The Seer : The Alterealm Series Book 2
Chapter Eight

I felt cooler, and was thankful for that, then realized I was in water. Opening my eyes, I saw green eyes I knew very well. “Hi.” I said to Victor.

He searched my face, worry filling his. “You had me worried when you passed out after we got in.”

“I don’t feel so wrong now.” I assured him. My arms still felt heavy and my back still hurt, but I could see clearly again, and that was a nice start. He was holding me in the big tub so I was almost leaning back in the water, but not touching it at the same time. I don’t know how he fit all of him in here too, but he was leaning over me, watching me.

“They’re working on a salve that will stop the burning.” His green eyes looked so stressed.

“I’ll be okay.” I told him.

He smiled. “When you are, we are going to work on expanding your vocabulary. Hearing ‘I am not okay’ coming from your mouth gave me grey hair.”

I looked up at his hair, but didn’t see any. “It doesn’t look grey.”

He leaned down and touched my forehead with his lips. “What am I going to do with you?”

“I don’t know,” I answered, unsure of what he meant.

Someone cleared their throat from the other side of the big bathroom. “How is she?” It was Daxx.

“Awake now.” He sounded relieved. “And far too thin.” He looked down at my body.

Daxx snorted, “Oh I know, I’ve tried for five years to fatten her up. Clairee and Romulus are back. I sent the doctor away, figuring after the last time his help wouldn’t be of much use.”

Daxx was so smart, I don’t know why she wanted me fat though, but no doctor was a good thing.

“Get me a towel, please.” Victor told her. In one move he stood up, while holding me. I wrapped my arm around his neck and was very happy I could move again.

Victor took the towel from Daxx and wrapped me in it without my feet ever touching the floor. Carefully, he set me on the counter and took another towel from her and wrapped it around his waist. I was happy I could sit here without sliding off. Victor had been right, I wasn’t dying. My head was also clear enough to notice he was only wearing his underwear. I hadn’t seen a lot of men without their clothes, but I was quite certain he was in very good shape. He tipped my chin up with a light touch and smiled at me when he caught me staring at him. I felt my cheeks warm.

“My head.” I couldn’t believe it.

“Dizzy?” He asked with worry in his eyes.

“No.” I paused. “Yes, but there are no flashes.” I had never felt that before.

He frowned. “We’ll ask Clairee about that if you’re concerned, could be your body knows you needed a break right now.”

“I’ve never felt without them.” I told him. “It’s very… strange to feel.”

He lifted me up and cradled me against his chest. “I’m just going to take it as a small win, that you don’t have that to cope with on top of the rest.” His green eyes locked with mine briefly. “I honestly don’t know if I can cope with any more at this moment.”

I wasn’t completely sure what that meant, but it seemed like yet another sweet thing he was saying.

He walked out and I saw all the people that were there. Turning my head, I pushed my face into his neck so I wouldn’t have to see them. I know they came and found me, and were only here to help me, but it still made me panic. “Too many eyes.” I whispered.

“I can tell them to leave,” he said as he lowered me to the bed.

I kept holding his neck, even after he set me down. It made me feel better. “I don’t like being watched.” I told him quietly.

“They’re here because they are worried.” His green eyes searched mine as he straightened. “Everyone back up and give her a little space, please, being stared at is bothering her.”

I released his neck and gave him a little nod. “Thank you.”

He pulled the blanket up to my neck and helped me lay on my side so they could look at my back.

“Victor, go put your pants on so my mate doesn’t have to see your bare ass.” Troy growled.

Exhaling loudly, Victor looked over his shoulder sending his brother a cold look. Getting up off the bed, he looked at the strange man standing at the end of it. “Clairee can do what needs to be done. I don’t want your hands on her, she doesn’t like to be touched.”

I watched Victor walk into the bathroom and close the door. He was remembering everything today, and I would have to thank him later. My mind was so strange right now I was having problems keeping things clear.

A small lady with dark brown hair stepped up to the side of the bed where I could see her without looking around. “I’m Clairee, I’ve brought something to help your back.” She smiled at me. It was a very pretty smile. “I love the red of your hair.”

“Thank you.” I remembered. “I will have to change it now.” I frowned. “They saw me.”

“That’s too bad.” She shrugged. “When you pick a new color, have Daxx call me, I’d love to help you color it.” She motioned to her head. “I have plain hair, but…” She moved her hand over her face with her eyes closed and it changed to blonde, opening her eyes she looked at me. “I can do a glamour for a short time to try on new shades.”

My mouth dropped open. “I wish I could do that. I would try a new color every day.” The coolness was leaving as the burning came back. I hissed and squeezed my eyes shut through it. “I’m sorry. I’m not feeling good right now.”

“I’m going to put this on your back now,” her voice was behind me, “it might sting a bit, but it will pull out the magic poisoning your system.”

I opened my eyes as Victor came out of the bathroom with his clothes on again. “Okay.” I told her. I didn’t have to ask him to come and sit with me, he just did.

“Is it going to cause her a lot of discomfort?” He asked as he moved me to be more in his arms then out of them.

“We’re not one hundred percent sure about that. This is a very rare occurrence, and difficult to know if one body reacts differently than another.” Romulus said from the end of the bed. He looked very uncomfortable. “It may, in fact, hurt as much drawing out as it did when she was first poisoned.”

Victor didn’t look happy, again. I reached up and touched his chin so he’d look at me. I nodded when he did. “I’ll be okay.” I told him, even though I didn’t know if it was true.

He clenched his jaw and pulled me closer. “Are you ready?” He asked.

I nodded, hoping it wouldn’t hurt the same, or worse. I felt her put something cold on my back, and, for a second, I thought it was going to be fine, it felt cool and that was about it. Before I could say that, it started to get hot. Really hot. It burned even more than when it hit me while I was running. I must have made a sound or something because Victor pulled me tight against his chest and growled.

“I need towels to soak this up.” Clairee said.

I didn’t want to know what she was soaking up. I was shaking and it hurt so much. The burning got worse and I squealed against Victor’s chest and tried to breathe through the pain.

His whole body was hard with tension, shaking as much as I was. I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed tight. The pain kept growing and I didn’t know how much more I could take. I cried out only when I couldn’t keep it inside any longer.

“Go see if Michael has found him.” He said in a very scary tone. “Now!” He roared.

“I’m sorry,” I cried against his chest. He was so upset. “I’ll be okay,” I gasped between panting.

“There is nothing okay about this. Scream if you must, I’ve got you.” He told me against my ear.

I nodded, feeling too tired to make a sound. I felt sick from the pain but had to believe it would end soon, or I would cry. Squeezing my eyes shut, I realized my eyes were already wet, and I hadn’t even known I was crying.

I don’t know how long it lasted, it felt like forever, but it finally started to hurt less. The burning was slowly going away with each breath.

“Get rid of that.” Victor said in a low voice.

“I’ll take them.” Romulus answered. “I want to see how he did that.”

“I’m so sorry.” Clairee said softly behind me. “Most people would have passed out during the worst of that.” I felt a cool hand on my shoulder. “You’re a very strong woman.” She took her hand off me. “I’ll just rinse away any traces, and then you can give her some blood to heal her, Victor.”

“Thank you, Clairee.” Victor responded, sounding void.

I wasn’t ready to move yet. I couldn’t remember feeling this tired before. Ever. His hold gentled, but his muscles were still hard. I felt cool water run over my back and I can honestly say it was the best thing I had felt all day. Well, maybe not the best, Victor kissing me was the best thing, but the water was a close second.

“Daxx,” he said quietly, “We’re going to need a few minutes of privacy.”

“Okay,” she answered him. She sounded so upset.

I lifted my head off his chest to look around. Everyone looked sad and angry, all at the same time. “I’m okay.” I told them.

“Out!” Victor barked.

Turning, I looked up to see he had tears on his face as his red eyes looked back down at me. I heard the door close but didn’t look to see if everyone had gone. Leaning back, he wiped a tear off my cheek. I wanted to tell him I was okay, but somehow knew he didn’t want to hear me say that again.

“I will replace him,” he said in a low voice, “and he will pay for putting you through that.”

A shiver went over my skin, it wasn’t a bad one, but it was something I’d never felt before. I didn’t know what to say to make him feel better, so I said nothing at all.

“I want to give you some of my blood, little one, it will help heal your back and make you feel better.” His eyes were green again as he watched me carefully.

“Then there will be a bond?” I remembered what they had said after I blacked out.

“Yes.” He nodded slowly, “it won’t be intrusive. I can shield you from my emotions, so it won’t add to your already overtaxed mind.” He kissed my forehead softly. “I’ve never felt as helpless as I did just now. Please, let me help you.”

I thought about how that made me feel. His words were sweet and I could sense his good intentions. Biting my lip, I looked back to him. “I don’t know if I like the taste of blood.”

He smiled. “I suppose we’ll replace out then.”

I nodded. “Okay.” He kissed me again. I had lost count how many times he had done that today. As he sat up, opened his shirt and reached over to the table. I wondered if there was a way to get him to kiss me like that on a day he didn’t have to rescue me.

When he turned back, he held a short, very sharp blade in his hand. I know my eyes were huge.

“It’s to make a small cut on me.” He paused watching me.

“I’m not watching.” I informed him.

He grinned. “You don’t need to.” Raising the blade to his chest, he paused, “I heal very fast, so I will need you to try to take as much as you can, or I will have to keep cutting myself.”

My eyes widened again. I didn’t want that. I nodded and covered my eyes with one hand as he put the blade against his chest near where his heart beat.

“Come here.” He touched the back of my head.

Opening my eyes, I saw the blood dripping down his chest and didn’t want him to cut himself again, so I leaned down and licked it. I stopped and tasted it on my tongue. It wasn’t a bad taste at all. Not what I thought blood would be like. He pulled me closer, so I put my lips against his skin and sucked gently.

After I swallowed a few times, I moved so more of me was close to him. I didn’t know if it was the blood doing what he said it was, but I felt different, in a good way, and wanted more of that. I’d had a feeling kind of like this with a boy once when I was younger, but he’d vanished, so I never got closer to another again. Victor, I was fairly sure, wouldn’t just disappear.

Licking one more time, until there was no blood on his skin, I lifted my head and then touched where he’d cut himself. There was only a red mark remaining.

“How do you feel?” He asked me, his face in my hair.

“Better inside.” I told him and then looked up at him. His eyes were red and I smiled. Reaching up, I touched his bottom lip so he would open his mouth. I wanted to see his fangs. He did. I ran my finger carefully over them, he closed his lips and sucked gently on it. Before I could over think it, as I tended to do, I stretched up and did the same with the tip of my tongue over his sharp teeth.

He sucked in a breath and stayed very still, but his hand on my hip pulled me closer, so I didn’t think he was unhappy. Closing my mouth, I looked up at him.

“Have you ever been kissed, Cristy?” He held himself very still again, watching me with his red eyes.

I nodded. “When I was seventeen, I had a boyfriend.” I frowned. “Well, he was a boy and a friend.” I wasn’t sure what the meaning of a real boyfriend was exactly.

“I want to kiss you.” He told me in that soft voice he used.

Butterflies started to fly around inside my stomach. “Okay.” I nodded.

He touched under my chin lightly and tipped my face up to his, while his other arm pulled me tight into his body. Slowly, as if he was waiting for me to change my mind, he touched his mouth against mine.

It made me smile, that feeling. His lips moved against my mouth and I did just what he did to me. It wasn’t hard, but it made me feel dizzy, in a very good way. When he opened his mouth more, I put my tongue in his and touched it against his teeth again. He made a soft growling noise and goosebumps covered my whole body.

Someone knocked loudly on the door. “Victor.” It was Michael on the other side.

Lifting his head, he glanced at the door. “I’ll be out in a minute.” Then looked back to me. “You tempt me far too much.”

My head was still feeling light from his kiss. “Is that bad?”

He grinned. “I don’t know.” Kissing my forehead, he sat up and picked up the knife. “I may have to go out for a little while. I’ll leave Daxx here with you to help you get changed, and the bed cleaned up.”

I nodded and watched him get up and look at my back.

“It will leave a scar, but I want to try more blood when I return.”

I felt my cheeks grow warm. “Okay.”

He stood there, looking down at me smiling. “Okay.” He winked and went over to the door.

Daxx and Mitz helped me change into something that wasn’t wet and felt comfortable against my back. I’d made them let me look in the mirror: between my shoulders was a long scar down my spine. I was okay with it. From what I’d overheard, now that my thoughts were clearer, I shouldn’t be alive right now.

My head still wasn’t filled with flashes. There were some, but not too many to see. Daxx had phoned Clairee and she told her it was probably just temporary from the magic used to heal me. I honestly wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing.

Troy, Rafael and Daxx were sitting talking to me when Victor came walking in. Only this was not the same man that had walked out before. He was dressed in black leather from his neck down, wore a long coat that went to his knees, and had two long narrow swords in an x on his back. There were more knives on his hip. He looked more dangerous than anything I had ever seen.

I looked at him with my eyes huge, surprised this was the same man. I knew I was looking at the man of justice right now and not just Victor. The cold aura surrounded him, all except his eyes that looked at me with warmth. I looked at the door and Michael and Leone stood there quietly.

“How are you doing?” He glanced at my pack beside me, then back to me. “Should you be sitting up?”

I smiled. “I had a shower and changed.” I nodded. “Mitz is bringing me food.”

He sat on the edge of the bed. “Food is good.”

“Yes, it is.” I watched his eyes, to see if they were different when he was dressed like this, but it was the same soft look he had when he’d walked out earlier. “My back,” I said quietly, “it’s like I was a butterfly and I lost my wings.” He frowned. “The scar, I mean.” I nodded. “Everything else with wings has two, but can lose one or the other.” I gave him a serious look. “A butterfly’s wings, are attached so close together it looks like they’re one, so I have a scar from my wings.”

He watched me for a moment and then leaned forward and kissed my forehead. “Or maybe,” he whispered, “they’re invisible now, like the wings of an angel.”

I smiled, because I had no choice. It was the best thing anyone had ever said to me. “Maybe.”

Taking a deep breath, he stood up. “I have to go out. I will return later and check on you.”

I looked over to Michael and Leone, they looked like they were going into battle too. I nodded up at him. “Come back with no blood on you.”

He smirked. “I will try.” With that he turned and headed toward the door.

Rafael stood up to follow. “Guess you’re going to be taking a lot of showers to get clean from now on.” Victor looked at him then smacked him in the back of the head as he went past.

When the door closed, I looked at Daxx and Troy.

Daxx smiled. “Don’t be frightened of Victor when he’s that way. You know his job?”

I nodded.

Her smile was warm. “But you know he has another side, the soft, gentle one you’ve seen.”

I nodded again. “I know. He has to be cold to do it.”

Troy hissed out a breath. “Another side?” He pointed to the door. “I don’t even know who that man is right now.” He shook his head. “Not in two hundred and sixty years have I seen that!” He got up and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ll be back, I need to go read a book,” he looked at me then to his mate. “with leaves on it.”

Daxx smiled up at him. “I already did and it is what you’re thinking.”

He sat back down and huffed out a loud breath. “I’ll be damned. I never thought this day would come.”

She nudged him with her shoulder. “Its not here yet.” She smiled at me nicely, then back at him. “We both know this isn’t simply going to be plain black and white.”

He laughed, “Yeah, because we were so plain and simple.”

“What is the book with leaves on it?” I asked.

Troy turned and looked at me for a moment. “Ask Victor, I’m sure he can explain it better then I can.”

I smiled. “Okay. I will.”

Mitz walked in carrying a tray. I was so happy, I couldn’t remember being as hungry as I was right now.