It took him a good five minutes to get her to wake up. She stared at him with fever-bright eyes. “Kysen? I’m so tired.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
“I know, but I need you to drink something. Can you do that for me?”
“Hurts to swallow.”
He knew it pained her. During the two hours he’d had to wait, he’d only been able to force a small amount of water down her. “I still need you to drink. Hopefully it will help with the pain. I’m going to prop you against my chest again.”
Kysen lifted Cena’s upper body, then slipped in behind her. With her cradled between his thighs, he positioned her head against his shoulder. His fangs dropped as he lifted the inside of his wrist to his mouth. With one bite, he sank them into his skin. He pulled them out as soon as blood rose to the surface.
Giving Cena a gentle shake, he said, “Open your mouth.” When she did, he pressed his wrist to it. “Drink, Cena.”
She fought him at first, but he didn’t let her push his arm away. Not that she had the strength to do it anyway. He made a fist and squeezed to encourage his blood to flow faster. When Cena finally latched onto his wrist, each pull of her mouth caused his cock to get harder. He bit back a moan of pleasure. Having his mate feed from him was beyond pleasurable. He couldn’t wait to do this once Cena was better.
When he figured she’d had enough—and that he’d come in his pants soon—Kysen pulled his wrist away from Cena’s mouth. She moaned, this time not in pain. His cock twitched at the sound, but he ignored it. Bringing his wrist to his mouth, he swiped his tongue across the bite mark to heal it.
Cena’s eyes had shut while she’d fed and she’d relaxed into him. Hoping he’d still be able to reach her through her fever-ravaged mind, Kysen tested the mate bond that should have formed between them.
Cena, he thought without saying it out loud. Can you hear me, Cena?
As if she were far away, he heard her voice inside his head. Kysen.
Don’t go too far from me, babe. I need you to stay with me.
Am I dreaming?
No, this is real. How do you feel now?
He already knew the answer, but he needed to keep her “talking”. Using their bond, he felt the searing heat that seemed to boil the blood in her veins. Her whole body ached, especially the left side of her chest and her throat.
It hurt.
What hurt?
Whatever Apep put inside me. It hurt. It felt as if snakes were slithering under my skin, all over my body.
Kysen got a flash in Cena’s perspective of her standing in a cave chamber. The symbols of Apep were drawn on the stone floor in a circle. As if he had gone through it, he felt something starting at his legs climb up his body just under his skin.
Trying to keep his anger from his voice, he thought, You’re safe now. I have you and I’m not going to let you go, ever.
I remember now. I remember you. I’ve dreamed about you ever since I was small. I didn’t see your face until I met you again, but it was always you. My favorite soldier from Pharaoh’s army.
Kysen kissed the top of her head, feeling his throat close with emotion. I never forgot you. I love you as much now as I loved you then.
I love you too. Always. Cena sighed. I’m so tired.
I know, my love, but you can’t sleep too deeply. Dawn will be here soon. You need to be awake when Ra comes.
Ra, the sun god? Why would a god come to see me?
To make you feel better, and to finish the mating bond. Once he does, nothing will ever separate us again, not even death.
How?
He spent the next half hour explaining everything to Cena, about his being one of Ra’s Chosen, the gifts the sun god had given him and what it meant for them to be mates. Kysen had no idea how much Cena would remember after she recovered, but it kept her with him. He latched onto her mind through their bond and didn’t let her slip into deeper unconsciousness.
A few minutes before dawn, Kysen gathered Cena up in his arms, keeping the sheet wrapped around her, and took her to Ra’s temple inside the headquarters. Not surprisingly, he found the others already there.
Once he stepped inside the temple, Blythe asked, “Is she still hanging on?”
He walked to the middle of the room. “So far.”
Kysen looked up at the clear glass ceiling high above his head. When they had converted the old warehouse to living quarters and built the temple, they’d removed the old ceiling and replaced it with sheets of glass. During the entire day, the temple was filled with sunlight. Right now, he saw the night sky that was starting to lighten.
Just before the first rays of the sun rose above the horizon, Cena stiffened and cried out in his arms. Kysen quickly lowered himself to the floor with her draped across his lap as he supported her head in his arm. “Hold on, Cena.”
A scream tore from her throat. The smell of pus filled the air. Pulling back the sheet a little, Kysen saw the welts had risen to blisters and were bursting as some had done when he’d put Cena in the bath. But a cold chill ran down his spine when a blotch of red appeared on the sheet over her heart and spread. Not bothering to look at the wound, he put pressure on it. Then to his horror, Cena’s heart started to slow and missed a few beats entirely.
“No, Cena,” he yelled. “Just a minute more. Don’t leave me again.”
He vaguely heard Blythe scream for her father to come to her. He put all his focus on Cena and his mating bond. Through it he sensed her starting to slip away, to go where he could not follow. As the first rays of sun filled the temple, Kysen heard Cena’s heart beat one last time and a long sigh escaped her lips as she exhaled without drawing another breath. Kysen cried out as he clutched at the bond between them, refusing to let it go. He knew if he did she’d well and truly leave him.
“Kysen, put her on the floor, and whatever you do, don’t let go of your bond.”
He looked up to find Ra crouched down in front of him. “She’s gone,” he said to the sun god with no emotion.
“No, she isn’t. You’re bond is keeping her here, but it won’t last for long. I can heal her.”
At Ra’s words, Kysen quickly shifted Cena to the floor. He clutched harder at their bond as it slipped a tiny bit from his grasp. “Hurry.”
“Get back. I have to rid her of Apep’s venom first.”
Kysen scooted back a bit. He watched as Ra put his hand on Cena’s chest over her heart. His hand glowed, then a sickly green substance leaked from her pores to puddle around her. The sun god used his other hand to burn away the venom. Once her body had expelled all of it, Kysen watched Cena’s chest, waiting for it to start rising and falling. It didn’t move.
“Ra,” he said. “We’re losing her still.”
“No, we aren’t. Almost finished,” the sun god replied.
Ra lifted his hand from Cena’s chest and a knife appeared in it. He quickly sliced it across the inside of his wrist and put it to Cena’s mouth. The sun god forced his blood past her slack lips. Through their bond, Kysen felt it moving as if it had a life as its own, speedily making its way down her throat and through her veins.
The sun god pulled his wrist away before he leaned down and put his hands on either side of Cena’s face. He then kissed her on the forehead. Cena jerked, arching her back. When she settled back down, the sound of her lungs filling with air echoed loudly through the temple. As Kysen watched, the broken blisters on the top of her chest and throat faded and disappeared.
He scooped her off the floor and stroked the side of her face. “Cena, can you hear me?” he asked in a voice rough with emotion.
She weakly turned her head toward him and her eyes fluttered open half-mast. “It doesn’t hurt anymore,” she said quietly. Then she smiled and flashed him her new fangs. “I’m so tired.”
Ra put his hand on Cena’s forehead. “Sleep now.”
Her eyes closed again and her breaths grew even in sleep. Kysen met the sun god’s gaze. “Thank you,” he said tightly. “If I los
t her again…immortality wouldn’t have stopped me from trying to join her in the afterlife.”
Ra put his hand on Kysen’s shoulder. “You’re welcome, but I’m glad I arrived in time. If you had told me about your Acenith when you first became one of my Chosen, I would have tried to reunite you much earlier than this. But I didn’t know anything about her, or that you’d lost her. It wasn’t until a certain little girl came to my temple in Egypt did I see who and what she was to you.”
“You’re the one that gave Cena the dreams of me?”
The sun god smiled. “Yes. She had no memory of her first life. It was the best way to ease her into what would be her destiny—to find the man who’d continued to love her for thousands of years.”
Kysen had to swallow around the lump that suddenly formed in his throat. “Nothing will part us now.”
“No, you’re truly mates.”
Gathering Cena close, Kysen stood. “Is there anything Cena needs to make sure she recovers fully?”
Ra gave him a knowing smile. “Other than sleep and her mate’s blood, no. She’ll be fully recovered. I only suggest you don’t try to feed her before she is ready to wake up. The feeding will tire her out again, in a good way.”
“Dad!” Blythe said. “What have I told you about talking sex in front of your daughter?”
The sun god chuckled as he pulled his daughter close and hugged her. “I sometimes forget, especially when I look at my child and see an adult.”
Kysen watched Ra look over Blythe’s head and stare with a sad look at Takan who had moved to a shadowed corner away from the group. It was something he noticed the other warrior did whenever Ra came around.
Shrugging it off as another one of Takan’s little quirks—like having his hair hanging in his face—Kysen said, “Now that the crisis is over, I’m going to put Cena to bed.”
Blythe pulled away from her father. “Don’t worry about coming to get something to eat. I’ll make you both a tray of food and leave it outside your quarters’ door.”
“Thanks.”
Exhausted and feeling shaky from how close a call it had been with Cena, Kysen left the temple and returned to his quarters. The first thing he did was run a warm bath. After seeing the venom seeping out of her pores, he wanted every last trace of it washed from Cena’s body. When he pulled away the sheet to put her in the tub, he saw Ra’s mark on the small of her back. He touched it reverently. The sight of it brought home once again that she was well and truly his mate now.
After he bathed her, Kysen bundled her up in an extra blanket and laid her on the floor while he changed the sheets on the bed. That done, he tucked her into it and climbed in naked beside her. He wrapped his body around Cena’s and fell into a dreamless sleep.
* * * * *
Cena stretched, expecting to feel the burning ache that had taken over her body. But there was no pain, if anything, she felt better than she ever had. She blinked open her eyes, not sure where she was exactly. The room wasn’t one she remembered.
She gazed around. The walls were painted to resemble stone and had ancient Egyptian styled paintings and hieroglyphs on them. They had been beautifully done, reminding her of the walls of the tombs and temples she’d visited in Egypt with her family.
The sound of a shower running that came from a room connected to the one she was in drew her attention. As if her hearing had been boosted, Cena clearly heard the sound of Kysen’s voice while he sang a familiar rock song terribly off key with a fair amount of enthusiasm. She grinned to herself. It was a good thing he didn’t have to worry about giving up his job as one of Ra’s Chosen, because he’d never make it as a rock star. Even when she’d known him during her first life, he hadn’t been able to carry a tune to save his life.
Cena went very still as what she’d at first thought had to have been fevered dreams shot through her mind. One after another they played in front of her mind’s eye. They hadn’t been dreams, they’d been real. She had been Acenith, and Kysen had been the man she would have married before an illness had caused her death.
She then remembered Kysen feeding her his blood and that he’d called her his mate. She also had another vague memory of him telling her that Ra—the actual Egyptian sun god—would save her. Had he? Was that why she felt as if she’d never been sick?
With a jerk, Cena sat up and held out her arms. The angry welts that had appeared on her skin after Mot had put her in Apep’s circle no longer showed. She also noticed she was completely naked under the covers.
The shower shut off and a minute later Kysen appeared in the doorway wearing only a towel around his hips, still singing. He stopped when his gaze met hers. Cena drew in a breath and the scent of freshly washed man filled her nose. The smell was stronger than she remembered, and with it there was a throbbing in her gums as two of her teeth shifted. She opened her mouth and reached up to feel two very sharp and pointed teeth that almost reached the bottom of her lip. Fangs?
Kysen rushed over to her. “Cena. You’re awake. How do you feel?”
When he sat on the bed next to her, her gaze landed on the side of his neck. She heard his blood rushing through his veins, which caused a pain in her stomach. “Hungry, but not for food.”
He smiled and put his hand under her chin to force her gaze to meet his. “We’ll take care of that very soon. How much do you remember?”
“All of it. I remember your explanation of what it meant for you to be Ra’s Chosen, that we’re mates and my memories of Acenith. I remember it all, except for how I ended up with these.” She curled her upper lip to show him her fangs.
Kysen gave her a worried look. “It was the only way Ra could save you. He made us mates. He gave you immortality and fangs. You carry his mark just like me, but only not as large and on the small of your back.”
She swallowed. “I’m going to have to drink blood? Does that mean I have to go hunt mortals to keep myself fed?
He chuckled. “No. The only person you’ll be feeding from will be me. And I can only feed from you. You aren’t angry that you didn’t have a choice about becoming part of my world, are you?”
Looking into his handsome face, having all the memories of him that she had when she’d been Acenith and the ones from now, becoming his mate was no hardship. The two halves she’d thought she’d become had fused together, making her Acenith and Cena at the same time. And Kysen centered around both of them.
She leaned forward and kissed him, showing rather than telling him with words that she wasn’t angry. And that being his mate was something she wanted more than anything in the world. He dragged her closer until her breasts flattened against his chest. Their kiss deepened as arousal and the need to sink her fangs into him surged through her body. She needed him inside her, needed him to make them one.
Cena pulled her mouth away and tugged at the towel around Kysen’s hips. Once she had it open, her gaze dropped to his cock, which was fully erect. Her pussy ached to have it fill her.
“Make love to me, Kysen,” she said in a breathy voice.
“You only have to ask, love.”
Kysen pulled the towel out from under him and yanked the covers away from her body before he stretched out next to her. He kissed her, pushing his tongue into her mouth to duel with hers before he licked each of her new fangs. Cena moaned with the pleasure that brought. He then sucked her tongue into his mouth and she did the same to him.
The sound of their heavy breathing filled her ears. Kysen ran a hand caressingly down her front until he reached her mound. Cena spread her legs wider, wanting him to touch her, sink his fingers into where she ached for him. When he did, they both moaned and she felt a surge of pleasure that didn’t seem to come from her. Suddenly remembering Kysen telling her about the mating bond—how they could feel what the other felt—she reached down between them and took hold of his cock. She wrapped her hand around it and pumped. The rush of arousal that caress caused Kysen to feel shot through her body, increasing hers.
C
ena pulled her mouth from his. “Oh god. I can feel you.”
“And I can feel you,” Kysen said huskily. “The first time making love to you with the bond in place, I don’t think I’m going to be able to last very long.”
“Then don’t wait,” she said on a moan as his fingers delved deeper inside her pussy. “I want you inside me and I’m going to sink my fangs into you at the same time.”
Kysen groaned. “Just the thought of that will make me come.” He rolled off her and went to sit with his back against the headboard. “You can feed and ride me this way.”
Cena didn’t hesitate and climbed up to straddle his hips. His cock stood straight out from his body. A bead of pre-cum appeared on the very tip. Putting her hands on his shoulders, she positioned her pussy over his shaft and lowered herself onto it until he was seated to the hilt. She couldn’t hold back a whimpered gasp. She got a double surge of having his thickness fill her and Kysen’s pleasure of having her pussy close over his cock.
She lifted on her knees and pushed back down. Her fangs throbbed as her core tightened around his length. She was so very close. “This is definitely going to be over quickly.”
“Take what you need, love. I’m about ready to explode.”
He cupped the back of her head while she continued to ride him and brought her mouth to the side of his neck. She opened it and licked across the large artery that pulsed in time with Kysen’s rapidly beating heart. With a moan, she opened her mouth and sank her fangs into him.
The first mouthful of blood sent them both into an instant orgasm. Her pussy squeezed his cock in a tight fist as he emptied himself deep inside her. Feeling his climax along with hers, her eyes just about rolled back inside her head. When she had enough blood, she instinctively knew to lick her bite mark to heal it. She then turned her neck to offer it to Kysen. Cena needed for him to feed from her as much as she’d needed to take his blood.
He wrapped his arms across her back and held onto her shoulders as he bit her. Cena cried out with pleasure as another orgasm tore through them both. Once it was over and Kysen had finished feeding, she collapsed onto his chest, trying to catch her breath.
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