Page 130 of His Retribution

When she collapsed into my arms and began to fade, I did the only thing I could think of to keep her with me.

I used my fangs and tore into my wrist, let my blood run over her wound, then lifted it to her mouth and forced her feed.

No, I was not trying to turn her but as I said, since Cora is my mate, my blood is just as beneficial to her as hers is to me, and since we actually mated that seems to have increased tenfold.

Henrich says my blood was the only thing that kept her with us, says it's the only thing keeping her here now, but I struggle with that because I feel as though I have failed her once again.

"Let's have a look, shall we?" Henrich stands across from me at the other side of Cora's bed, his eyes meeting mine briefly for approval to lift her gown.

I nod and sit back, get into position for Grace to start my blood draw, but my gaze never leaves my light. No, I watch as my brother rolls down the sheet, pulls up the hospital gown and exposes the large piece of gauze on her stomach.

The wound was nasty, gaping, did damage to porcelain skin as well as several internal organs, and somehow Joyce was able to pierce her flesh with enough force that it nicked part of Cora's spine. Thankfully Henrich is not only an incredibly talented healer, but a skillful surgeon as well, so he was able to repair all of the damage that was done and confirm there would be no lasting effects, save for a nasty scar.

But it is also why I don't understand why my love has not woken up.

"Remarkable," Henrich whispers, drawing my stare from my angel’s face to her wound I can barely look at. "You've not seen this yet today?"

I shake my head, brows furrowed in disbelief.

Prior to this moment, Cora's wound has looked relatively normal, all considering, except for one unexplained trait.

The point of entry was neon orange and the veins surrounding it were much the same.

None of us, even in our collective thousands of years of life had ever seen something like that, and it became even more of a mindfuck as Cora's body began to reject the vampire blood used in an attempt to poison her.

As she began to heal, after Henrich performed her surgery, the veins began turning blue. Not blue as veins appear under the skin but the same electric sapphire of her eyes. It started at the furthest point from entry, the intense blue gradually consuming the orange, pushing it back toward the incision where it appeared to almost drain and purge on its own. Eventually, the scar lost the orange color as well and seemed to be fading to the same pale pink of her other scars, but not now.

No, that is not how her scar looks now, not at all.

My eyes move back and forth over the permanent reminder of how I failed her in utter disbelief.

The four and a half inch scar is now a pale sapphire blue, but that's not all. The veins that had been affected and disappeared are now the same color but look more like… like fuckingdelphiniums.

My gods, that's exactly what her scar looks like.

A goddamn larkspur spike from just above her belly button that stretches up so the highest point rests between the curve of her beautiful breasts.

I lean closer and feel my eyes widen.

Just under the lowest point, starting maybe a half inch above her belly button before snaking their way around the flower, weaving in and out of it then reaching up under her breasts toward Cora's ribs is ivy. Vine after vine of iridescent powder blue ivy complete with tiny leaves.

If I ever had any doubts about my mate being fae, which I did not, they would surely be put to rest right fucking now.

"Her stitches are gone as well," Henrich says as he meets my eyes. "This is remarkable. I've… I've never heard of anything like this happening before."

I blink.

Looking at her stomach, the once nasty scar made into something gorgeous, and that's when a thought occurs to me.

Delphiniums symbolize health, pleasure, lightness, and generosity; as well as ardent attachment.

Ivy symbolizes fidelity, marriage, affection, and eternal life.

And those two plants are wound together in an absolutely stunning way in place of what would have been a nasty scar and haunting reminder of what could have been.

Gods… talk about a cosmic fucking wake up call.

I get it, Universe. Cora is my mate, my whole entire life, and despite what's been thrown at us, despite the obstacles put in our path, we are forever and not even fear of death will change that.