Andra’s heart broke open and bled for her sister. If this didn’t work . . .
“How long has she been asleep?” he asked, frowning at Nika.
“Hours. She woke up and had a little bit to eat before we left Nebraska, but she slept the rest of the way here. Madoc gave her some water when we arrived, but she went right back to sleep.”
Tynan sat on the edge of the bed. He picked up her bony hand with exquisite care. His long fingers hovered over her pulse for a moment. When he looked up at Andra, his face was grim. “She’s not sleeping anymore. She’s unconscious.”
Chapter 19
Andra locked her knees to keep from falling. “Are you sure? I thought she was getting better when Madoc managed to get her to eat. I never would have left her side if I’d thought otherwise.”
Guilt ate at her, making her stomach turn. She was so swept up in Paul and his world that she hadn’t even noticed her sister had gotten worse.
“She hasn’t been unconscious for long, but I can feel her slipping away. Her body is getting weaker.”
“What do we do?”
“I won’t know until I have some of her blood.”
“If she’s weak, that will only make things worse.”
“No. I need only a drop or two.” He was looking at her for permission.
Andra had no choice. No options. “Okay, but no more.”
Tynan nodded and put Nika’s finger to his mouth. Andra saw him pierce the tip with his sharp fang, and just as quickly his tongue swiped over it, sealing her skin.
He froze. Nika’s hand slipped from his grasp and fell back to the bed. His eyes started to dart around like crazy—just like Logan’s had done—and a deep moan rose up from his throat.
Andra held back her panic. She didn’t know what was going on here, but she wasn’t going to leave Nika in the way if Tynan started thrashing around. She moved around the bed to gather Nika in her arms and get her out of the way just as Tynan’s eyes slowed and he let out a harsh breath.
“You okay?” asked Andra.
He didn’t seem to hear her. “That poor child,” he whispered, and looked at Nika as if she were already dead.
“What happened?” demanded Andra.
“Her blood.” He wiped his mouth like he didn’t want to risk tasting any more of it. “I know why she’s suffering.” He looked up at Andra and his expression was that of a doctor giving a family member the worst news possible. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I can get her to eat and help her body heal, but there’s nothing I can do for her mind.”
Andra held back her tears through sheer force of will. “What is it? What’s wrong with her?”
“The Synestryn got her blood somehow.”
Andra knew how. “Our family was attacked when she was twelve. One of those things ripped her leg open.” She couldn’t bring herself to tell him that the monster had licked Nika’s blood from her wound and Andra hadn’t done a thing to stop it. She’d just stood there, letting it happen.
“It’s a wonder she lived. Their claws and saliva are poisonous.”
“She was sick for a long time, but she got better. At least, I thought she had. It took a while before I realized that she wasn’t . . . herself.” Those first few weeks had nearly been more than Andra could take. Her mother had been killed. Her baby sister had been missing and presumed dead, though Andra refused to believe it. Nika had been in the hospital, holding on to life by a thread. Andra was alone, making all the decisions herself. She had been nineteen, just starting college. She was barely old enough to be out on her own, much less holding the fate of two children in her hands. She was torn between hunting for Tori or staying with Nika. She tried to do both, but exhaustion put her into the hospital, too, and the choice was made for her.
She’d wanted to turn to her mom so badly, be held and told everything was going to be okay. But Mom was dead and the doctors kept looking to Andra for all the decisions. She had no choice but to suck it up. So she had.
“Your sister is psychic, isn’t she?” asked Tynan.
Andra nodded slowly. She’d always written it off as creepy coincidences, but it was true. Nika had known a lot of things she shouldn’t have. “Is that why she’s like this? Why she thinks she sees things that aren’t there?”
“The blood that was taken from her forged a connection with the sgath who took it—a kind of mental link. She could have handled that, but it got worse. Somehow, the blood of that creature was consumed by many others. Nika’s presence inside of that sgath was split each time her blood was passed on. From what I can tell, this has happened more than once.”
“You can tell all of that from a drop or two of blood?”
“Yes.” He didn’t look like it made him happy.
“So why can’t you fix it?”
“I’m not skilled enough. There is a Sanguinar in Europe who may be, but even that’s not likely.”
Hopeless rage filled Andra up until she shook. “Why the hell not?”
“Because Nika’s been cut into too many pieces. There’s not enough left to put her back together, and even if we could, the scars would likely leave her mind ruined. It’s best if you let her go. Let her suffering end.”
“No,” whispered Andra. She couldn’t let Nika go, too. She couldn’t be alone.
Warm, strong hands settled on her shoulders. Paul. She hadn’t even seen him come in the room.
“You heard her, Tynan,” said Paul. “We’re not letting her go. You can have whatever blood you need, but you can’t give up on her.”