Chapter 33
Sam groaned as she woke, and without even opening her eyes she grumbled, “If I have to wake up like this one more fucking time…”
A soft chuckle floated through the room, and her eyes slit open as she searched the room for Bellis. She’d heard him, she knew she had, but when her eyes landed on a Sentry standing near the door, hurt ripped her breath away. Bellis wasn’t here. Even after she’d tried to save him, even after she’d been willing to risk her life for his, he’d left her…again. The pain of the realization was all consuming, and hurt more deeply than the throbbing in her stomach.
Looking around, she instantly recognized the infirmary at the North Fortress. The guard watching her shoved away from where his shoulders had been pressed into the wall. He was staring at her intently, nostrils flaring. Fucker was trying to read her, so she quickly masked her emotions because, well, fuck him, whoever he was. Rolling to her side, she winced against the residual pain in her stomach where Odium had buried his psyblade.
“Sam?”
Jerking around, she looked expectantly for Bellis, but just the Sentry was in the room, slowly moving toward her.
“Go away!” she barked, turning back to face the wall.
“Sam?”
There it was again. Bellis’ voice. Sam shoved up from her prone position with a pained groan and studied every corner of the room, but the Sentry was still the only person within sight, and she wondered if she was losing her mind. The guy sounded like Bellis, but wasn’t.
Lifting her hands over her ears, she pinched her eyes shut and shook her head. “It’s not him, Sam,” she muttered quietly to herself. Scrunching her face tighter she breathed, “Fuck!” She’d always known that a woman’s loyalty was tested when she had nothing while a man’s loyalty was tested when he had everything. Right now, Bellis had it all. They’d defeated Odium and his monsters. She was secured in a cage with his precious halo, and he was probably out celebrating with the rest of the Skin Walkers and Keepers. “Fuck,” she murmured more dejectedly, and opened her eyes to find the Sentry standing in front of her, reaching for her.
Acting on instinct, her hand shot out at the same time her leg did. She kicked the Sentry away and rolled off the med bed. Still weak, she hit the floor harder than she’d have liked, but when the Sentry dropped to his knees and reached for her again, she sucked in the agony the actions caused and scrambled backward until she was wedged underneath the med bed and out of his reach.
Looking at him, she could tell he was a Skin Walker from the brand burned into his throat where his halo used to be. He was shirtless, and that was odd, but maybe it’d been ripped off in the battle. He was beautiful and seemed vaguely familiar, but she didn’t remember ever having met him.
Tucking her legs closer, she breathed deep and slow, a hand clamped to her screaming stomach. Her eyes searched around her for a weapon. Maybe this Walker’s Angel had been hurt in the attack on the Estate, maybe he just hated Megalya. Whatever the reason, he’d gone after her and she was too weak to fight him outright.
The Walker squatted down and peeked under the med bed, holding up his hands in a soothing gesture. “Easy,” he crooned. “It’s me.”
He sounded so much like Bellis that it made her chest ache. Pinching her eyes closed, she breathed, “Leave me alone.”
“Sam,” he crooned once more.
Her eyes shot open and she glared at the Walker. “How are you doing that?”
He shook his head, his face a mask of confusion and concern.
“I HELPED YOU!” she screamed, scooting tighter to the wall. “Ask Monroe!” Desperate, she pulled the collar of her medical gown down and gripped the halo at her throat. “I belong to Bellis! Don’t…” She shook her head. “Don’t hurt me!”
The Walker made a growling noise that sounded so damn much like the noise Bellis made when he was angry or frustrated, then the med bed was ripped away from over her head. It crashed against the opposite wall, and Sam gasped and tried scramble to her feet, but the Walker was already on her.
She cried out, “DON’T!”
But he had her by the hips and was hauling her up even as she tried to fight. One hand remained clamped to the searing pain in her belly, but the other arm shot out to shove at the Walker’s chest as she screamed, “STOP!” Then, all her struggling ceased.
The Walker wasn’t fighting her, just holding her, but even that wasn’t what drew Sam’s attention. No, her eyes were locked on her forearm stiffened between her body and the Walker’s. Her demon black forearm.
Mouth open, her shocked eyes traveled down to her fingertips and then slowly back up. Her ears were obviously screwed up, so maybe her eyes were too?
“Sam?” The Walker holding her changed her position so he was cradling her to his chest before he squatted and then sat, hard. His fingers on her chin attempted to guide her face to his, but she was pulling the collar of her medical gown down and looking at her chest. Bellis! Her skin looked like Bellis’.
Releasing the collar of her shirt, her hand went to her thigh and pulled the gown up, exposing dark black skin. All the air left her in a whoosh, and then the Walker was pulling her into a hug.
“Shhh, it’s alright. We traded skin, Princess. Jenny’s gonna fix it.”
We? Princess? Jerking back, she forced the Walker to arm’s length and studied him. He had inky black hair like Bellis, but it was really short in the back and on the sides, with long wisps hanging into his neon-blue eyes. His eyes matched hers, and Sam’s eyes narrowed as she looked at the guy. Full lips, thick muscles, those impossibly thick thighs all matched Bellis, but… “No.” She shook her head, but the Walker’s hands lifted and captured her chin, forcing her to look at him.
“It’s me, Samantha. It’s Bellis!” He looked down at his chest. “Just different.”
She dropped her eyes to her arm as the Walker started to explain. She picked up most of it, even as shock buzzed in her head. She’d taken too much of his blood, and there’d been some sort of exchange that Jenny couldn’t explain.
“Mirror,” she breathed, and the guy…Bellis, helped her to her feet, capturing her hand and leading her to the cell door where he bent and reached through the bars. Lying on the ground on the other side was a small handheld mirror. He pulled it through and held it out to her. When she tried to take it from him, he held on, assuring her in a calm voice, “Jenny thinks it’s temporary. Don’t freak out.”
When she tugged on the mirror a second time, he let her have it and she slowly brought it up. She gasped when she saw herself. It was her, only different. She had Bellis’ coloring. Even her eyes were inky wells, with just the merest pinpoints of blue. Quietly, she studied herself as disbelief tore through her.