still.” Tim stepped toward the bed, arms folded across his chest. “We’re going to keep an eye on you.”

“No offense, because I appreciate you all coming in here and I know we have things to discuss, but could you guys maybe keep an eye on me after I take a shower?” Rho offered a half smile.

Evette nodded as she rose from the bedside. “Of course. I’ll put on a pot of coffee.” She strode toward the door and grabbed Lukas’s hand, pulling him behind her as she exited the room.

Preshea and Tim snuck out behind her and closed the door, leaving Eldon and Rho alone in the room.

Eldon leaned forward to rest his head on Rho’s shoulder. Once again, he’d been entirely too close to losing her. Her slender fingers stroked the hair on the nape of his neck, and his body relaxed. For a brief moment, his world had stopped turning. She was the axis around which his world revolved, everything beginning and ending with her. They had to figure out what to do with her death mark, and soon.

“You scared the shit out of me,” he said, his voice muffled against her shirt. Feeling the weight of her limp body on his was going to haunt him for a long time. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her gently to him, needing to keep her close.

“Sorry.”

“We have to go see Trinador again. I know you don’t like her, but…”

“That’s okay. I’ll go.” He felt the muscles in her stomach tighten as she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his head. “I can only imagine how I’d feel in your place.”

He lifted his head. “You’re not fighting me on this?” Talk about a night of firsts.

“What can I say?” She lifted a shoulder, her lips curling into a soft smile. “I’m nothing if not agreeable.”

“Agreeable. Yeah, that’s the word I’d use.” He rolled his eyes and shifted to push himself off the bed before extending a hand. “Come on. Let’s get you showered.”

“Is that an order or an invitation?”

He arched a brow. “Both.” Although, despite his desire to worship every inch of her, the main reason he wanted to help her into the shower was to thoroughly inspect her and watch her movements. He had to be sure the tough routine wasn’t only an act for his sake. Rho was a hard ass of a different order. She’d do everything she could to pull the wool over their eyes until it was too late.

She rose from the bed on shaky feet. He followed right behind her as she made her way to the bathroom, offering her all the independence she demanded. He’d be close enough to catch her if her knees gave out.

After he talked her into sitting in the tub so she wouldn’t fall, he soaped and rinsed her thoroughly then handed her a fluffy white towel. The fact that she depended on him made his chest swell in a strange way, as if he’d served some incredibly important purpose. Taking care of a woman must feel like that.

No, taking care of
his
woman made him feel like that.

The momentary high faded as he ran the towel over the death mark on Rho’s arm. “Can you feel this? Does it hurt?”

“No.” Her brow furrowed. “Why?”

“Just curious.” He ran the towel down her other arm, trying to keep his expression blank. That mark would only get worse with time, until maybe one day she simply wouldn’t move again. Ever. The fact that she’d taken the mark in his place only punctuated the importance of removing it. Having her death on his conscience would be a nuclear collision for his emotions. Only a few months of dating, and he was already lost to her.

They had to get rid of the damn thing. Somewhere, somehow, they’d remove it. Or at the very least, neutralize its powers.

As Rho put on her clothes and dried her hair, he settled into the bed and observed her movements with critical eyes. Her legs were steadier and her movements more fluid, which gave him bit of relief. Small improvements were still improvements.

“You’re watching me.” Rho stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips.

Eldon smiled and wiggled his brows. “I always watch you.”

“Not like that.” She rolled her eyes. “You’re observing me like a caged animal.”

“No idea what you’re talking about.”

With an exasperated sigh, she took one last glance in the mirror before heading toward the bedroom door. Eldon jumped off the bed and stopped in front of the door, extending an arm. He wasn’t below using gentlemanly courtesy as an excuse to lead her toward the kitchen. The look she shot him told him she knew exactly what he was up to, but she hooked her arm in his anyway.

When they entered the kitchen, Evette had a mug of coffee waiting for her on the table. Eldon pulled the chair out and settled Rho into it then pressed a kiss to her temple and stepped toward the kitchen. The growling of his stomach told him loud and clear that it was time to eat. He glanced back at the table one last time before turning to the stove. Rho arched a brow, her expression a cross between being amused and irritated, as if she knew he was coddling her but didn’t mind it as much as she let on. She eyed him as she brought the cup to her lips.

Good. He could handle amused irritation.

But he worried about all the things she wasn’t saying. Was she scared of what had happened? Why hadn’t she told him she’d been more tired than normal lately? Now that he considered it, he hadn’t truly asked how she felt, physically or emotionally.

Ass.

He grabbed a mug from a cabinet and poured himself a cup of coffee as he listened to Rho, Preshea, and Tim filter through a list of possible culprits. Although he tried to eavesdrop on the conversation, he found his mind constantly wandering.

He really needed to take some lessons on courting, considering he’d never actually had a real girlfriend before. Most of them were conquests at best, users at worst, and every one of them a regret. None had meant a fraction of what Rho meant to him now.

Yet after everything she’d been through and everything they’d experienced together, he still hadn’t bought her a damn thing. She’d never once asked for anything from him other than
him.
Not even flowers.

He glanced at Rho as she laughed at Tim. A smile tugged on the corners of his mouth in response. Did she even like flowers? He snagged a muffin from the plate on the counter. For some reason, he didn’t think she’d care much for them. Maybe he could buy her a new Beretta.

He shook his head, giving himself a mental face punch. Really? The most romantic gift he could think of was a gun? That spoke volumes about their relationship.

But that’s who she was. Rough around the edges, strong enough to take care of herself, stubborn to a fault but unbelievably soft to someone once she let them get to know her. And he
knew
her.

Beretta it was. She’d love it.

He paced over to the kitchen table and set his muffin and coffee down beside Rho. Her knees were pulled to her chest as she sat in the chair, eyeing her teammates. Tim and Preshea sat across from her, Evette and Lukas on either end.

“I hate to drag you into this.” Eldon gave Evette and Lukas a sympathetic glance. He really hadn’t meant for them to be involved at all.

Evette waved a hand. “It’s no big thing. The Collective involved us from the beginning anyway.”

Eldon froze. “Why would they do that?” He hadn’t heard of them calling on civilians for magickal assistance, even if they were professors. All Collective business matters were kept private and separate from the public sector.

She glanced at Eldon. “You know my spells for protection are the best. They hired me to protect the relic in that dome.”

“So you’ve been involved all along.” Interesting. Even he hadn’t known about Evette’s involvement in guarding the relic, and he was on the team sent to recover those that were still missing. If he wasn’t privy to that information, who was? Clearly someone had to know, or it wouldn’t be missing.

“Yes and no.” Evette lifted a shoulder. “Once I finished the spell, it was bound to Cadence. Then it was out of my hands completely.”