Chapter 55 The Hook
INDIE
“Leon—!" The tray slipped from my hands.
It hit the floor with a loud crash, the ceramic shattering, tea splashing across the tiles, and the smell of honey and meat flooding the air.
Leon didn't move at first. His fingers tightened around Zade's throat just enough to make Zade's breath hitch.
My heart sank.
"Let him go," I said, my voice shaking despite how hard I tried to steady it. "Leon... let him go."
Lila whimpered beside me. “Mummy...?"
That did it.
Leon blinked, the red in his eyes growing dim. His jaw clenched, a low, animal sound rumbling in his chest as if he was fighting something deep inside.
"Fuck," he muttered.
Zade's trembling free hand slid up Leon's arm. But he wasn’t pushing him away. Instead, he was holding him there.
My stomach dropped.
"Zade—?" I breathed.
Zade's lips parted slightly, his voice strained.
"He's not—" he sucked in a shallow breath as Leon's grip shifted, "—trying to kill me."
Leon's head snapped towards him, his eyes blazing.
"Shut up," he snarled. "You don't know what I'm—"
"I do," Zade cut in, his voice softer. His pupils were wide, the violet nearly swallowed whole. "You're losing control."
The bracelet glowed brighter. Leon hissed, his grip tightening. I charged forward, my pulse racing.
"Leon!"
His gaze landed on me. And for a moment, I realized that he was struggling to hold back.
"Get Lila out," he said hoarsely. "Now."
"I'm not leaving—"
"Indie." His voice shook with urgency. "Please."
Zade's hand tightened weakly on Leon's wrist.
"She stays," he rasped. "I'm not... letting you do this alone."
Leon laughed bitterly.
"Too late for that."
The bracelet pulsed again. And this time, Zade arched.
A painful, choked sound tore from his throat as something invisible seemed to snap between them. The air thickened, pressure building like a storm trapped in the room.
Lila screamed. The sound instantly snapped me into motion.
"Mason!" I shouted towards the hallway. "Now!"
Footsteps thundered, and I heard Mason barking orders somewhere behind me, but I didn't look away.
I couldn't.
Because Leon's hand was no longer just gripping Zade's throat. It was burning.
Red light bled from beneath his fingers, seeping into Zade's skin like heat under glass.
Zade's back bowed off the mattress, his teeth clenched, his veins standing out along his neck. But he was still smiling.
My goodness.
He was still smiling.
"See?" he gasped, his voice wrecked, but he sounded relieved. "Told you... I could take it..."
"Shut. Up." Leon's voice cracked, panic bleeding through the rage. "I'm not—this isn't—"
"You're pulling it," Zade forced out. "The drain... you're pulling it towards you—"
I went still. “What?"
Leon froze just for a second. And that second was enough. Zade sucked in a ragged breath as the red glow faltered and then snapped back, like something resisting being moved.
Leon jerked back as if he'd been burned. And in that moment, the connection broke.
Zade collapsed against the mattress, coughing hard, his entire body shaking.
Leon stumbled off the bed, crashing into the wall, and clutching his wrist like it was on fire. The bracelet dimmed but didn't go dark.
Lila sobbed into my leg, holding me tight, and I lifted her into my arms to comfort her.
Zade was still coughing, struggling to breathe.
So, I rushed forward, climbing onto the bed, my hands immediately on Zade's face, his chest, anywhere I could touch.
"Zade—Zade, look at me—"
His eyes fluttered open, unfocused.
"Hey... bunny," he rasped.
My throat tightened, tears welling up in my eyes and blurring my vision. What on earth was he thinking? How could he do something so risky?
Behind me, Leon slid down the wall, breathing hard, staring at his hand with wide eyes.
"I didn't..." he whispered. "I didn't mean to..."
Mason stepped in then, his eyes darting between them, assessing the situation.
"What the hell just happened?"
Zade's fingers found mine again.
His breathing slowly evened out. My hand stayed pressed to his chest, willing him to take his time.
Behind me, Leon hadn't gotten up. I could feel him. I wanted to yell and demand answers, but I needed to make sure that Zade could breathe easier. He was painfully fragile. It seemed he’d forgotten that.
"Is no one going to say anything?” Mason demanded, his voice laced with annoyance now.
What could I say? I didn’t understand what had just happened either.
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to look up.
Leon was sitting against the wall, one knee drawn up, his hand still wrapped around his wrist. The bracelet had dimmed to a low, angry glow. It looked... restless.
"Leon," I said, my voice softer. "What did you do?"
He let out a hollow laugh.
"I don't know," he admitted. "That's the problem.”
Zade shifted under my hand.
"Not... entirely true," he rasped.
I snapped my attention back to him. "Don't move."
"I’m fine," he murmured. Yeah, right.
His eyes slid past me and rested on Leon, who still looked tortured. Was he really being sincere? Did he really lose control, or was it premeditated?
"You felt it," Zade said.
Leon didn't answer immediately. His jaw tightened.
"Yeah," he said.
Mason's gaze narrowed. "Felt what?"
Zade's lips twitched faintly. "The siphon."
My eyes widened.
Leon dragged a hand down his face. "It wasn't just that," he said. "It was like—" he stopped, hesitating as if he was searching for the right word. "Like something was hooked into him. And when I grabbed him—"
"You grabbed the hook," Zade finished.
Leon nodded.
I shook my head slowly. "No. No, that doesn't make sense. If it were that easy—"
"It's not," Leon cut in. His voice was ragged now. "I didn't remove it. I barely shifted it. And it pushed back."
Zade exhaled shakily.
"Yeah," he said. "Felt that part too."
Mason moved closer to the bed, his eyes darting between them.
"So what—you're telling me the vampire can just... what? Rip this thing out of you?"
"No," Leon said immediately.
At the same time, Zade said, “Maybe."
They both went still. Then Zade huffed a weak breath that might've been a laugh.
"That's... promising."
"It's not," I snapped, the fear finally catching up to my voice. I stood abruptly, turning between them. "Did you not see what just happened? Leon, you almost—"
"I know what I almost did," he replied weakly.
That shut me up.
His eyes lifted to meet mine, and there was no arrogance in them. No teasing either. In fact, he actually looked pained.
"I felt it slipping," he said. "My control. My instincts. The bracelet—it wasn't just reacting. It was feeding and amplifying it."
My stomach dropped.
"So if you try that again—"
"I might not stop," he finished.
Zade shifted again, weakly pushing himself a little higher against the pillows.
"Then we don't give you the option," he said.
All three of us looked at him.
"Excuse me?" I said.
Zade's gaze stayed on Leon.
"We control the conditions," he went on, his voice a little steadier now. "Short contact. We test it."
"No," I said immediately.
He didn't even look at me.
"We don't have time to play safe, Indie."
My chest tightened.
"And we don't have time for you to die!" I shot back. "This isn't a strategy, Zade, it's a gamble. With your life and his control and—"
"And what's the alternative?" he cut in. "Wait until I'm too weak to stand? Until that thing finishes draining me through a child we're all too scared to touch?"
My throat burned.
"That's not fair," I whispered.
"No," he agreed softly. "It's not."
Leon pushed himself to his feet then.
"I'm not doing it again," he said.
Zade's eyes landed on him. "You don't get to make that call alone."
"Yes, I do," Leon shot back. "Because I'm the one who almost crushed your throat without meaning to."
"And you didn't," Zade said.
"Not for lack of trying."
"That's not what I felt."
Leon stiffened, and Zade held his gaze.
"You were fighting it," he pointed out. "Even when it got bad. You were still there."
Leon’s expression softened.
I stepped between them before this turned into something else entirely.
"Enough," I said, more tired than angry now. "We're not deciding anything tonight."
They both looked at me.
"Zade needs rest. Real rest," I went on. "No more pushing, no more experimenting, no more almost-killing-each-other moments for at least a few hours. Can we manage that?"
Zade sighed. "You're no fun."
"Say that again and I'll withhold food."
That got a faint smirk out of him.
Leon let out a soft laugh, and the tension eased just enough that I could breathe easier.
I turned back to the bed, adjusting the pillows, pulling the blanket higher over Zade's chest.
Behind me, Leon didn't move.
Zade's hand found mine again, his grip weaker now.
"Stay," he croaked.
"I'm not going anywhere," I said.
Across the room, Leon finally looked away. But his hand never left the bracelet. And it kept pulsing.
He’d claimed he’d lost control. But what if…what if…he really had a mission? And that mission was killing Zade?