"She is quite likeable. Funny and smart and she seems to tolerate me and her brother quite well," he agreed in place of knowing what else to say.
Faith reached out and took hold of his hand, and he immediately wrapped his own fingers around hers.
"Thank you," she said. "You saved us again. I don't even know how to thank you."
"I am sorry that we did not also keep your sister safe, as well. I feel like we failed you rather than helped." It was true. He was tired and ached everywhere, and he could feel his body working to heal his wounds, but the reason they had been there to begin with– half the reason at least– had been to rescue Crissy Latham, and while Aldric knew it wasn't his fault, he still felt responsible.
Faith was shaking her head. "You got all three of them out of that damn lodge safely. We should have gone straight to the truck, all of us, but we waited just a minute or two too long. I should have made sure that all four of us stayed together, safely behind my shield. It wasn't your fault in the least, any more than it was mine."
Faith sighed. "We have Jake and Kaylee safe at the Clan House. Tamika and Marc are going a little security crazy. We have Jesse Honeyford and his best goons, but several of them got away in the confusion, and at least one wants to join the Frostwalkers instead. And Leo is burning up the internet trying to track the vampires that took her. He managed to follow them digitally as far as an access road halfway up the mountain, but then he thinks they changed vehicles or something, because the cars are all sitting there, doors open and stripped clean. An 'anonymous tip' to Detective Lincoln got him onto the cars, though, so there's an official investigation into them as well."
Aldric took a moment to turn all that over. "Did I hear that vampire taunting you? As if he knew your secret and had been sent for you and your family?"
Faith's fingers tensed in his and he brushed his thumb over the back of her hand, trying to reassure her that she was, indeed, safe here. Injured or not he would make sure of that.
"Yeah," she answered, her voice thready and frightened. "It sounded exactly like that. He called me Magaestra.” Her trembles shivered into his hand and he gave it a slight tug.
"Come here."
"What?" She blinked up at him.
"Come here. I have been threatened with torture and possible death if I leave this bed, but you require comfort and I wish to provide it. So come here.“
She blinked at him again and the corner of her mouth twitched. "Do you mean that you want to give me a hug?"
Aldric just grumbled and tugged on her hand again.
"I don't want to hurt you, you're all over stitches and bandages and stuff," she protested, but still set her half-drunk coffee cup on the small table beside his bed. and climbed onto the side. Aldric tugged again, gently, and she settled her head on his shoulder, carefully avoiding the bandages on his bicep and around his torso.
That would never do. Aldric wrapped his arm around her back and pulled her in snugly, and just as he expected, he soon felt his shoulder grow damp with tears as Faith sank into the comfort he offered.
A perfunctory knock and the door opened without any sort of acknowledgement, revealing Madeline with a steaming mug in her hand. She raised her eyebrows in amusement for a half second before she realized what Faith's shaking shoulders meant, and his cousin's expression fell.
She pinched her lips together in sympathy, drove the straw into the blood bag and handed the whole thing to him silently. Then she hustled over to a cupboard and pulled out a few towels, put the small stack and the box of tissues and a cup of water on the table near him and left the room, pulling the door closed again behind her.
Aldric reflected on his extreme good fortune of his family. He made certain to drink some of the blood while it was still warm enough to be palatable, but his attention was on Faith, who slowly wound down until she was no longer sobbing. It was probably horrible of him to enjoy the way she felt in his arms, as upset as she was, but he couldn't lie to himself about this.
"I'm sorry. God, this is getting to be a habit," she said. She tried to sit up, but he held her close and simply traded his half-empty drink for the box of tissues and settled it in his lap. Pulling one out he gently wiped away the tears smearing over her face.
"You have no reason to apologize for anything. You have survived some incredibly difficult things over the past few days," he said. "Leaving aside the paranormal aspects, you have been attacked in your own home, had you sister kidnapped, bandaged up a damned fool who got caught daydreaming, had your niece and her friend kidnapped, then during the rescue you were attacked again and your sister kidnapped, again. You have ample reason to be unhappy, and I will not begrudge you your need to mourn your old life or your fear for your sister."
Faith pulled a tissue out of the box and blew her nose before answering. The next tissue she pulled out, she started swiping at Aldric's shoulder, and he loosened his grip for her to sit up a bit as she worked. She didn't object to his hand resting on her back while she worked, though, and he was glad. He didn't want to break their connection.
"I keep having breakdowns all over your shoulder," she sniffled, pink creeping up her cheeks. "You don't even have a shirt on this time to protect you from me."
Aldric couldn't stop the smile from spreading
