Wanted: A Blood Courtesans Novel by Michelle Fox, Kristen Strassel Page A

wall. Her eyes were huge and unblinking, her face so pale she almost blended into the paint. However much my heart had healed as I rested, it crumbled once I saw her.
    The room fell silent when I appeared behind Nash. My beating heart must’ve alerted them to danger like a ticking time bomb. Nash grabbed my arm; he could read my mind, and he knew I’d run if given a chance. “Go to her,” he commanded, his voice low in my ear.
    Nash forgot about me, joining the group of vampires attending to Sabrina. My rubbery legs barely carried me to Sierra. I had absolutely no idea what to say to her, which was fine, because she didn’t acknowledge me. There was nothing else in her world but Sabrina’s lifeless body in that tub.
    “I’m sorry,” I whispered. I wanted to reach for her, offer her some comfort, but I’d taken everything away from her. She didn’t acknowledge me, lost in her own world.
    “Everything’s going to be okay,” I added, more to assure myself. I needed her to agree with me, if there was any chance of me forgiving myself for what I’d done. Her eyes caught mine, full of desperation and despair, and she shook her head so slightly that I wasn’t sure that it happened.
    I leaned against the wall next to her, hoping she could read my mind, too. Then she’d know it was all a horrible mistake, and I’d change everything if I had the chance.
    The group at the table seemed confused, frustrated, and exhausted. Theoretically, Sabrina’s skin should’ve knitted itself back together, protecting her inner organs while they healed. The problem was while everyone knew it was possible, none of them had ever done it. Some vocalized the fear that Sabrina had been in pieces too long and she wasn’t capable of the regeneration. Sierra’s fingers slipped between mine and I squeezed them.
    They worked so long my legs had gone numb, but I didn’t dare move, or let go of Sierra. I tried my damnedest to keep positive, thinking of Sabrina alive and whole, but exhaustion was getting the best of me.
    “It’s not working,” Pierce said, stepping away from the table. “It’s been almost twenty-four hours. The healing should’ve taken hold by now.”
    “No!” Lady Desiree cried. She’d been in the thick of things, working to save her courtesan.
    “What else do we do?” one of the other vampires asked, completely bewildered.
    Nash wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. “We say goodbye.”
    Sierra slid down the wall, dragging me with her. I put my arms around her, but she shook away from me, crawling toward the table, but she couldn’t make it. She lay in the middle of the floor and sobbed. Two vampires picked her up and brought her to the tub. Lady Desiree held her upright as she said goodbye to Sabrina.
    They carried Sierra out of the room. It didn’t do her any good to be in here. One by one, the vampires murmured their goodbyes and left. Only Sabrina, Nash, and I remained. He bowed his head and prayed softly in French, guiding her on her journey.
    I couldn’t breathe as he approached me. There was nothing else we could do for Sabrina, and I had no idea what that meant for me.
    Nash held his hand out, but I didn’t take it. His skin was gray with reddish purple smudges under his eyes.
    “Come,” he commanded. “I need to feed.”

 
    Chapter Fourteen
    Corynne
    “Take it all.” I tore the neck of my shirt when the door closed behind me. “Don’t bother being gentle.”
    Nash looked like shit, starvation taking root deep inside him. He could be close to death himself for all I knew. He cocked his eyebrow at me. “I won’t do that.”
    “Of course not.” I sighed, landing on the couch hard. My body hurt. My own hunger, exhaustion, and grief pulled me down to earth. “You’d rather torture me. Kill me, Nash. That way Sabrina won’t be alone anymore.”
    He lifted me from the couch. My body trembled under his grip. “Sabrina’s at peace now.” I cringed when he raised his hand, and