“I’ll kill him,” Bones replied in that same unflinching tone.
A spasm of fear gripped me. Tomorrow night, either Bones would make good on that vow—or he’d be dead.
THIRTY-THREE
BONES STOOD IN FRONT OF ME, WEARING nothing but a pair of loose-fitting black pants. I tried to choke back my panic, but no matter how bland I kept my expression, the sickly-sour scent permeating from me gave me away.
He squeezed my hands. His were warm from his recent meal. Mine were icy by comparison.
“Maybe I could have burned Gregor to death yesterday, given time,” I said, hating what was coming next. “Why did you bite me when you flew us away? You might not have needed to do this if you hadn’t sucked so much blood out of me.”
A bark of wry laughter came from Bones. “Indeed, but not how you’re thinking. You were burning me as I held you, Kitten. It was either let you fry me, or bite you and hope that draining you combined with the power of the sun doused your flames, or drop you. Still critiquing my choice?”
I’d burned Bones, too?
“I hope this power goes away,” I said, meaning it.
He shrugged. “It might. Vampires only sustain power from human blood for a few days until we need to feed again to replenish our strength. The same dwindling-down effect could hold true for you, and I don’t fancy you biting Tepesh again to refresh your fire abilities.”
“Never again,” I agreed, shuddering at the thought of burning Bones. Who would want power like that if you couldn’t control it, and it hurt those you loved?
Spade entered without knocking. “It’s time,” he said. His face was tight and emotionless, even though I knew he was as wound up as I was.
Bones’s dark brown gaze met mine. He smiled, but I couldn’t return it if my life depended on it. His power brushed over me like a caress. I could feel it smoothing back my fear, entwining into my subconscious, linking us tighter together.
“Don’t fret, luv,” he said softly. “Soon this will be over, and Gregor will be dead.”
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. Oh God, if I could trade places with Bones, I would. In a second.
“I’d ask you to stay here,” Bones went on, “but I suspect you’d refuse.”
I couldn’t contain my snort. “As you would say, right you are.” I couldn’t hide in a room while Bones fought Gregor in a death match, no matter what. “But don’t concern yourself with me. You focus on him. I’ll be fine.”
“Oh, he’ll have all my attention, Kitten,” Bones said in a grim tone. “Count on that.”
I wanted to tell Bones he didn’t have to do this, that we could find another way, but I knew how useless that would be. No matter what, Bones wouldn’t walk away from this fight, even if Gregor all of a sudden promised to let us alone and my mother decided she was thrilled to be a vampire. Gregor had murdered Rodney. Bones was fighting Gregor for more reasons than me.
Mencheres appeared in the doorway, Ian behind him. I looked at the two vampires, one dark-haired and exotic, the other russet-haired and classically handsome. Both men were responsible for Bones’s existence, since Mencheres turned Ian into a vampire, then Ian changed Bones. So many events had led up to this moment.
Bones leaned down, kissing me with the lightest brush of his lips. I traced my fingers over his jaw when he lifted his head, fighting the urge to grab him and refuse to let go.
The harsh scent of my desperation floated around me. Bones held my shoulders, squeezing gently.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve faced death, Kitten, and I don’t intend it to be the last. I’ve chosen to live a very dangerous life, but this is who I am. It’s who you are, too, and the same would be true even if we’d never met.”
I knew what he was really saying. If I die, it won’t be your fault. Yes, it was true that Bones and I both would have lived equally dangerous lives even if we’d never met, but the bottom line was that if he died today, it would be my fault.
“I love you.”
It was all I could say right now. Anything else would just upset him and he needed to be focused in order to beat Gregor.
“I know you do,” he whispered. “And I love you. Always.”
Then he turned before I could even blink and walked out the door.
It had been decided the duel would take place on Mencheres’s back lawn. It was certainly big enough, with its acres of land bordered by high trees. An area the size of a baseball diamond had been cleared of everything but dirt, as the place where Bones and Gregor would square off. I didn’t know why so much space was required, but then again, it was my first experience with this sort of thing—and hopefully, my last.