Chapter 144 Taken Again
He opened his eyes. The sapphire was returning, pushing back the feral black voids of starvation, but the pain in his gaze was absolute.
"The silver," he choked out, his jaw locking. "It is in the blood."
I looked over his shoulder, peering at his broad back.
Commander Silas hadn't just whipped him. The braided leather had been embedded with sharp, jagged shards of raw silver. The corrosive metal had broken off inside the deep, flayed gashes. I could see the tiny, gleaming fragments buried deep in the torn red muscle, weeping a sickly, toxic black fluid that was actively fighting his accelerated healing.
As long as the silver was in his flesh, the wounds wouldn't close. He would bleed to death in the freezing water.
"I have to take them out," I said, my voice trembling.
Klaus nodded once, a sharp, jerky movement. He rolled over in the shallow water, turning his back to me, bracing his hands against the slick, uneven stone floor. His broad shoulders heaved.
I leaned forward. The smell of the burnt, rotting flesh made my stomach violently rebel, but I swallowed the bile down.
I didn't have tools. I didn't have a clean blade. I only had my hands.
I pressed two fingers against the edge of the deepest, ugliest gash on his left shoulder blade. The moment my skin touched the raw muscle, Klaus went entirely rigid. A low, guttural snarl tore out of his throat, a sound of pure, involuntary agony.
"I am sorry," I wept, tears blurring my vision.
I pinched the tiny, jagged shard of silver between my thumb and forefinger. It was slick with his dark blood. I pulled.
The metal scraped against his bone. Klaus slammed his fist into the wet stone floor, cracking the rock beneath his knuckles, but he didn't pull away.
I dragged the silver shard out, tossing it into the dark water. Instantly, the edges of the terrible wound began to knit together, the immortal healing finally able to function.
There were five more shards.
I repeated the brutal, agonizing process five times. With every piece of silver I pulled from his back, I felt the sharp, blinding spike of his pain echo through the tether. My own chest ached, my breathing mirroring his ragged, desperate gasps. I sobbed openly, my tears falling into his open wounds, washing away the toxic black fluid.
When the last piece of silver hit the water, Klaus collapsed completely.
He rolled onto his side, his chest heaving. The deep gashes were closing, leaving thick, raised silver scars in their wake, but the sheer trauma and the days of starvation had left him completely hollowed out.
I crawled to him, pulling his heavy head back onto my lap.
He was safe from the metal, but the feral hunger was screaming in his veins. The return of his magic demanded fuel, and he had absolutely none. His fangs were fully descended, resting sharply against his lower lip. His sapphire eyes darted frantically toward my bleeding hands, the scent of my fresh human blood an overwhelming, agonizing temptation.
He squeezed his eyes shut, turning his face away from my hands.
"Get away from me," he whispered, a harsh, terrified command. "Nerissa, move back."
"No," I answered.
I didn't hesitate. I reached up and gripped the stiff, ruined collar of my black silk corset. I pulled the heavy fabric down, exposing the pale, unblemished skin of my left shoulder and the frantic, beating pulse at the base of my neck.
I leaned down, pressing my exposed throat directly against his split lips.
"Drink," I commanded softly.
Klaus flinched, violently jerking his head back. "I will drain you. You are exhausted. Your heart will not take it."
"If you don't drink, you will die in this water," I argued, my voice fierce and unyielding. I grabbed the back of his neck with my bleeding hands, forcing his head back toward my shoulder. "I am your Anchor, Klaus. Let me anchor you."
He fought me for a single, agonizing second. I felt the clash in his mind—the deep, protective love warring against the raw, feral starvation tearing his stomach apart.
The starvation won.
He let out a broken, whining growl and buried his face in the crook of my neck.
I gasped, my spine arching off the stone wall as his sharp fangs pierced my skin. The initial bite was a sudden, hot sting of pain, quickly swallowed by the overwhelming, euphoric rush of the vampire feed.
The blood-bond exploded with light.
I felt the hot, clean rush of my blood hitting his starving system. It was like pouring water onto parched, cracked earth. The dark, chaotic fog in his mind instantly began to clear. His cold hands came up, wrapping tightly around my waist, holding me flush against his massive, scarred chest.
I buried my hands in his wet silver hair, holding him as he drank. The freezing black water soaked my legs, the cold air bit my skin, but I felt entirely, perfectly warm. For a few stolen seconds in the dark, the Empire didn't exist. There was only the steady, heavy pull of his fangs and the unified, frantic beating of our hearts.
Slowly, carefully, the desperate pull slowed.
He didn't drain me. The ancient discipline reasserted itself the moment his mind cleared. He pulled his fangs free, his chest heaving. He rested his forehead against my collarbone, letting out a long, shaky breath that tickled my wet skin.
He raised his head, looking down at me. The feral voids were entirely gone. His eyes were a vibrant, luminous sapphire, filled with a devastating, overwhelming reverence.
"You broke a gold cage," he murmured, his thumb gently wiping a smear of blood from my cheek. "You walked into the dark. You killed a Commander."
"I told you I was coming," I whispered, a weak, tired smile touching my lips.
He leaned down, pressing a soft, lingering kiss to my mouth. It tasted of salt and copper, and it was the most perfect thing I had ever felt.
But the quiet sanctuary of the flooded cell was shattered.
Far above us, echoing down the winding, jagged stone staircase, a massive, heavy iron bell began to toll.
The deep, resonant sound vibrated through the bedrock, shaking the damp walls of the dungeon.
Klaus went entirely rigid, his head snapping up toward the open cell door. His senses, fully restored by my blood, expanded rapidly. I felt his awareness shoot up the dark corridors like an invisible net.
"They found the guard on the stairs," Klaus said, his voice dropping to a low, lethal rumble. He stood up, pulling me to my feet with him.