Page 111 of Love Bleeds

I wasn't burning.

But oh my God was I tired.

The vampire that had been holding me let go, and I stumbled forward, my hands shooting out to break my fall at the last minute.

Shit.

Smoke hung in the air. I couldn't see where Crimson was--whereanyonewas. I glanced up at the ceiling, if only to confirm that the sprinklers weren't coming on--and to make sure that the ceiling wasn't about to cave in and bury me, which could still happen.

All around me, people were rushing out of the room.

Crimson and I had to get out of here too.

Rationally, I knew that.

When I tried to stand, though, my body wasn't cooperating. I couldn't move and keep my magic flowing at the same time. The floor where I was lying wasn't on fire now. I could drop my magic and hope to make a dash for it.

But I couldn't do that while I didn't know where Crimson was and if he was safe.

He had to be, though, because a tendril of my chakra was still stretching out toward him. I focused on that tendril, tried to follow its pull with my eyes.

My heart sped up with relief. Crimson was coming toward me, back in his human form now.

"Luke!" he called out, kneeling next to me.

There wasn't a scratch on him. No scorch marks either. He looked good. Really good. I gave him a loopy smile and idly wondered if magic exhaustion could have the same effects on someone as mental exhaustion because my thoughts were turning hazy around the edges.

Instead of waiting for some sort of response from me, Crimson helped me up on my feet. "C'mon, we gotta get going."

I leaned on him. "Can't move." I cast my gaze about the room. Flames were licking at the walls, heavy smoke billowing in the air. It should have stung my eyes and burned my lungs, but it didn't. It would, once I stopped channeling magic, though. "Where's...?"

"Nicolai? I'm not sure." Crimson replied, even as he picked me up with one arm under my knees. "Hang on."

I nodded, glad for my boyfriend's paranormal strength.

He stepped over something on his way out the door. A body? I wasn't sure, and I didn't look to check. I needed all my energy to keep my shields up and my arms around Crimson's neck. The pounding in my skull was becoming almost too much to bear. "Hurry," I choked out, because I didn't know how much longer I could do this.

Crimson didn't reply, but he went a little faster. He was aiming for the tunnel, I realized vaguely. And then, suddenly, I saw something on the floor that made me call for him to stop.

"The bird!" I pointed at the canary on the floor. "Get the bird!"

"What?" Crimson sounded about as confused as I felt, but he honored my request anyway. I clung on to him as he lowered my feet to the ground for just a moment so he could pick the bird up and give it to me to hold. I cradled the unconscious creature to my chest as we carried on, wishing I had any more magic to spare, but I didn't.

"Hold on, little bird," I murmured. "We'll be fine."

At least I hoped that was true, because we weren't out of the lion's denyet.