"No, it a
lmost feels like a balm on a sunburn." He pulled her close. "You are my solace. Only in your arms do my cares fall away. Now that my soul has been soothed by yours, I do not think I could face the world alone."
She kissed his chest. "You will never have to. I will never let you go. As I have soothed you, you have warmed me. I feel like I have stepped into the sun after a lifetime of living in the shadows."
"We will have to return to Level One eventually," he said sighing.
"But we will return together." She closed her eyes. "Let's rest for a bit then head down. I'm worried about our little midget."
He chuckled. "I think she could weather anything."
Vivi pulled back and looked up at him. "Not this time. His words hurt her. Words can be more devastating than any injury."
His features softened. "You speak from experience."
She scrunched up her nose. "Because I couldn't go outside much as a child, the other kids used to call me a blood-sucking vampire."
Etain frowned. "But you are a blood-sucking vampire."
She sniffed haughtily. "But those little bastards didn't know that."
He buried his face between her shoulder and her neck laughing. "I adore you."
"You're lucky I adore you too, or I would be very upset at you laughing over my childhood trauma."
When he licked where he had bitten her, she exhaled softly. "No fair."
"Rest love, when we get up, I may show you exactly how unfair I can be."
She wiggled closer and yawned. "I could get used to this."
"That's the idea," he whispered cradling her gently.
She couldn't fight the wave of exhaustion that swamped her, smiling, she fell asleep in her mate's arms.
*****
They swung by the lab to see that Marjoram had dropped off new blood samples, and Ellie had already prepped the slides. She pulled them out of the refrigerator and looked at them under the microscope.
"Well?" Etain asked.
"I bet Ellie is dancing a jig." She moved the slide to the left. She could clearly see evidence of the virus now as it seemed to be under attack by the vampire blood. Flashes of magic was making it hard to see.
"Why?"
"Take a look." She stepped back and allowed him to look into the eyepiece.
He straightened. "It looks like a tiny battle."
"Because that's what it is. From the number of inert cells, I'm going out on a limb and saying that the warrior blood is about sixty percent effective in eradicating this thing."
His face brightened. "That's amazing news!"
Vivi couldn't help the blooming sense of hope. "We're dealing with a magic driven virus that shouldn't exist. I'll take any progress."
"Let's go share the good news," he held out his hand.
Together they made their way to Prince Magnus' quarters. When Sebastian opened the door, he was frowning.