I shook off the hand he laid on my shoulder. “He needs me. I won’t leave him.”

“Here, little one.” Desmund wrapped a thick blanket around my shoulders. I grabbed the edges and pulled it over Nikolas and me, blocking out the rest of the world. I’m here, Nikolas. I won’t let them take you from me.

My Mori shifted restlessly, making me aware that we were still joined. After everything we’d been through, we had finally become one. You would have been so proud of me, Nikolas.

It was strange sharing my mind with another consciousness, trying to filter out its emotions from my own. It moved again as it tried to settle in, and a host of emotions and sensations washed over me. One sensation reminded me of Nikolas so acutely it was like a knife in my chest.

Stop, I said. Don’t do that thing you used to do when he –

Butterfly wings caressed my mind so softly they were like a memory.

Now I’m going crazy. Please, don’t do this to me.

The demon quieted.

I let out a long, ragged sigh. Maybe going crazy was better than never feeling him again. I stroked the planes of his face, as familiar to me as my own. I don’t know if I can bear this. I’m not as strong as you thought I was, Nikolas. I’m so lost without you.

A memory of him holding me filled my mind. I could feel the warmth of his arms, his love wrapping around me.

Oh, Nikolas.

Sara.

Solmi? my Mori cried.

My hands stilled and I forgot to breathe. Nikolas?

I’m here, Sara.

Oh God, I am going crazy.

I felt another soft caress against my mind. Feel my face, Sara.

I laid my palm against his cheek and felt... warmth. Please. I bent over him until my mouth hovered about his. A second later, I felt a shallow breath against my lips.

I sat up and shouted frantically. “He’s alive!”

Tristan and Chris were beside me in an instant. “No, Sara, he’s gone,” Tristan said hoarsely.

I grabbed his hand and held it above Nikolas’s mouth.

“Jesus Christ, he’s breathing.”

Chris shot to his feet. “Get the healers,” he shouted. He looked down at me. “We need to move him inside.”

I nodded, and he lifted Nikolas easily. I ran beside him as he carried Nikolas into the house. The place was trashed, and there were vampire bodies everywhere. Chris found what looked like a guestroom on the main floor and laid Nikolas on the bed.

I’m here, Nikolas.

Two healers I recognized from Westhorne ran into the room, carrying medical bags. I had to move aside to give them room, and my heart thundered in my chest as they worked on him. I listened to them discussing his vital signs and debating the best treatment. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Just help him, goddammit!” I screamed at them. I was not going to lose him a second time. My heart couldn’t survive it.

I’m not going anywhere, Sara.

If you do, I’ll never forgive you.

One of the healers produced a syringe, which she inserted into Nikolas’s chest. I held my breath as she checked his pulse and breathing. She looked at me and smiled, and my legs almost gave out.

“He’s suffered some trauma around his heart, but nothing that won’t heal,” she explained kindly. “He should wake up soon. He’s very strong.”

My heart was close to bursting. “Yes, he is.”

Tristan and the healers stepped out of the room to talk. Chris brought in fresh blankets to place over Nikolas, and his smile was so big his dimples showed. “You two are definitely meant for each other. I don’t know which one of you is more stubborn.”

“Him.” I sat on the edge of the bed and held Nikolas’s warm hand. My emotions were such a mess I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. My body decided for me, and hot tears spilled down my face.

Shhh, don’t cry. A gentle wave of warm energy came through the bond at the same time that Nikolas’s fingers closed around mine.

Then you better hurry up and get better, because I’m a bit of a basket case right now.

His lips twitched slightly at one corner. I’d heal a lot faster if I could hold my mate.

He didn’t have to ask me twice. I climbed in beside him and curled against his side with my cheek resting above his heart so I could hear every precious beat. “Is this real? Because if I’m dreaming, I never want to wake up.”

It’s real. I’m here, moy malen’kiy voin.

“How is this possible?” My throat closed off until I could barely speak. “I felt you die.”

You killed the vamhir demon. My Mori just needed time to recover. You brought me back.

A sob escaped me and I pressed my face against his chest. “Please, don’t leave me again.”

His arm moved slowly to wrap around me. “Never.”

Chapter 26

“I still can’t believe that all this time, Tristan’s little sister was the Master.”

“You’re not the only one.”

Roland shook his head. “That’s messed up... and really creepy when you think about it.”

A shiver ran through me. “You’re telling me.” I’d spent the last two weeks trying to put those nightmarish days behind me. I still woke every night in a cold sweat with Nikolas holding me and whispering that we were safe and together. He had fully recovered from his physical injuries, but our spiritual wounds would take a lot longer to heal. Every day it got a little easier, and one day we’d be able to put our ordeal behind us.