Free Chains of Darkness by Caris Roane Page B

resident suspicious of him, and of his brothers.”
    “I know that he’s an honorable man.” She touched her chain. “These don’t lie and I feel it with every breath he takes.” Another reason her desire for him seemed ever-present. She liked the vampire.
    She then told Rumy what had happened, especially about seeing Zoey.
    “Jesus,” he murmured. “That must have been horrifying for you.”
    She put a hand over her stomach and pressed her fingers to her lips. Her throat grew tight all over again. “It was, but she’s alive. Only how are we supposed to exchange the extinction weapon for her?”
    Rumy put his arm around her shoulders and gave a squeeze. “Don’t think about that. The important thing is, she’s alive. Later, once you’ve found the weapon, you and Lucian can figure out the next step.”
    She turned back to Lucian, who had started to thrash once more. Whatever medication had been given to him clearly wasn’t a cure. She felt the agony he suffered even though he’d received a strong dose of her blood. “What can I do for him?”
    “Not much. It’s the recovery process, sort of like withdrawal. He has to get through it, and he will.”
    “How much longer will it take?”
    Rumy shook his head. “I don’t know. Another day maybe.”
    She could live with that.
    Taking a deep breath, as deep as she could get, she placed a request. “Would you please have your housekeeping staff bring me a basin of cool water and a stack of fresh washcloths?”
    “Of course.” He glanced at her with a warm light in his eye. “And what about you? What can I do for you?”
    She smiled suddenly. “A mojito, the best one your bar makes, preferably something with sage and honey. I’m partial to sage especially.”
    “I’ll bring you a pitcher.”
    She sighed. “Sounds like a plan.”
    He chuckled and drew his phone from his pocket. He repeated her orders to his staff, then held the phone to his shirt. “How about dinner? I know you’re not hungry now, but you have some hours yet to get through.”
    “That’s probably wise.”
    “Italian, say in four hours?”
    “Perfect.”
    He spoke once more into the phone. When he hung up, he said, “I’ll be back with your drinks.”
    Not long after Rumy left, the doctor repeated essentially what Rumy had told her, especially that she needed to be alert and patient. Beyond that, Lucian would return to normal in a few hours; this would be the worst of it, followed by less significant episodes over the next few nights.
    The team left shortly after so that she was once again alone with Lucian. She sat at the table, watching the vampire moaning and at times crying out. She would be in for a long night.
    A few minutes later, however, Rumy returned with a suede wingback chair just for her and stationed it near Lucian’s side of the bed. Another waiter brought in a side table, covered it with maroon linen, and with a flourish set a silver tray down that bore a pitcher of what smelled like heaven, along with a tall glass of ice.
    He poured the first mojito and garnished it with thin cucumber slices. She sipped, leaned back in her chair, and tried to let go of the nightmare that had, in the past few hours, become her life.
    When the basin and clean washcloths arrived, she left the comfort of the chair and her drink, and dipped a cloth in the water.
    Lucian now rocked his head from side to side, his eyes squeezed shut.
    Lucian. She thought maybe speaking to him telepathically might help.
    He moaned, but began settling down. She put the now damp, cool cloth on his forehead. He was sweating, but his neck arched just a little at the feel of the cloth. His body relaxed, and his breathing evened out.
    Is that better?
    Fire. So hot. Where’s Claire? Marius? My brother. Oh, God, my brother.
    I’m here, Lucian.
    The chains told her he was lost in his grief and in the feverish whirlwind of his thoughts. She didn’t know what else to do, so she started telling him what Rumy had