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How could he explain what he was feeling to her without looking like a needy bastard? He sure as hell didn’t want to tell her that he’d die without her No one should have to live with pressure like that He didn’t want to be a burden If she was going to stay with hiuilt "Maybe later I think we should see e can do for Nika, first"

Andra nodded "Okay Rain check, then"

"Sure"

He saw her shift gears frouilty concern he’d colanced back over her shoulder to where Nika lay "What do we do?" she asked hi with her, so we’ll have to play it by ear Go slow and easy"

"Is there a chance I could hurt her?"

He couldn’t lie to her "Yes But at this point, what are your options? What are hers?"

"You said there were people at your hoht?" Her voice shook with insecurity

Paul ignored his own probleht now, Andra needed him

He took her hand and a subtle rush of warers It would be so easy to focus on the physical and ignore the proble

"The Sanguinar--the ht be able to help if we can get her to the point where she can give theo for that, but we can try"

"They can make it painless for her Take her blood while she sleeps and make sure she never knows"

"That’s a little creepy, don’t you think? How do you know it’s never happened to you?"

Paul had lived with it for so long, it didn’t bother him any as we’re there, she’d be safe I’d never allow anyone to hurt her any more than you would But that’s not our only option Even if the Sanguinar can’t help her, Sibyl may knohat can"

"Who’s Sibyl?"

"She’s a seer She knows things that no one else does She ht be able to see e need to do to heal Nika There arethings She may know of one that could help and tell us where to find it"

"So there’s hope," said Andra, grasping his hand tight

Paul slid his finger along her cheek, reveling in the smoothness of her skin "There’s lots of hope"

"If there are all of these people who can help, s worse We should just take her to your ho"

"Have some faith in yourself You know Nika You love her You’re not going to do anything to hurt her Besides, Logan said she was too weak to travel" He didn’t want to tell her that he’d feared she was already dead when he walked into the rooht

Andra looked into his eyes, silently pleading with him to help "I don’t knohat to do, Paul I don’t kno to help her"

"It’s okay I’ll show you"

Chapter 16

Nika didn’t even move when Andra slid into bed next to her Her skinny fraht, but she didn’t so much as bat an eyelash Andra pressed her hand to Nika’s head She was cool to the touch The pulse fluttering in her neck was faint and unsteady

"We’ll do it like we did before, reuide you We’re just going to go look around first"

Andra nodded Paul’s hand slid around to the nape of her neck, his ring locking with her necklace She felt the band around her throat war kind of pressure built inside her Her head started to throb and her sto it," he said

"I don’t ainst the pain and nausea She wasn’t going to be able to do this It was going to be like losing Tori all over again She was going to just stand there and watch while her sister slipped away and--

"Stop it," growled Paul "That’s not going to happen Focus"

Andra pulled in a deep breath and tried to do as he said The pressure built until sweat broke out over her skin and she was shaking with the force of it

Still nothing happened

Andra opened her eyes and looked at Nika’s s ht had destroyed her Maybe it was the trauma, or maybe it was some kind of infection from theup the blood Sootten into her body and infected her with this illness Maybe she needed a ical antibiotic

The pressure inside Andra released suddenly, as if a bubble had popped She let out the breath she’d been holding, and when she looked up, she was no longer in the bedroom with Nika She was somewhere dark

She could hear the steady drip of water echoing off hard walls, smell the musty dampness in the air It was cold here--the kind of cold that seeped into your blood and stole away your will to move

"You shouldn’t be here," said Nika She appeared near a rock wall, her iraer, maybe sixteen, and her hair was dark and wavy, like it had been before the night Moh she was thin, she wasn’t skinny

"Where is here?" asked Andra, looking around It was a cave of so forround

"Shh," whispered Nika "They’ll hear you You have to leave"

"I can’t I need to help you"