110: Ada's POV
I had expected there to be some improvement with Nik, but there wasn’t. That wasn’t nearly as much of a shock as the state Darius was in. He was unconscious on my bedroom floor, side by side with his brother. There was still color to his cheeks and lips, but the only noise that came from near him was the squelch and slap of bloody rags as they became saturated and had to be swapped out.
Phoenix and I stood with Finn, about twenty feet away from the ordeal. All of our eyes were locked on Darius and Nik. Not a single muscle twitch so far. I could still feel their bonds, so I knew they weren’t dead, but they’re healing properties were not working, and that concerned me. Whatever had happened to Phoenix when he had been kidnapped had clearly been involved here, and considering it took completing our mate bond to fully heal Phoenix, there wasn’t much hope for streamlined solutions.
“You have made great enemies, Alpha King Phoenix,” Finn said softly, his accent thick, “Enemies that even I am not prepared to face.”
I turned to look at Finn. The Vampire King was covered in gore, his eyes fixated on the bodies on the floor. His jaw was set. After a few moments of silence, he rolled his shoulders back and fixated his gaze on me. Shadows swirled behind him. They gathered and formed into an oval shape. Lightning struck within the shadows, illuminating them in shades of blue and purple. I cocked my head to the side.
Finn shook his head, “Ada, come with me. Your mother would love to have you.”
“I can’t,” I said quickly, tears pricking my eyes as I looked over at the lifeless bodies of two of my mates, “Where are you going?”
“You don’t know what you’re about to face,” he leaned down and kissed my forehead, “They call me Realm Walker, my child. This world is not the only one I have come to know.”
“We’re never going to see you again, are we?” My voice was shaky as Phoenix laced his fingers with mine.
With another shake of his head, Finn put one of his feet through the shadow portal. He turned his attention to Phoenix, “There are too many dangers here. You’ve heard the name. It’s Velentaria.”
My head snapped in Phoenix’s direction. I didn’t recognize the name Finn had just tossed out, but my mate clearly had. His face had paled, his peppermint eyes widening. He gave Finn a curt nod. Tears streamed down my face as Finn stepped into the portal fully. It closed behind him rapidly, completely disappearing from view.
I wiped at my cheeks, “Who’s Velentaria?”
Phoenix squeezed my hand and shook his head, “Later. We can talk about Velentaria later.”
There was a sharp, strangled gasp that echoed through the room. I dropped Phoenix’s hand and leapt over to Darius, dropping to my knees and sliding across the floor to reach him. His grape-hyacinth eyes fluttered open. I cradled his head, placing gentle kisses on his forehead. The whites of his eyes were completely red. It looked like someone had dumped vials of blood in them. Scratches covered his cheeks, his neck, his chest. Two people were still working to pack wounds on his front and sides, and with each touch, Darius winced.
His eyebrows furrowed as one of them spoke softly, “King Darius, now that you’re awake, we have to move you so we can access your back.”
I helped them roll him over on his side, squeezing my eyes shut as he screamed, every muscle in his body tightening with agony. Phoenix was on his knees beside me, helping to move Darius’s lower half. One of the wolves working on Darius — who I was fairly certain was one of Eric’s nurses— hissed out a breath as she looked at his back.
As much as I knew it would be better for me to know exactly what we were dealing with, I couldn’t make myself look. Instead, I worked to distract my mate— and myself from the pain he was sending down the bond. I ran my hand along any unharmed skin of his I could find.
Something was pressed into his back, and he jolted, crying out. I ran a hand along his cheek, “Do you remember the first time we met?”
Tears were spilling from Darius’s cheeks as he gritted his teeth, “I gave you my jacket.”
“I’m glad that’s what you remember,” I forced a laugh, “I remember being covered in shit and dirt.”
“You were afraid,” he grunted as something was pulled from his flesh, “That’s what I remember.”
“I was, but you were so kind,” I continued, running my fingers over his cheek, “I had a moment where I thought you were the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen, too.”
“And then you saw Nik, and all hope for me was lost,” he managed a sloppy wink.
“Oh, stop it,” I sniffled, lightly tapping his cheek, “I just had other things on my mind.”
He reached up and grabbed my hand. His grip was weak, but I let him drag my hand down so he could hold it comfortably. He winced as there was another yank and clank as something was removed from his back, “I know that.”
“You put your jacket back on,” I whispered, a soft smile on my face, “You’d still be my first choice because of that. Just so you know.”
Darius’s eyes fluttered shut. “This shit hurts,” he bared his teeth and squeezed my hand, “How’s Nik?”
Eric had been moving around behind me and had pulled Phoenix for help. They were being exceptionally quiet, only giving soft orders to the people immediately around. Even from three feet away, I couldn’t hear what they were saying. The only reason I knew that Nik was still alive was our bond. It was still intact, but it was growing weaker. The only voice that was missing from the fray was his.
I looked down at Darius, running the hand he wasn’t holding over his cheek again. One of my tears fell from my cheek and onto his. I gave a light shake of my head, “Not good.”
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