Page 89 of The Vampire Curse

“You’re in shock,” he says. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a handkerchief, pressing it to the gashes along my shoulder. I’ve bled all over his shirt. His eyes darken. “Come, we need to get you cleaned up and healed.”

Chapter Thirty-Four

Clara

“No one isto report what happened here to Elizabeth.” Alaric looks at each vampire, daring each to defy him.

I press tighter into his side, ready to be far from this room.

Della lifts her chin as we pass. Her nostrils flare, and she seems to be fighting to keep her expression in check. “He was her newest consort, you don’t honestly expect her to remain unaware of his absence when the rest of us return, do you?”

I can’t tell if she’s angry I survived, or if she's having trouble reconciling Alaric’s orders with Elizabeth’s.

Alaric stops us. His eyes slide shut, and he pinches the bridge of his nose as if he’s counting internally.

“Of course, I don’t, Della, butIwill be the one to tell her.” His eyes flick to the vampire at her side. “As Lawrence pointed out, it was a fight to the death.” Then he raises his voice, addressing them all. “Clara Valmont bested Victor Connors. We all witnessed the fight—it was fair,” he flinches at that word but continues, his voice booming through the room. “Both parties abided by the rules her majesty set in place.”

Then, one by one, they each dip their chin, acknowledging his command.

I look up at him questioningly as we begin walking again. He seems to have some sort of hold over them. I wonder if there is more to it than this being his home. Whatever it is, I keep my thoughts to myself.

Keeping the handkerchief pressed to my shoulder is more effort than I would have imagined. By the time we reach the top of the stairs on the second floor, I feel light-headed and weak.

I’ve lost too much blood.

I pull away from Alaric to go to my room. I don’t think I can make it up another flight of stairs without passing out. Each breath feels like I’m getting half the air I need, and a cool sweat dampens the edge of my brow.

The scowl on his face fades and is replaced with a worried look.

“Stay with me,” he says.

He could order me, and I would have to comply, but this is a request, not a demand. He is giving me a choice.

Alaric holds out a hand, and I realize I don’t want to leave. Not yet, anyway.

I slip my hand into his. And I must look as bad as I feel because he picks me up and carries me to the third floor. I let my body go limp and rest my head on his shoulder.

Wordlessly, he sets me down on his bed and then strides into the bathing room.

I wait. I can hear him moving things around, then for a long moment, there is only silence. I slide my legs off the edge of the bed and stand. My ribs hurt, and even though I move slowly, waves of hot and cold wash over my body.

His back is to me when I reach the doorway.

“Alaric?” I say, but he keeps going through various vials and things. "Alaric.”

He stills at the sharp tone in my voice. “Clara, you shouldn’t be moving around.”

I pad across the room, stopping a short distance from him. I reach up, intending to press my palm to his back. But the dried blood on my fingers stops me and I let my hand drop back to my side.

“I’m sorry—” I say again.

I meant it when he saved me from drowning in the lake. But after tonight, I feel the full weight of my actions. Now he has seen me murder his kind with his own eyes. And it doesn’t matter that I did so, this time, out of self-defense. The end result was the same.

I have killed another vampire.

“Go sit back down. I am almost done in here. I need to clean your wounds.” His tone is calm and indifferent, but not unkind.

He isn’t going to heal me with his power… not that he owes it to me to do so. Truthfully, I don’t think I want to go through that pain tonight, even if it means healing faster. If I stay perfectly still, my wounds don’t hurt nearly as much.