Read 2. Blood Past (Warriors of Ankh #2) for Free Online Page B

precise moment Noah’s cell buzzed in his pocket. Sighing, he reached in and flipped it open.
    You haven’t called. Did you get there safely? Call me immediately. Mom x If he called his mother she’d have him on the phone for ages and he didn’t have the time right now. His fingers flew over the buttons.
    We got here safely. Can’t talk right now. Eden needs me. N
    After pressing send he shut the cell off. His parents would have to wait. They were the most important people in his life… but Eden had joined those ranks. And right now, even if she didn’t want him there, he was putting her first.
    Noah dragged October’s computer chair over to the bedside and pressed his fingers to Eden’s cold, dead hand. A shudder of fear ran through him and he refused to look up at his superiors in case they saw the emotion the Ankh tried desperately to hide from one another.
    “Noah, I will sit with her,” Valeria said, taking a few steps towards him.

    He shook his head. “No, it’s fine.”
    “I am not asking-” she was cut off as Cyrus wrapped a hand around her upper arm, drawing her back.
    “Leave him,” he instructed softly.
    Chancing discovery, Noah met his Princeps eyes.
    Cyrus knew.
    A deep sigh opened up inside him and he felt his cheeks flush even though he knew they remained the exact same colour on the outside. There may be no visible sign of embarrassment on his face but he was embarrassed. He felt like an eighteen year old boy who’d just been caught declaring mushy love to a girl in front of his hero, the coolest guy at school.
    Cyrus didn’t look disapproving, however. He was calm. Understanding. He drew Valeria away and out of the room, closing the door softly behind them, leaving Noah and Eden alone.
    Noah’s eyes wandered over her face. He cursed under his breath. He couldn’t wait for the change to happen. Seeing her like this…
    That pang sliced through his chest again.
    It occurred to him as he sat there watching and waiting for signs of life, that Cyrus had left Noah alone with the one thing the Princeps held most precious. And he knew how Noah felt about her.
    He gave a huff of morbid laughter and sat back.
    Cyrus of Persepolis liked and respected him.
    If only he could get his adopted daughter to do the same once she was reborn.

Chapter Five
New Eyes
    The pain was excruciating, as if someone had cut into her chest, ripped her rib cage open, and was having difficulty tearing her heart out. Her entire body was lit with the agony, each nerve ending burning and lighting her very flesh with the flame. Sounds - inhuman, animal sounds - echoed all around her, and she begged, begged for it to stop. And then she realised… the sounds were coming from her. Hollowed shrieking. An outlet for the unbearable hurt that had taken her body captive.
    Eventually the burning began to throb into a manageable pain and she unclenched her hands and stopped writhing, drawing in huge gulps of air as slowly but surely a soothing balm spread through her, like a breeze blowing in from nowhere on an unbearably hot day. Her breathing slowed and she calmed, barely aware of the relieved tears that leaked out from her closed eyes and slid down her cheeks. She heard whispering but couldn’t make out the words.
    Panic abruptly seized her.
    Who am I?
    She frowned into the dark of her mind, searching, searching; desperately seeking.
    Who am I?
    Where am I?
    “Eden…” a soft voice whispered into the air around her.
    Eden? Eden…
    And then it all came flooding back with the impact of a massive tidal wave, rushing over her and pulling her under. She lost her breath as she remembered Ryan and Celine and Teagan. Stellan . A sharp pain sliced through her chest. Stellan. She’d lost Stellan. No. She didn’t want to relive that.
    Grief gripped her nonetheless.
    Noah. Beautiful Noah who had only pretended. More pain. Why did it feel like so much more. So much deeper.
    “Eden?”
    That voice. Cyrus. Cyrus! Her anchor. She had