Blood Loss
Dimitri POV
My fingers dug into the rough surface of the cave floor, hoping to find purchase as if I could pull myself out to the light. The wind was knocked out of me when I pushed down, a heavy weight setting on top of me. When I looked up I could see her.
Roza.
The light behind her shone like a halo, like she would be my avenging angel and spare me from the fate I knew was mine. But I also knew if she returned for me, she would die.
I watched her being dragged away, taken from the cave to the safety of the sunlight. There she would be safe from the horror that now surrounds me. From the monster that has descended onto my neck, a hand gripped in my hair to yank my head to the side.
I had heard of the pain of Strigoi bites, many times coming close to experiencing it, but nothing could have prepared me for the pain as his fangs sunk into the tender flesh of my neck. My heart raced from the pain and fear, making my blood move quicker. Straight to their eager lips.
And then everything faded. The pain and the fear left my mind leaving a haze. In the back of my mind, I knew what this was. Endorphins. I should be trying to fight through it.
Yet, all I could think of was Roza. My Roza. Of us together in the cabin. Of telling her how I felt and hearing her say she loved me back. Of how amazing she looked, fight alongside me.
Roza. Roza. Roza.
My head became dizzy and my body too weak to move anymore. Even through the high, I knew what this was. I was dying. Hanging on the edge, taking a step closer with each gulp of blood the Strigoi took from me.
Everyone that could have saved me was gone, leaving me alone in the dark with the creatures that haunt it.
My eyes drooped, too heavy to look at where she once stood. At least I could die knowing that she was safe.
I'm sorry, Roza.
