She took off her shirt, leaving her wearing only a stretchy camisole.

“What are you doing?”

“Tying this around your wound so the blade won’t shift.”

She did so carefully, moving close enough to him that he could catch the sweet scent of her skin. He honestly didn’t know if he was going to make it out of this alive, but in that moment, with her so close, working to save him, he was grateful that he’d had even this much time bonded to a woman in the way he’d been born to be.

“I’m going to pull this tight,” she warned him. “Tell me if I hurt you.”

She tugged the sleeves of her shirt tight around his abdomen, right under where the blade protruded from his body. The slight shift of his skin was enough to make his vision waver in pain, but he held back his cry. Only a small hiss of air escaped his lips.

When she backed away, she was as pale and shaky as he felt. A line of sweat dotted her forehead, sparkling under the last rays of daylight. “I hope that slows the bleeding.”

“I’m sure it will.”

She stood and cocked one hip to the side. “Do you always lie this much?”

Her nipples stood out with the growing chill of night. If Joseph hadn’t been skewered, he would have used his own body to warm her. Maybe even his mouth. “If you connected to me the way you’re meant to do, you’d know everything. There would be nothing I could hide.”

“Nice try.” She backed away, rubbing her arms. “How freaking long does it take for one damn Sanguinar to get here? It’s not like we’re on the moon.”

“The settlement is isolated. It took me almost an hour to hike here. Give Ronan time. He’s coming as fast as he can.”

She paced the area again, frustration rolling off her in waves. With every few breaths, his pain spiked, and each time it did, she flinched as if she felt it, too.

“That’s it,” she said, throwing her hands up. “I’ve got to do something. I can’t just stand here while you die. If I allow the leader of the Theronai to die, I might as well just go and declare war against your people.”

“You need to calm yourself.” His words came out slower than they should have. Weaker. He was trying to appear strong for her, but it was a losing battle. “Ronan will come.”

“Not fast enough.” She knelt beside him. Her hands were shaking and cold as she wrapped her fingers around his. “Tell me how to heal you.”

“You can’t.”

“You don’t know that. For all you know, I’m a kick-ass healer.”

His strength was fading fast. He kept fighting the urge to slump forward and rest—close his eyes for just a few minutes. “Maybe you are, but not without a source of power.”

She let out a blistering string of curses, but her hold on him stayed gentle. “I will not let you die. Do you hear me?”

He heard her, but there wasn’t anything he could do to help her. He was doing all he could just staying upright.

The woods were dark now. The sun was nearly below the horizon. Soon every Synestryn nearby would smell his blood and come running for him. Lyka had to be away from here before that happened.

“You should go. It’s almost dark. My blood . . .”

“I’m not going anywhere, Theronai. Not while you’re here, wounded and defenseless.”

“There will be too many demons for you to fight.”

She set her jaw. “I’m not leaving you. Stop wasting your breath.”

He swayed slightly. The pain of shifting even that much sent a jolt of adrenaline through him.

“You’re not going to be able to stay like this much longer. Maybe you should lie down.”

She was right. His strength was disappearing alarmingly fast. If he fell over, he might do enough damage to sever an artery. Not only would that kill him before Ronan could arrive, but it would also call every demon within miles to come feast on his blood.

And Lyka’s.

“Help me lie down?”

Her hands were on him in a second, easing his shoulders sideways to the ground. The move made his spine light up with pain and sucked all the air from his body, but he was finally off the dead demon, resting firmly on the cold ground.

He lay there for a while, panting for breath. Lyka kept stroking his face, biting her lip in fear. As soon as his breathing eased, she asked, “Better?”

“Not the word I’d pick, but at least now I don’t have to worry about falling over.”

He closed his eyes. It felt so damn good he didn’t even try to open them again.

Joseph clutched his sword in one hand and prayed that by the time the demons came for his blood, he’d have regained enough strength to fend them off and keep Lyka safe.

Chapter 16

Lyka sensed the instant Joseph passed out.

He’d lost so much blood. She didn’t know how he could still be alive.

Panic churned in her gut, threatening to spew out of her at any second. Her tiger paced nervously in the back of her mind, anxious to come out and force her to flee.

She fought the animal side of herself, knowing that leaving Joseph here in a pool of his own blood after nightfall was the same thing as executing him.

“Hurry the fuck up, Ronan,” she growled into the chilly air.

She checked the phone. Less than an hour had passed since she’d called Nicholas for help. Even if Ronan had been on the road near the settlement, he would still be in the woods, hiking their way.

Not fast enough.

Lyka knew that some Theronai women could heal severe wounds. Maybe even as severe as this one. She didn’t know if that was the kind of thing she’d be good at or not, but she did know that if she didn’t try, Joseph was a dead man.

He was unconscious now. Even if he caught a glimpse inside her thoughts, he wouldn’t remember it when he woke up. Would he?

It was a chance she was going to have to take. There was too much at stake for her not to act.

She picked up his limp hand and held it so that his ring touched her necklace. The two parts of the luceria locked together with an audible snap. She had no clue what she was doing, but she had to start somewhere.

Lyka closed her eyes and concentrated on the physical connection between them. His fingers were cool to the touch. The ring on his finger hummed, vibrating the band around her throat. There was power in that vibration. All she had to do was access it.