“Are you fucking joking?” Devon blurts out. “She died!”
“And she came back. It’s fine,” he says, trying desperately not to look as stricken as Devon. He has never felt so alone and so scared in his life as when he thought his wife, his life, was dead.
“Yeah, fine,” Devon growls and stalks off, probably after his sire to seek comfort from her.
Not going to happen.
He needs to be in his wife’s arms, in her bed, in her body, before he crumbles.
“Lizzie!”
He hears Devon’s panicked cry and he races forward into their bedroom, to see her lying prone in Devon’s arms.
“What did you do to her?” Constantine thunders at him.
“Nothing,” he snaps back. “She was unconscious on the floor when I came in.”
“Put her on the bed,” he orders, listening for her heartbeat. He hears it, loud and strong, and nearly lets out a whimper of relief.
“What happened?” Lincoln asks quietly, coming into the room.
Constantine looks at him, wishing that he would just go away, but then inspiration strikes. “See if you can find out,” he says, pointing to Aefre. He dislikes that this man can actually read her thoughts. He is adept at reading her emotions and facial features. He knows her better than she knows herself most of the time, but this proper telepathic link aggravates him. He knows because of it; the Wolf will never go away.
Lincoln climbs onto the bed and places his hands on her. He squeezes his eyes shut and then lets out a gasp of pain. “N-nothing,” he pants. “There is absolutely nothing there.”
“You mean she is blocking you?” Devon asks hopefully.
Constantine can see that he also hates the psychic link between them.
“No, I mean there is nothing there. At all. Just a black hole,” Lincoln says puzzled.
“Hm,” Constantine mutters. He isn’t sure if he is happy about that or not. Now they don’t know what’s wrong with her. “Dracul!” he shouts out suddenly, making everyone else jump in surprise.
The Dragon Emperor makes a quick reappearance with a frown. “What is it?” he asks immediately.
Constantine points to Aefre lying still on the bed.
Dracul tilts his head to one side and gives her a curious look. “She has gone into shock,” he says. “Her body has shut down, trying to realign itself now without the Dragon. She will be fine.”
“Fine around here doesn’t exactly bode well,” Constantine mutters.
Dracul sends him a weird look, but he just shrugs.
“Are you sure? She is unconscious.”
“I am sure,” Dracul answers. “Although, might I have a quick word?” He glances around at all the men that have descended into their bedroom to look at her helplessly.
Constantine heaves a sigh. This was always his sanctuary, now it just seems that anyone can barge in and invade his personal space. “This way,” he says, indicating the door with his head. “What is it?” he asks once they are ensconced in the alcove looking out of the windows. Well, he is standing in the alcove. Dracul is standing on the outside otherwise he would be bent over due to his immense height.
“This is a delicate subject,” the Dragon starts.
“We are used to those around here,” Constantine comments wryly. “Go ahead.”
“Well, now that the Dragon is gone, you may see a change in her behavior.”
“How so?” he asks. “There wasn’t much of a change when the Dragon was activated.” He purses his lips waiting for the response.
“That was before her Faerie side was activated. They are…” Dracul trails off, also pursing his lips, but in disgust rather than concern.