Page 84 of Desired for Her Blood

I shrug, wishing I had shoes.

“Go!” Zuben says, and I dash forward.

In the blink of an eye, I slam into the far wall of the cave, gasping at the sharp, then aching pain in my head and hands.

The men are all at my side in an instant.

“Are you hurt?” Axe asks, sweeping me into his arms.

“She’s fuckingbleeding!” Ryker snaps and then his eyes darken. He licks my forehead and groans.

“Could you run that quickly before?” Zuben asks.

“What do you think?” I ask. The throbbing pain in my head is already subsiding, and I reach up, expecting to discover a tender goose egg on my forehead, but my head’s barely sore and there doesn’t seem to be any wound.

I smile at Axe, rubbing his chest, and he sets me back down.

“Interesting.” Zuben nods. “You have certainly gained speed, as well as the ability to heal more quickly. Although, the healing ability could be the result of recently consuming my blood.” He shakes his head. “That ability may not last.”

“My burns healed too,” I remind him, and Zuben nods. “This is most interesting. Typically, humans do not transform into vampires in increments like this. It is most fascinating.”

“You said you feel stronger?” Axe says.

He strides over to the pile of boulders filling the cave’s former entrance. There, he lifts a boulder over his head and then sets it back down as the rest of us join him. The boulder is at least double the size of a beach ball.

“See if you can get it off the ground.” Hands on his waist, Axe stands behind it, looking like a cartoon version of the strongest man on earth. He may well be.

I bend over the boulder.

“Use your legs to lift,” Axe says.

Smiling up at him, I squat, get my arms around the massive piece of granite, or whatever kind of stone it is, and then, expecting to fail, I brace myself and try to straighten my legs.

I pop up way easier than I expect, and the boulder bounces out of my arms. Axe catches it before it can fall back down, a look of pure wonder on this face.

“Try this one.” Axe reaches behind and tugs on another rock at the bottom of the pile, one much, much bigger.

He pulls it out and turns.

The wall of stones behind him destabilizes—a huge rock tumbling down from the top.

Light flashes inside me; my arms rise and flick to the side.

The boulder shifts direction, landing to the left of Axe with a crashing thud.

“Holy shit!” Ryker is beside me in a heartbeat.

“What just happened?” Axe turns.

“She used her magic.” Zuben states, with a hint of awe in his voice, and I turn toward him, eyes wide.

“What? No I didn’t.” I turn away from him. My heart and mind are racing. I can’t think. Can’t make sense of anything, and I can’t see anything beyond the hair on Axe’s chest where he stands about four feet in front of me.

“It is clear,” Zuben says. “I cannot know the bounds of, or the specific source of your magic, or how you call upon or control it, but the result was obvious. Ember you prevented that boulder from landing on Axel.”

Axe pulls me into his arms. “You saved my life.” His heart beats loud against my ear, and his embrace brings me back to the present.

“She did not save your life,” Zuben says flatly. “It is highly unlikely that the boulder would have severed your head. Even if your skull or spine had been crushed, you would have recovered from your injuries.”