“Oh,” Faith said, trying to imagine what it would be like to watch one of them go through the kind of pain they described. She shuddered. She preferred to suffer the pain herself. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Tristan said. “You must pay a price for this. It is only fair that we, too, must pay a price.”
“I’ll just be glad when its done,” she said, not knowing what else she could say. It was too late to stop it, and they couldn’t change what came next. She knew that the only way to get through things you couldn’t change was to grit your teeth and do your best.
“You guys are going to stay with me the whole time, right?” she asked, suddenly worried.
“We will not leave you alone for so much as a moment,” Tristan said. The Katres are filling in for us so that we will not be disturbed for any reason. You need not worry about that.”
“What about Bubbles?” she asked. “She’s been through so much already. I don’t want her to get stressed out any more.”
“We will use Water magic to keep her calm,” Tristan promised. “I’ve brought her bed, and her litter box. She’s eaten, and has all that she needs.
“Good, thank you,” she said, then yawned widely. “Excuse me,” she said, putting her hand over her mouth.
“You will fall asleep in a moment,” Tristan said. “In your dreams, remember that we love you, Faith.”
“I will,” she said, then yawned again. “In return, I ask that the three of you remember that I had already freely chosen this, even if I didn’t know the details at the time. I honestly don’t mind the pain, so long as we’ll all be together at the end.” Her eyes closed on the last word and she slumped sideways against Tristan, who caught her gently in his arms.
“Let’s get her washed up and into bed,” he said. Gray and Jon reached for clean washcloths and soap and moved across the tub toward Faith. As they washed her in silence, cleansing the last traces of blood from her body, they worried about what was to come, and did their best to prepare themselves for it. The sight of Faith’s many scars only made it more difficult for them. She’d been through so much already. Knowing that she wouldn’t actually feel the pain her body would soon go through helped, but only a little. Their biggest fear was that they would lose control of themselves. Somehow, they had to hang on through the coming hours. If they weren’t very careful, and allowed themselves to slip into blood rages, Faith would die.
***
“You did good tonight,” Doc said to Darlene as they followed the steward toward a guestroom aboard the Eyrie. “Very good.”
“Thanks,” Darlene said. “You didn’t do bad yourself.”
“Such praise!” Doc said with a chuckle. “I’m sorry about dinner tonight.”
“You saved Faith’s life, Doc,” Darlene said. “I think that’s a fairly good excuse.”
“Thanks,” Doc said. “I was looking forward to dinner though. Can we do it tomorrow instead?”
“Why not do it here?”
“That’s mighty tempting,” Doc said. “But you should go on back to the Vyand.”
“No,” Darlene said. “I want to stay here, with you.” She looked up, meeting his surprised gaze. “If you don’t object, of course.”
“Object?” Doc asked. “No darlin’, I’m pretty sure that objecting is about the furthest thing from my mind right now. Do you mind if I ask why you’ve changed your mind?”
“Seeing Faith just reminded me of something,” she replied.
“What’s that?”
“That none of us has an unlimited supply of tomorrows,” Darlene said. “If we don’t take what we want today, there’s no promise that we’ll be here to take it tomorrow.”
“That’s about the truest thing I’ve ever heard,” Doc said. “At the same time, I don’t want you doing anything out of fear. Specially not this.”
Darlene smiled. “Don’t worry, I would never do this, or anything, out of fear.”
“Good,” Doc said. “Neither would I.”
The steward stopped and opened a door for them. “If there’s anything you need, please press the guest service button on the bedside table,” he said.
“Will that connect us to someone who can bring us food?” Doc asked.
“Yes, sir, it will,” the steward replied as Darlene stepped between them and entered the room.
“Thank you,” Doc said, following Darlene and closing the door behind him. The steward smiled, then turned around and returned to his station. Those two people had just saved the life of the Admirals’ Arima. He’d tell Joseph to include a bottle of their finest wine with their dinner.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Tristan stood beside the bed staring down at Faith as she slept. They’d washed her carefully, dressed her in the pale blue nightgown he’d taken from her room, and dried her hair, which now lay across the pillow in a wave of chocolate silk.
“Funny how someone so small and fragile could change us so much,” Gray said from beside him.
“She’s not as fragile as she appears,” Tristan said with more than a little pride. “She’s got the strongest will and most steadfast heart of anyone I’ve ever known.”
“And she’s smart,” Jon said from where he stood at the foot of the big bed. “She doesn’t realize it, but she is. That’s why she’s able to see past her fears. The moment she knew in her mind that we would not hurt her, she moved past her previous experiences. It’s amazing.”
“Yes, it is,” Gray said. “It is also typical of Faith.”
Tristan nodded in agreement. “Does it seem strange that I am more satisfied with the knowledge that she will be better able to defend herself than I am with the idea of having her as our Arima?”
“You are still uncertain about claiming her?” Gray asked in surprise.
“No, not at all,” Tristan assured him. “I love her as you do. I just want more for her than I want for myself.”
“I know what you mean,” Jon said. He reached out with Water and checked her vitals. “It will be soon.”
“Yes,” Tristan said after checking himself. He looked at Jon, then Gray. “This will not be easy for any of us, but we must maintain control. If you feel yourself slipping, remember that doing so will cost Faith her life.”
He waited until he got a nod from both of his brothers before turning his attention back to Faith. He checked her vitals again, then climbed onto the bed beside her and turned her head gently while Jon and Gray positioned themselves at her sides and held her wrists in their hands. When they were all in position, Tristan checked her vitals again.
“Now,” he said softly. Then he lowered his mouth to her neck, and slid his mating fangs into her flesh. When the injection was complete, he licked the tiny wounds that remained, then pressed his lips to her forehead in a gentle kiss. “Now comes the hard part,” he said. As soon as the words were out of his mouth Faith’s body arched sharply.
Before the end of the first hour, Tristan realized that the reports they’d read describing this stage of the transformation were greatly lacking. When he voiced his thoughts to his brothers in between Faith’s convulsions, Gray nodded grimly.
“Of course they were,” he said, his hand trembling as he tenderly brushed a sweat soaked strand of hair off of Faith’s cheek. “I would never have agreed to this had I known how bad it would be.”
“Not even to save her life?” Jon asked, returning from the bathroom with fresh washcloths.
“No, not even then,” Gray said. “I would have preferred to join her on the next plane than to watch her suffer like this.”
“No,” Tristan said sharply, sensing Gray’s rapidly escalating despair. “She isn’t suffering. We are. Her body is. But she knows nothing of it.”
Gray stared at Tristan for a long moment, his light green eyes glowing, his jaw clenched tightly.
“She’s lost so much in her short life, suffered so much,” Tristan said, softening his tone. “I want her to take more than pain and fear with her when she goe
s to the next plane. I want her to experience joy, and love, and true happiness. We can give her that, Gray, but we have to get through this, first. Can you do that?”
“For her, yes,” Gray said with a quick nod. “For her, I can do anything.”
Tristan turned to Jon. “I can, too,” he said. “For Faith.”
During the next two hours, Tristan had to remind himself of his own words repeatedly. By the time the twisting, bone cracking convulsions began to ease, he was closer to giving up than he wanted to admit to himself. For the first time since the death of their parents nearly a hundred years earlier, he felt tears course down his cheeks, but he barely noticed them as he reached out with Water magic to check Faith. Hardly daring to let himself believe what his magic was telling him, he checked her again. “It’s finished,” he said, almost surprised that they’d all made it through the harrowing ordeal.
“Finally,” Jon said hoarsely.
Gray could only nod, his emotions too strong for words.
“Let’s get her cleaned up,” Tristan said. “Jon, get some fresh washcloths, please. Gray, I’ll raise her up, you pull the nightgown off.”
Jon went to the bathroom and Tristan slipped his hands beneath her neck and back and raised her to a sitting position so that Gray could remove the sweaty nightgown. As soon as he lifted it over her head, Tristan lowered her back to the bed.
“Look,” Gray said softly. Tristan looked at Gray, then followed his eyes to Faith’s bare rib cage. The thick, shiny scar tissue was gone. In its place was smooth, unmarked skin.
“I know that the scars were not a big issue for her,” Gray said. “Still, I think that she’ll like not having the reminder of how she got them.”
“I’m sure she will,” Tristan agreed. Jon returned with several warm damp cloths and they spent the next few minutes cleansing her skin of all signs of what she’d suffered. Jon used Air to dry her hair while Tristan and Gray changed the sheets on the bed. When she was settled once more with a sheet covering her they again stood around the bed, waiting for her to wake up.
“How long is it supposed to take?” Gray asked worriedly. “I thought it would be just a few minutes.”
“We’ll give her a little longer,” Tristan said. “If she doesn’t wake soon, we’ll call Doc.”
“Maybe we should call him now, just in case,” Jon suggested.
“You are such a worrier, Jon,” Faith said softly, surprising them all. They’d been so intent on their discussion that they hadn’t noticed her eyes open. “I love that about you though, so don’t try to change it.”
“I’m not sure I could if I wanted to,” Jon said, leaning down to kiss her gently. “Welcome back,
“Thanks,” she said, reaching up to stroke his jaw lightly. “You guys look rough. Was it that bad?”
“It may be several centuries before we are able to tolerate seeing you in pain of any sort,” Tristan said. “Other than that, it went well. How do you feel?”
“I think it will take a few centuries to get used to living that long,” she said. “But I feel good.” From what they’d told her, she’d expected to at least be sore. Or tired. Something. But she didn’t. She felt better than she had in a very long time. “Really good, in fact. Is that normal?”
“Yes, it is,” Tristan said, smiling. “You are now fully Clan Jasani, Faith. You have our regenerative abilities, and your body is, essentially, brand new. You are strong and healthy now.”
Faith sat up slowly as she absorbed what he was saying. She reached beneath the sheet that covered her and ran one hand slowly across the newly smooth skin on her ribs, her side, around to her back. She grinned. “This is amazing.” She looked up at the Falcorans and frowned. “It wasn’t too amazing for you three though, that’s obvious.”
“Don’t worry about us,” Tristan said. “Seeing you now, smiling and well, makes it all worth it.”
“So, what’s next?” Faith asked. “I’m pretty sure I remember you saying that there was another stage after this.”
“Yes,” Tristan said. “You will soon go into what is called a mating fever. When that happens we must either join with you to complete the linking process, or if you prefer, we will try to put you into a deep sleep. You need to make your choice now, Faith. Once the mating fever begins, there isn’t going to be much time.”
“I really appreciate you giving me a choice,” Faith said. “But if I’m not going to be with the three of you, then I don’t see much point in any of this.”
“You have a new body, Faith,” Gray said. “You can have children. You won’t age. You can begin a new life now.”
“I like my life as it is,” Faith said. The surprise on their faces almost made her smile. “Look, I know that a lot of bad things have happened to me over the past couple of years. If I could go back and change Grace’s death, I would. But I wouldn’t change anything else. Everything that has happened to me has led me here, to this moment, with the three of you. This is where I’m supposed to be, and if I changed anything that came before, then I wouldn’t be here. All things happen for a reason, and you guys are my reason.”
Tristan, Gray and Jon could only stare at her speechlessly, none of them able to think of a single thing to say that would come close to expressing how they felt. Just as Tristan opened his mouth to say he knew not what, Faith’s eyebrows rose in surprise and her face flushed pink.
“Oh,” she gasped, tightening her arms around herself. “I think that mating fever just started.”
Before she finished speaking, the Falcorans began removing their clothes, all of them watching her intently. “I’ve got one more question,” she said.
“What’s that?” Tristan asked, gesturing to Jon who ran into the bathroom for the ointment.
“Will this hurt?” She shivered and held herself tighter. “I can handle pain, that’s not a problem. I’d just like to know what to expect.”
“No, Faith, it will not hurt,” Tristan promised. “We will not allow it to hurt.”
Faith nodded quickly as another wave of intense arousal crashed over her. She closed her eyes and bit her lip, trying to breathe through it the way she did with pain, but it did no good at all. When she opened her eyes the first thing she saw was Tristan standing in front of her near the foot of the bed. Without thinking, acting on overwhelming need, she threw back the sheet, scrambled to her knees, and leapt off the bed and into Tristan’s arms.
Tristan groaned as Faith’s arms and legs wrapped tightly around him, her hot, swollen sex pressed against his stomach, wrenching a groan from him. Faith’s body trembled uncontrollably and he tightened his arms around her.
“Jon?” he asked.
“I just need a minute,” Jon said from behind Faith. “I can’t hurt her.”
Faith whimpered and Tristan leaned back, horrified to see that she was biting her lip so hard that blood was running down her chin. He was holding her with both arms while Jon prepared her, and couldn’t let go.
“Gray,” he barked. Something in his tone caught the attention of both of his brothers and they immediately looked to Faith.
“Oh, pixka,” Gray said as he gently freed her lip from her teeth and wiped away the blood.
“What’s that mean?” Faith asked in a shaky voice.
“Pixca?” Gray asked. She nodded. “It means beloved little one,” he said, then leaned down to run his tongue lightly over the small, half healed wound on her lip before kissing it. “Hang on just another moment. Can you do that for us?”
Faith nodded again, her teeth clenched against another whimper.
Gray smiled, then turned and climbed onto the bed.
“I love you, Fedea,” Tristan whispered softly.
Faith unclenched her teeth, her need to speak at this moment stronger than her need to whimper. “As I love you,” she whispered back. “I love all of you, so much.”
Tristan smiled even as he felt her body shudder from the heat building higher and higher within her. “Jon?” he asked.
Tristan held her straining body still, preventing her from causing herself an injury that she wouldn’t even notice until later. His own need was as strong as hers, but their fear of hurting her was stronger, and tempered their actions.
“All right,” Jon gasped after a few moments. He coaxed Faith to lay her head back against his shoulder, then supported her while Tristan reached down between them. The moment he pressed his cock into her he had to fight against the overwhelming need to fuck them both to orgasm. Instead, calling upon all of the will and self-discipline he possessed, he buried himself inside of her and held himself still. He took a moment to breathe, trying not to think about how tight and hot she felt with both him and Jon buried deeply inside of her.
“Are you ready, Gray?” Tristan asked, looking up to see Gray standing on the bed beside them, his cock level with Faith’s mouth. Faith was staring at it as though mesmerized.
“Yes, I’m ready,” Gray replied.
“Faith, you’re going to have to take Gray’s cock deep into your throat, like you did last night, remember?”
Faith felt a little better now that she had both Jon and Tristan inside of her. The heat and the need were still intense, and she wanted them to move more than anything, but at least she could think a little. She looked at Tristan and nodded. “Okay,” she said. “No problem. What then?”
“Once Gray is all the way in your throat, we’ll give you the final injection,” Tristan said. “It won’t take long. After that, you’ll be able to breathe. First, we need you to lift your arms up. Left one to Jon, right to Gray. Then take a deep breath and let me know when you’re ready.”
The Falcoran’s Faith Page 31
