Blood Awakening by Tessa Dawn Page A

noticed that her left arm was
still tucked behind her back—the  arm Dirk had burned with a cigarette. “Is that
burn still causing you pain?”
    Kristina visibly trembled. “No, not anymore...I
mean…yeah, but not if I hold it like this.” She tried to smile. The warmth
didn’t reach her eyes.
    Marquis took a step back then. There was a pungent
odor in the air. One he had never scented around Kristina before: fear . More
specifically, fear of him .
    He wrinkled his forehead. “What is wrong with
you?”
    Kristina shook her head and looked toward the
clinic. “The pain is just…we should hurry and get inside so you can go on and
get to...wherever you need to be.”
    Marquis’s stomach lurched. All at once, a powerful
sense of dread swept over him. “Show me your arm, Kristina.”
    Kristina showed him her right arm.
    “The other one,” he barked, holding his breath.
    Kristina blanched and took a step back.
    Marquis heart did a back-flip in his chest. “Kristina,
you will show me your left arm now .” He pitched his voice an octave
lower, the tone as smooth as velvet, making the command impossible to refuse.
    Like a puppet on a string, Kristina’s left arm
came out from behind her back and dangled in front of him as if he were working
her limbs from above.
    Marquis took one glance and staggered back,
catching himself against the solid stone railing. His head spun in circles like
he had just stepped off a carnival ride.
    It was right there in front of him. As clear as
the sky. Every marking, every line, every unmistakable contour—creating one
inevitable image: on Kristina Riley’s inner wrist . Draco, the Dragon.
Marquis’s own birth constellation.
     The woman was terrified now, and frankly, Marquis
could not have cared less. His mind was in a free-fall, as if he had just been
in a terrible accident and was still trying to regain his equilibrium, figure
out where he was—what had just happened—whether or not he was going to survive.
    Marquis shook his head adamantly. “No, this is not
possible.” He looked at Kristina’s arm again, and then he stared into her petrified
eyes. “Do you know what this means?”
    The petite redhead croaked out an incoherent sound.
    Marquis spun around and stared at the river, his
powerful hands closing into two hard fists...
    And then just like that, an iron gate closed in
his mind.
    It closed in his heart, shut out all thought, and locked
out emotion. It allowed only instinct and obedience. He couldn’t afford
anything else right now.
    Marquis looked up at the sky, then at the parking
lot behind them, and finally, at the shadows among the trees. “It is not safe
for you to be outside anymore, Kristina.” His voice was monotone.
    The skinny red-head visibly wilted, too afraid to
speak.
    Just then, Kagen Silivasi shimmered into view,
standing on the bridge directly in front of them. His glorious dark brown hair
rustled in the wind like fine spun silk. His commanding brown eyes, with their
unusual silver reflections of light, stared straight through the Ancient Master
Warrior with wonder and concern. As he took a step forward, Kagen’s muscles
shifted like the powerful haunches of a black panther stalking toward prey. It
was the signature walk of a male vampire. “My brother…”  His raspy voice
trailed off.
    Marquis met the healer’s gaze but said nothing.
    Kagen looked up at the moon then. “I just saw the
sky.”
    Marquis’s mouth was set in a hard line as he refused
to respond.
    Kagen looked completely taken aback. “ It’s Draco. ”
    “I know this!”
    Kagen frowned. “Who is she, Marquis? Do you know
yet? Do you think the princess—”
    Marquis held up his hand and just shook his head.
    Kagen looked at Kristina then...and all the pieces
fell into place. There was a moment of stunned silence while the three of them
stood on the bridge, desperately trying to process the enormous turn of events.
    Finally,Kagen spoke to Marquis telepathically,
his worry