Дженнифер Ли Арментроут – Stone Cold Touch (страница 9)
Zayne’s shoulders tensed. “Then let me get Danika. Don’t look at me like you just swallowed cat urine.”
“Ew,” I groaned.
“She won’t say anything and she’s as good as Jasmine when it comes to these kinds of things.” He leaned in, placing his hands on either side of my legs. “We can trust Danika.”
I bet my face looked as though I’d also swallowed hamster pee.
Zayne got really close, pressing his forehead against mine. I tried to edge away, but he followed and he was too close. I closed my eyes, clamping my mouth shut as the urge to—to feed rose above the pain and the icy feeling of panic.
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” he said, his hands curling around my knees. “I’m going to get your arm fixed up and then we’re going to figure this out. But if you trust me...”
I started to look away, but he placed his fingers on my cheeks, stopping me. “Zayne.”
“If you trust me, then you have to trust that this will be safe with Danika,” he continued. “I can’t do this—stitch your arm. Not by myself. Okay? I got you.”
Holding my breath, I nodded. I was unsure if I agreed just to get him to back away before I latched onto him or if I was actually willing to dump my trust in Danika’s—of all people’s—hands.
Zayne lifted his head and kissed my forehead, causing my heart to tumble over itself. “I’ll be right back.”
It took about two minutes for him to return with Danika. During that time, I’d convinced myself that Zayne had been waylaid by his father and forced to spill the truth. The sick sense of dread was like rotten food in my tummy.
Zayne stepped in, closing the door quietly behind Danika. She carried a small bag that looked like a sewing kit. Oh God. They were so going to sew my skin. I turned wild eyes on Zayne.
He sat beside me, drawing my wide stare. “I’ve told her everything.”
“I’m not going to say anything,” she said, placing the bag beside me and immediately starting to rummage through it. “Just that I’m glad you’re sitting here and Bambi got a good meal in.”
I gaped at her.
She shrugged one elegant shoulder. “I don’t like judgy people or judgy Wardens and if it was Tomas, then he’d be the kind to be judgy.”
“Y-you knew him?”
Nodding, she turned to my arm and made a clucking sound. “This was definitely iron,” she said to Zayne. “See how the edges are kind of burned?”
My skin was burned?
“Even if she had shifted, this wouldn’t heal. She’ll be fine once she’s stitched up,” she went on, and I saw something out of the corner of my eye that looked like thread. “If she was a full-blooded demon...”
“She’s not,” Zayne said, and I almost laughed at the needless reminder.
“I know,” she replied quietly. “I can understand why you don’t want Abbot to know. You must’ve been so scared.”
I couldn’t look at Danika and I wasn’t sure what to do with her sympathy at that moment. I knew she was threading a needle and I was about to lose my shit, but then she picked up a jar.
“This is a mixture of camphor and
Clenching my teeth, I nodded.
Danika spread some minty-smelling gunk all over my arm. I jerked a little when it stung, but within seconds, the mixture turned cold, seeping beyond the skin and into the muscle. Placing the jar back in the bag, she picked up her instruments of unimaginable pain and she looked up. Her striking face—perfect high cheekbones, straight pert nose and full lips—was leached of all color.
That wasn’t very reassuring.
“This is still going to hurt,” she said quietly to Zayne. “You should probably...um, hold her in place.”
I gulped.
Zayne wrapped an arm around my waist and guided me down onto my side and he curled up, throwing his leg over mine. My eyes widened and for a moment I was too stunned by how close he was to me. Roth and I had lain like this after...
He moved one hand to the back of my head, guiding my face to his chest, and wrapped his other around the hand attached to my injured arm. “I can feel your heart pounding,” he said, his voice muffled in my hair. “Try to take a couple of deep breaths.”
My heart felt as if it
“I’ll make this quick,” she promised. “It will literally only take a couple of seconds.”
Closing my eyes, I took several deep breaths. “Okay. I can do this. I can deal.”
“You can.” Zayne’s cheek slid over the side of my head. “You’re so strong, Layla. You can do this.”
I almost believed him.
When the needle pierced my skin, my back straightened. Fire poured through the tiny hole she created, lighting up my body as though I was touching flames.
“It’s okay,” Zayne murmured, curling his fingers through my hair. “It’ll be over before—” He plastered my face to his chest, muffling the scream that erupted from my throat.
“I’m sorry,” Danika whispered, her hands trembling slightly. “I wish I had something stronger to give you, but Jasmine would notice it was missing.”
The fire had moved up my arm, and I tried to pull away, but Zayne locked me down, keeping my injured arm straight and still. A dizzying swarm of curses left my tongue, and Zayne chuckled hoarsely.
“I had no idea you had that kind of mouth on you,” he said.
“I don’t care. I want her to stop. Now.” I tried to pull back, but his grip tightened. “Stop.
“We can’t stop, baby. It’ll be over soon. She’s almost half done.” Zayne’s body was stiff, and Bambi started to slide up my hip. The last thing we needed was for her to come off and eat Danika. But the snake stilled. Maybe Zayne was right and she had an upset belly. “And then you’ll be perfect,” he added.
“I’m not perfect.” My entire body throbbed like one giant raw wound. God, I was a wimp. No pain tolerance whatsoever. Then again, my skin
“You don’t smell like a demon.” He seemed to hold his breath as I screamed into his chest again. “You smell like...like freesia.”
“Freesia? I—I smell like blood and demon,” I whispered hoarsely, squeezing his hand until I felt his bones as she made another loop. “Sorry,” I gasped out.
“It’s okay.” Zayne managed to get closer, fitting his body against mine. “You don’t smell like blood.”
I moaned as Danika tugged on the thread. “You’re a really bad liar.”
“Finished,” she said, letting out a ragged breath. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“I-it’s okay.” I pressed my face against Zayne’s chest, inhaling that winter-mint scent of his. My fingers ached from clenching his hand and shirt. “T-thank you.”
She drew in a deep breath as she quickly bandaged the wound. “You should rest for a few minutes, let your body settle down, and it might be a good idea to take a deep sleep tonight, just so you’ll feel better quicker after the loss of blood.”
Deep sleep meant retreating into a shell-like form so we could rest on a cellular level, but I’d never slept like that before. Even though I probably would’ve shifted today if Bambi hadn’t made an appearance, I hadn’t shifted since the night in the gym and I didn’t think I could ever sleep that way.
I didn’t know how long we lay there with Danika sitting on the edge of the bed. Zayne smoothed a hand up and down my back until eventually the tremors subsided and the contents of my stomach settled a bit. He eased his leg off mine.
“You okay?” Zayne asked. When I nodded, he pulled back a little, smoothing a hand over my damp cheeks. “You want to try to sit up?”
Not trusting myself to speak yet, I nodded again. With Zayne’s help, I got the quilt readjusted and sat up. My head swam a bit and dark spots clouded my vision.
“I can get her some pain relievers,” Danika said, her voice slightly off as she stared at her elegant hands while wiping off my blood. “Jasmine won’t notice that.” Looking over her shoulder, her gaze landed on where Zayne’s arm rested over my shoulders. “I can get you something to wear.”
“There...there should be a hoodie on my bed.”
Danika left and returned quickly with the hoodie and while both of them turned away, I carefully eased it up over my bandage. When I was done zipping it up, they faced me.
“Thank you,” I said again.
“How do you feel?” Danika moved to sit beside me.
“I don’t think I’ll puke.” At her relieved look, I tried to hide my weak grin, but Zayne saw it, and his eyes lightened. “That...sucked.”
“You did good.” She glanced over at Zayne. He stood in front of me, arms crossed and features stark. “What do we do now?”
My brain felt like mush, I figured because I needed sugar. Lots of sugar. It helped with the cravings. And a nap. Maybe two naps. Just because. Then I was going to bed.
Zayne sighed heavily. “I don’t know. I don’t think this is the time.”
“She needs to know. Obviously.”