Shrugging out of his hold, I call the shadows to me. Every shadow. I urge every single inch of darkness into my body, sucking it in, swallowing until my lungs are full and about to burst. Sunlight bursts inside, escaping every corner and nook, dodging everything that might stop it. The warmth of it hits my skin and burns the vampires in front of me.
Screams take my ears, and I wince at the pain in them. The vampires drop to their knees, rolling, squirming away from the burning light. The butler comes running from the outside, his umbrella propped up to protect him from the sun. He’ll reach Kayn and we’ll run out of time.
I jump between the vampires, dodging their outstretched hands, and dive for Donatello. His white skin pops in angry red blisters, and his cries are just as painful as the others. I grip the back of his shirt and tug, but he’s too heavy and in too much pain to notice it’s me.
“Don!” I cry out again, my voice breaking. I can’t leave him behind. He’ll be killed for helping me out. Again. Looking up, my gaze meets the butler’s, and he’s almost here.
Apollo kneels next to me with an annoyed look on his face. “I got him,” he says, forcing Donatello to his feet and folding an arm around his waist.
Gratitude feels my chest just as exhaustion rips a hole in me. I stumble but slip under Donatello’s arm to carry him with me. Tristan and Ren rush to us, closing their hands around me.
With a huge breath, I let the words slip past my lips, my legs trembling. Magic surrounds me, the softness of my shadows licking down my arms. They embrace us, and I feel the portal opening.
Shooting a look over my shoulder at Kayn, I see him sitting up under his butler’s umbrella. There’s rage on her face, but it’s not directed at me. He glares at Donatello’s back as he pulls a gun from within his chest pocket.
He aims, and he shoots. It hits Donatello just as we slip into the portal. Darkness tugs on me, pulling us forward, taking us away. In the back of my mind, I laugh at Kayn. Shooting vampires? Why would he do that? He knows as much as I do that doesn’t work. Damn, I still have shivers remembering that guy Apollo shot in Hiram, just to see him getting to his feet seconds later.
My feet hit solid, rocky ground, and I lose my balance. Ren shoots out his hands to grip me against his chest. I look up to thank him, but there’s an absolute shock on his face. When I look over my shoulder at Don, I see what got Ren so out of sorts.
Donatello frowns, then half-turns to peek over his shoulder. The right side of his white shirt is crimson red. He meets my eyes for a moment, then his knees buckle. Apollo tightens his hold, keeping him standing.
“Shit,” Apollo roars as I reach out to touch Donatello, unable to understand what’s going on. “Verbena bullet.”
CHAPTER22
CASSANDRA
Donatello’s blood smells human, iron-y to my nose. And there’s so much of it. I race around him, trying to find the wound, but there’s so much red. So much blood, everywhere. I get dizzy, my head light. Gods. No, no, no, please no.
“Verbena bullet?” I squeal out at Apollo. “What does that mean? Why is he bleeding? He’s a vampire, he shouldn’t bleed.”
Apollo presses his brows together, keeping a hold on Donatello. “It’s the one thing toxic to vampires.”
My stomach plummets. Why did Kayn have one of those? Why did he shoot Donatello? Did he feel betrayed? Is it because I didn’t go with him? Questions whirl around in my head, and I stumble a step back. Is Donatello dying because of me? Ren holds me against his chest. I gape, not sure of what I should do.
Steps clack on the ground and I peek around Ren’s arm to see Giulia approaching with a vial in hand. “So, which one of them died? I have Donatello’s antidote if he made it.”
I shoot to my feet, stumbling closer to her. “You saw him getting shot? Is this the antidote to the bullet?” Before she replies, I take the vial from her hand and whirl back around to Donatello, so fast my head swims. I manage to uncork it and pour the liquid into his mouth. He swallows it without question, and I follow him with my gaze, but his face is still pale.
“Bullet?” asks Giulia, and I turn to see her arching an eyebrow. Trevor and Alicia arrive a moment later, and their brows shoot up on their foreheads. “Which one is this? You get shot on several occasions.”
“Donatello was shot by a verbena bullet,” says Alicia, covering her nose. “There’s a lot of blood.”
Giulia’s face softens. “You still alive, Donatello?”
“Barely,” he replies in a ragged voice that kills me. My heart squeezes in my chest, and my eyes sting. I cling to his other arm. So the antidote she referred to was a potion that would resume his hearing ability. I would rather it kept him alive.
Giulia closes her hands in fists and determination crosses her face. “I will keep you alive. Get him to your room, staunch the bleeding. I’ll brew a potion.” And she sets off. Trevor follows her after shooting a glance over his shoulder, the image of pity on his face.
I don’t want him to pity me. There’s no reason to pity me because Donatello will not die. He won’t. He can’t.
Alicia waves a hand. “Come on. I’ll grab the first aid kit. You’ll need to keep him fed so he won’t bleed out.”
I nod without thinking about it. With Donatello’s arm in my hold, I start with Apollo down the corridors to our room, but Donatello’s body grows heavy as his steps falter. Tristan takes my place without wasting a moment and, together, he and Apollo pick up their paces.
“He’ll be okay,” says Ren, but his voice isn’t full of reassurance as it usually is.
Alicia opens the door for us, closes the curtains, and slips into the bathroom. She comes out with gauze and a patching-up kit, propping them on the edge of the bed. She goes back into the bathroom as Apollo helps Donatello into the bed, then she comes back with towels. For a moment, rage boils inside me and I think she’s trying to keep the sheets safe from the blood, but Alicia turns to me with green on her face.