Shepherd took back the marker and set it on the counter. “It was the only one in the kitchen that fit. I can’t mess up Kira’s.”
Wyatt rolled his eyes. “Oh, but mess up mine.”
I stepped close to Viktor and whispered, “I don’t want Christian hearing jokes or dramatic reactions while this is going on.”
Viktor snapped his fingers. “Wyatt, out. Stay at the end of the hall—do not come in or make noise. Keep everyone out.”
“My pleasure. By the way, what’s up with his bushy tail?”
Viktor shoved him out of the room and closed the door. Meanwhile, Shepherd snaked a small feeding tube up Christian’s nostril. Christian’s throat undulated.
I frowned. “Is that normal?”
“It’s reflexive,” he said.
“How do you know you’re not putting that into his lungs?”
“He’d be coughing or wheezing. If I did it wrong, we’ll fix it later. He can’t drown.”
“What do you want me to help with?”
He rolled a stool to the head of the table. “Sit your ass down. This isn’t something you should see. Hell, this isn’t somethingIshould see up close. Viktor and I have got this. Just watch his face for any change and keep him calm. Let him hear your voice. Once I think I’ve gotten everything, force a response out of him to see if we got it all.”
I sat on the stool and cradled his head in my hands. Shepherd stood to the right and Viktor to the left. Shepherd pulled an extendable arm from the wall and switched on a bright light over Christian’s chest. We put on our eyewear, and then Shepherd injected Christian with the sedative.
“This’ll make him feel high and reduce the pain. I’m giving him twice the max amount a human would get since medicines aren’t as effective on Breed. I’ve never tested them on a Vampire, so I really don’t know.” He checked Christian’s pulse. “Set your Mage watch and tell me when five minutes is up. I’ll check his pulse and see if he needs another shot. It’s obviously working; I just don’t know how long it’ll last on a Vampire.”
Shepherd took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. At first I thought he was doing it to calm himself. Then I realized he was waiting for the opioid to take full effect.
Instead of one incision where a surgeon would use retractors, which we didn’t have, he cut a flap. My stomach turned at the sight of it. I pressed my cheek to Christian’s temple. The cutting tool whirred as Viktor held back the skin and worked alongside him.
A bone snapped.
Then another.
After what seemed like an eternity, I announced, “Five minutes is up.”
Shepherd administered another injection and returned to his work. “That’s it. See it?” He set down something a hell of a lot larger than a splinter on the tray. It was a good three inches long. “Viktor, hand me the tweezers. It’s a mess in here.”
I blocked out the gruesome display in my line of vision. I saw no flutter beneath Christian’s eyelids to indicate he was out of the woods yet. “It’s gonna be over soon. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere. You can do this. I don’t know anyone else who could do this but you.” My palms were sweating, and I kept my fingers on his neck so I could feel his pulse. It skipped beats while they continued working.
I thought about humming a song but didn’t want to create future trauma if he heard that song playing. I wanted to tell one of our stories but didn’t want to associate them with pain. So I kept my lips against his temple, talking up how badass of a Vampire he was. Talking about how much I loved him.
“That’s three.” Shepherd placed another splinter on the metal tray.
Christian’s eyes fluttered. I shot up, the stool rolling back.
“Shepherd,” I said, uncertain if it was a reflex.
“What is it?”
I stared at Christian’s handsome face, the feeding tube taped to his cheek. When his lips moved, I reached out and gripped Shepherd’s arm. “Look.”
Christian’s eyes fluttered again as he moved his lips. “Fffuck,” he croaked.
“That’s it.” Shepherd threw down his tools and picked up pieces of bone from the tray. “Hold these in place,” he instructed Viktor. Shepherd swiftly grabbed a large plastic syringe, connected it to the feeding tube, and carefully poured my blood into the syringe from a container I’d filled up earlier. Then he attached the plunger to the syringe and slowly pushed. I watched my blood shoot through the tube and up Christian’s nose. “Is it sealing?” he asked Viktor.
“Da. It is working.”
