The Kingdom Journals Complete Series Box Set

by Tricia Copeland

“Nothing.” She glared at me. “Let’s get back to the compound.” She tapped the shoulder of the driver in front of her.

  Wishing Alena would fess up so I didn’t have to tell on her, I held my thoughts. Why was I still with her? Why didn’t I press her or get in another car? In the end, I knew it would be safest for Camille to have Anne’s protection. Plus, Camille wanted to be united with Alena and Hunter.

  Holding Camille to my chest, I watched her breath. The pallor of her skin and dark circles under her eyes made me shudder.

  “Did you call Janine? I think you should prepare her,” I told Grady. “Do you guys have phones?” I called to the guards in front.

  My leg wouldn’t stop bouncing. Would the effects of the poison be reversible? Could we get the brand extracted? Was I putting her in more harm by keeping her with Alena?

  “Jude.” Alena’s hand stopped the motion of my leg. “She’s going to be okay. Why don’t you give her some of your blood?”

  “Oh no, I’m not going to watch this.” Tyler turned to look out the window.

  “Vampire blood can’t cure everything,” Grady noted.

  “It’s worth a shot.” I took the blade Alena offered and slit my wrist. When I dripped the blood into Camille’s mouth, she sputtered and coughed. Still, she didn’t wake. Next, I put my hand on her forehead, sending healing waves into her brain.

  “We have great doctors and all the medical help she could need at the compound,” Alena assured me.

  We couldn’t get to the safe house fast enough. Each time the van slowed, I wondered if we were there. I checked my watch again and again. Finally, the vehicle slowed, and the engine cut off.

  Janine’s face was the first I saw as I exited the vehicle with Camille.

  “Oh, my.” Tears formed in her eyes.

  “She’s going to be okay,” I said.

  I carried her to the medical room and laid her on a bed. “She needs warming blankets, maybe some blood. I don’t know.”

  The doctors attached leads for monitors and started an IV fluids bag to hydrate her. The rescue party had followed us in, and various conversations flowed around us. I wanted it to feel like a victory, and I knew it should, but Camille’s state and Alena’s silence on her encounter with Theron agitated me.

  “This noise can’t be good for Camille,” I said to the doctor.

  “Okay, everyone out save immediate family.”

  My eyes bore into hers.

  “And this gentleman who brought her in.” She backed away and turned to check the monitor.

  “Go get Orm. He’s a master at poisons and potions,” I told Tyler. If there was one thing I knew, I wasn’t leaving Camille’s side.

  After examining her eyes, fingers, toes, and darkened hair, Orm didn’t have any more clues than the doctors did.

  “Let’s wait till she wakes up and get more information.”

  “What if she doesn’t?”

  “Her brain activity looks normal, and her vitals are improving with the fluids,” the doctor reported. “It will be a couple of hours before we get all the lab work back.”

  Sitting beside her bed, I held her hand and talked to her. I told her about convincing the cab driver and pilot to get us to Grady’s safe house in Rome, about going to Reykjavik, Helene, and the search for Alena and Hunter. I told her about Marcus and how we’d discovered where she was. Janine sat on the other side of the bed, and we watched her chest rise and fall. After a few hours, Janine stood and wrapped her hand around Camille’s. “She’s sleeping, and you should too.”

  “You go. I’ll stay.” My head turned to see a doctor approaching.

  “We have the results of her bloodwork. Her kidney and liver functions are compromised.”

  “Can you do dialysis, chelation therapy?”

  “We’ll start her on dialysis. Chelation therapy would only tax her kidneys further.”

  “Can we filter her blood in some way?”

  “That’s an interesting idea. We’re testing for toxins, but so far, we haven’t identified what they gave her.”

  “Will vampire blood help? Can we give her an IV of that?”

  “Again, an interesting idea, but I want to proceed with caution. We don’t want to do something that will make her body work harder.”

  “Well, start the dialysis then,” I told the doctor.

  “The nurses are getting the equipment set up now.”

  “Thank you.” I sat down and lowered my head into my hands.

  “You’re so tired, you should get some rest,” Janine urged.

  “I’ll sleep here. You go. I’ll come get you if she wakes.”

  They started her on dialysis, but her condition remained unchanged through the night and into the next morning.

  “You haven’t even changed.” Janine handed me a Styrofoam tray.

  “I want to be here when she wakes up.”

  “I’ll bring you some clothes then.”

  “That’d be nice, thanks.” I ate the eggs, fruit, and bread she brought me.

  When I’d finished, I used the small bathroom off the medical room to shower and dress. Grady, Tyler, Alena, Hunter, and Orm joined us in the small space.

  “We’ll take her to see Helene as soon as she’s strong enough,” I told Grady.

  “She’s safer here. You can bring Helene to us,” Alena said.

  My anger got the best of me. “As soon as Camille’s stable, we’re leaving. No one is safe around you.”

  Hunter’s eyes cut between us. “What are you talking about?”

  “You didn’t tell them?” I bent down so we were eye to eye.

  She smiled and took Hunter’s hand. “It’s nothing.”

  I paced away from the bed and back. “Nothing? Theron force-fed you his blood. He can find you at any time. Camille, Hunter, all of us, are safer anywhere but with you.”

  Hunter dropped Alena’s hand and backed away. “Theron was there? You drank his blood. Why didn’t you say something?”

  Her eyes pleaded with him. “Camille is safe. We’re together, and that’s all that matters. We’re stronger than anything they can bring at us.”

  “How did he even get that close to you? Why would you let him near you?” Hunter raked his hands through his hair.

  Alena grabbed his forearm. “He’s your brother. He’s hurting. The more we take from him, the worse it’s going to be. I wanted to let him know he had a place here, with us. We could—”

  “I won’t hear it again.” Hunter stopped her. “You drank his blood?”

  Orm approached them. “This is grave. You’ve put the whole compound in jeopardy.”

  “Isn’t there some way to drain his blood from her or something?” I asked.

  “You want to bleed me out?” Alena looked to me, wide-eyed.

  “Well, otherwise you, and anyone with you, is a sitting duck.”

  “It may work,” Orm spoke up. “We could take a pint a day until all your blood is replaced.”

  “What are we going to replace it with? No one has blood like me.”

  Hunter took her hand. “We have to fix this. Your mother does.”

  “We’re not telling my mother. She can’t afford six pints of blood.”

  The doctor stepped towards us. “Not at one time. But over a couple of days.”

  “How can we be sure it works?” Grady asked.

  “I’m not sure we can.” Orm looked to Chalondra.

  “Can only one vampire’s blood be active in a being? We could use another vampire’s blood as a marker,” I pointed out. “Replace her blood with Anne’s and test to see if we can find her with the marker blood.”

  “Yes, Good idea. Anne’s blood couldn’t find her if any of Theron’s is left in her system.” Orm pointed at me. “And Anne keeps two pints of her blood on hand. We can have six more pints within what? How fast can we draw blood from Anne?” Orm looked to the doctor.

  “Two pints a day,” she confirmed.

  Hunter’s eyes were trained on the floor, an
d I hated this for him. He just learned his evil half-brother had claimed Alena as his mate. If it’d been me, I would have had the whole unknown of what they’d talked about going around in my head. I’d wonder if she had feelings for Theron and why she would be in his presence long enough to get lured into being force-fed his blood. I knew one thing: I wasn’t going to be the one that told Hunter Theron professed his love for her.

  “What did he say to you? How did this even happen?” Hunter’s eyes didn’t leave the ground.

  “The sword was there. I was so close to it.” Alena’s eyes glazed over as they had when she’d been talking to Theron.

  “Theron knew you were coming?” Hunter questioned her.

  “I don’t know. It seems like he stays with the sword.”

  “Hey.” I corralled them to the door. “Maybe you guys should talk about this somewhere else. I don’t want to stress Camille.”

  “We need to contact Anne, now.” Hunter spun away from Alena and walked to the exit.

  Alena turned to face me. “I can’t believe you did that.”

  “You’re putting us all at risk.”

  “He won’t come for us.”

  “Why else would he feed you his blood?”

  Her eyes grew wide, and she turned and stomped from the room.

  I motioned to Grady. “It’s going to be safer for Camille to go to your safe house.”

  “When she’s better, we’ll take her there,” he confirmed.

  “Maybe we can transfuse Camille’s blood. Would that make her better?” Tyler asked.

  “It could,” the doctor admitted.

  “Okay, hook me up.” Tyler shoved his shirt sleeve up.

  They typed his blood, confirming he was a match for Camille, and took a pint. They wanted to take a pint a day until they collected six pints.

  “Do two a day,” Tyler insisted, jumping up on an exam table.

  By evening, the dialysis improved Camille’s kidney function, but only marginally. Her heart rate and blood pressure stayed weak. The doctors indicated the liver damage might be irreversible, so I focused my efforts on that organ. I pictured how Camille healed the birds and laid my palms on her side, sending healing waves of energy to the organ.

  Later in the night when the others left, I sliced my arm and let drops of blood fall into her mouth. Maybe it wouldn’t be as effective as a full vampire’s blood, but she’d agreed to take my blood. I wouldn’t impose another’s blood on her without her consent. Climbing up on the bed, I stretched out beside her.

  Janine’s voice woke me. “Have you tried talking to her?”

  Feeling my face warm, I jumped off to the floor. “Sorry, I—”

  “No, she needs all the company she can get. Touch is a powerful healer, even non-magic contact. Have you tried talking to her?”

  “Yeah, I mean we’ve all been talking to her.”

  “No, like in your special way. How you can push words into people’s heads.”

  “Wow, I feel so stupid. Camille and I could communicate with our minds. I didn’t even think to try it.”

  My pulsed raced as I contemplated being able to talk to her while in the coma. Taking her hand, I tried to speak to her using magic. I am so glad you’re back with us. We all are. Whatever happened, whatever is wrong with you, we’ll fix it. You’ll be okay. I love you so much. I stared at her face, trying to discern whether she moved or changed in any way.

  “Did she move, react at all?” I asked Janine after watching Camille for a few minutes.

  “I didn’t see anything. Did you hear anything?”

  “No.” I gripped the edge of the bed, frustration and rage coursing through my body. If I’d gone deeper, I knew I’d find fear, but I couldn’t go there. “She’ll be fine.” I stood, swiping a tear from my cheek.

  “She will.” Janine wrapped an arm around my shoulders, squeezing me for a second.

  All I wanted to do was be alone with Camille, hold her, and help her stay warm. But that was selfish of me.

  “How is she?” Tyler approached from behind us.

  Janine turned toward Tyler. “The same.” She raked her hand across my back. “Jude, you should go get something to eat, take a shower, go to the gym.”

  “No.” The word came out too forcefully, and she backed away. “Sorry, but I’m staying with her.”

  “Well, I’m ready for my next donation.” Tyler hopped up on the exam table across from Camille. I wondered if he had any other setting than optimistic and peppy. I’d witnessed a little of that in Camille, but she was more introspective and reserved, almost a polar opposite of Tyler’s personality.

  “I’ll bring you some food.” Janine turned and walked from the room.

  “She any better?” Tyler asked.

  “They’ll probably repeat the blood tests. Her vitals aren’t any better though.” I glanced up at the monitors.

  Tyler cocked his head towards Camille. “She’s a fighter, she’ll be fine.”

  “I know.” I paced the small space beside her bed, racking my brain for any further ideas on how to make her better. Waiting two more days for a blood transfusion would drive me nuts. What, you can’t be patient? my psyche asked. Obviously, I couldn’t.

  “Can’t you take some blood out and put some in?” I asked when the nurse came to draw her blood.

  “The transfusion will be more effective if we do it all at one time. You’ll only be diluting any toxins by doing it little by little.”

  I got the logic, but it still it didn’t help my anxiety level.

  “You tried talking to her?” Alena asked when she visited halfway through the day.

  I balled my fists, thinking if one more person asked me that, I might lose it. “Yes, both ways.”

  “What if Hunter and I try.” She reached her hand out to Hunter. I studied his strained temple, realizing he probably hadn’t gotten over the Theron incident. But, he held his palm out. Alena locked her hand on his. “Hold Camille’s hand.”

  Each one of them took one of Camille’s hands, and they closed their eyes. When Alena’s opened, her downturned lips told all.

  Still I asked. “Nothing?”

  “Nothing but darkness.”

  “And cold.” Hunter shivered and ran one hand down the other arm.

  I wished they hadn’t even tried. It made me feel worse knowing Camille was trapped somewhere dark and cold. Holding her hand, I pushed images of the sunny days we’d had in Iceland into her mind. I imagined walks on the beach with her and hikes in a tropical rainforest.

  Nothing made me happier than Tyler finishing donating the last pint of blood for Camille at the end of the second day.

  “We can start the transfusion, now, right?”

  “We’ll warm the blood, and then we can start,” the doctor indicated.

  After a half hour, they returned with the warmed blood and inserted two additional IV lines. I held one of her hands, and Janine held the other on the opposite side of the bed.

  “It will take about four hours to complete the transfusion,” the doctor told us.

  “Thanks.” I glanced at the doctor for a second and then fixed my eyes on Camille again.

  This had to work. They’d tried everything else. Continuing to push phrases and questions to her mind, I waited after each sentence for an answer. Still, there was none. After two hours, I stood and paced away from the bed.

  “Shouldn’t she be getting halfway better?”

  “Her body temperature is improving,” the nurse noted.

  From the warmed blood, I thought. It didn’t prove she could hold her temperature up herself. For the first time in three days, I wondered if she would make it.

  “She’s going to make it.” Janine glared at me as if she could read my thoughts.

  “Yes, she is.” I traced back to Camille’s side.

  An hour later, with three-fourths of Tyler’s blood in her, her color seemed to improve. “Is it wishful thinking, or does she look better?” I asked Janine.

 
; “She looks better.” She stroked Camille’s face.

  “Camille,” I whispered. There was no response. Squeezing her hand led to nothing different.

  Nearing the end of the treatment, the room grew crowded with Grady, Tyler, Alena, Hunter, Chalondra, and Orm all gathered to see whether Camille would wake up. I’d wondered aloud why she said my name when I found her and then seemingly slipped into a coma. The doctors theorized that she’d had an adrenaline spike, perhaps temporarily been able to overcome the effects of the poison. Clutching her hand, I kissed her fingers, praying she would be okay.

  As I did, her fingers twitched. “She moved.” I squeezed her hand, and she returned the gesture. “Camille?” I leaned in close to her face.

  Her lids fluttered, and her eyes opened. Her irises were still black, but they were clear otherwise.

  “Jude?”

  “I’m here.”

  “Thank goodness, you’re okay,” her mother exclaimed.

  “Mom?” Camille’s gaze shifted to Janine. Grady and Tyler approached the bed. “Dad, Tyler? Where are we?”

  Alena approached the bed. “We’re in Italy, on the mainland.”

  “Alena?”

  “Yes,” Alena nodded, tears forming in her eyes. “And this is Hunter.” She tugged on his arm, coaxing him towards the bed.

  “I can’t believe it.” Camille clutched my hand and tears pooled in her eyes. “You found me.”

  I held her stare. “Yes, I found you. Because you had my blood in your system.”

  “Even with the magic-blocking walls?”

  “It doesn’t block the blood bond.”

  Okay, this is great and all, but I want to—” the doctor started, but everything went dark. “Okay, the generator should kick in,” the doctor continued.

  The whir of motors filled the air, and thirty seconds later, emergency lights and the equipment clicked to life.

  “What’s going on?” I looked to Alena.

  “We’ll find out, come on.” Hunter tugged on Alena’s arm, and they jogged from the room.

  I spun to face the doctor. “Does this happen often?”

  “I wish I could say yes.”

  “Which means something bad is going on.” I glanced over Janine’s head to see Alena and Hunter round the curve.

  “We’re surrounded.” Hunter ran into the room, closing the doors behind them.