He did not want them to have to wrestle him to the floor. Shrugging out of his coat and waistcoat, he tugged the shirt from his breeches, fanned the material to cool the burning skin on his chest.
“Shall we compel you to sleep now rather than wait?” Leo asked.
“No. I … I do not want to do anything that might slow down the healing process.” He shuffled on the mattress in a bid to find a more comfortable position. “Just wait a little while longer.”
As soon as the cure reached the tips of his toes, he felt an instant change. The fire heating his body suddenly turned cold. Every muscle grew hard and solid. He felt like a piece of scorching metal pulled fresh from the furnace and then dunked into a vat of ice-cold water. He could almost hear the sizzling as his temperature plummeted.
Perhaps his experience would be different from Alexander’s: less painful, less intense. It was a foolish thought. Within seconds, his body began to burn again. The first few stabbing pains were bearable but soon attacked him until he felt as though he was being beaten and moulded with a blacksmith’s hammer.
He could hear his own cries echoing through the chamber, could feel his friends’ hands on his chest, their muttered words wishing him to sleep.
“It’s taking too long,” Leo barked. “Grace, Alexander, kneel beside us. I know you do not have the ability to enter his thoughts, but your strength and prayers may help.”
Lost in a swirling black mist, Elliot knew the moment Grace placed her hand on his chest. For some unknown reason, it had the power to soothe him, helped him to fight against the poison in his blood. After what seemed like hours, but could have been minutes, he could feel himself being slowly sucked down into the peaceful realms of sleep. Despite his dazed and confused state, he knew there was only one thing left to say.
“I love you, Grace,” he whispered, not knowing if she could hear him as he drifted away.
For a long time, his world felt black: an empty void where he lingered waiting to discover his fate. The first few fragments of dreams were memories of the past: images representing all the licentious things he had done to numb the pain. He suddenly felt guilt and shame, yet at the time he had felt none of those things. Then his world became clearer. Grace entered his field of vision. Like a brilliant star in the night sky, she dazzled him with her magnificence. Where he had once felt cold and alone, he now felt the joy of love and companionship.
“I will never love another, only you.” Grace’s voice touched him, shook him awake. “I will never stop thinking of you.”
He opened his eyes to find her sitting at his side, hugging her knees to her chest as she rocked back and forth. Scanning the chamber, he realised they were alone. His lids felt heavy,
and he could not stop them from closing again.
Time passed.
Booted footsteps echoed through the chamber. “Grace. Please, you should come upstairs and rest.” He recognised Leo’s voice. “There is nothing more you can do here.”
“I’ll not leave him.”
Leo sighed. “But it has been three days. You cannot continue like this.”
Three days!
Panic flared. Grace would think the worst. He had to force his eyes open, make her see he still lived and breathed.
“G-grace,” he stuttered, his stiff jaw making it difficult to speak. “Don’t … don’t go.”
He heard their shocked gasps, followed by Leo yelling Ivana to come.
Suddenly the sound of excited voices filled the room. Leo and Ivana knelt by his side, whispered the words to wake him fully from his sleep.
It took no effort to force his eyes open for the second time.
“Tell me you’re well.” Leo patted his chest as he lay on the mattress. “Tell me that the nightmare we’ve lived these last few days is finally over.”
“I am well,” he said weakly. He tried to determine how he truly felt. His mouth was tight and dry as though he had been lying face down on the sand. The painful, hollow feeling in his stomach he recognised to be extreme hunger. With some effort, he managed to sit up. “I am certain the cure was effective,” he added, confident in the knowledge he felt human again.
Grace threw her arms around him. “I thought I had lost you.”
One thing had not changed. All he wanted to do was cover her body with his own and bury himself deep inside the only place he had ever felt truly happy. He kissed her tenderly on the lips, on her cheek, her temple. “I told you, wolves couldn’t tear me away from you.” He ran the tip of his tongue over his upper gums. They felt sore, swollen, yet normal. “What happened to my teeth?”
Leo handed him a pitcher. “We don’t know. We were desperate for a sign to know all was well and when we inspected your mouth your fangs had disappeared. I thought you might have swallowed them.”
“Good Lord, I hope not.” He nodded to the pitcher. “I assume it is safe to drink.” Thirst prevented him from waiting for a response. The water slid easily down his throat, the taste cool and refreshing. He did not retch or splutter. “Did I hear you correctly? Have I been down here for three days?”
A look of grief flashed in Leo’s eyes. “I’d almost given up any hope of you ever waking. We have tried numerous times to rouse you from sleep but to no avail.”