“You were bleeding to death when I reached you,” he said, his voice devoid of expression. “I killed Bloodworth and brought you here. You were beyond medical help.”
She stared at him, her whole body going cold as she waited for him to go on, sorely afraid she knew what he was going to say next.
“I could not bear the thought of losing you.”
She shook her head violently, as if by doing so she could forestall his next words.
“You were at the point of death when I bit you. I gave you my blood to save your life.” He laughed a short, bitter laugh. “But I was really saving my own.”
She stared at him, then glanced at her surroundings, noticing for the first time that there were no lights in the room and yet she saw him as clearly as if it were mid-day. Not only that, but he looked different somehow, though she could not have said why.
Gradually, she realized that everything looked different—the walls, the blanket on the bed, her own skin. Colors were brighter. She heard a faint sound she realized was a dog barking, though there were no other houses anywhere near them. And no dogs. She caught the scent of earth and trees, knew it was going to rain before morning.
“What have you done?” she asked, her voice barely audible. But it was a foolish question. She read the guilt in his eyes. “What have you done?”
The accusation in her voice cut him like a knife. He had no excuse, no defense, for his actions.
Her eyes widened as she thought of facing her family. Her father hated vampires. Would he hate her now? Send theGuild to destroy her? “You turned me,” she said, her voice laced with venom. “You made me a…” She couldn’t say the word. To say it aloud would be to admit it was true.
He nodded curtly. “The word is vampire.”
She shook her head. “No,” she hissed. “No. No. No!”
“Bryony…”
“I hate you!”
“I know.” He had brushed out her hair before she woke. Now, clad in her chemise, her hair falling over her shoulders in a golden cloud, her eyes flashing blue fire, she looked like an avenging angel.
Bryony wanted to scream at him, rake her nails down his cheeks, but a sudden pain exploded deep inside her. A moan rose in her throat as she doubled over, clutching her stomach. Wild-eyed with fright, she glanced at him. If she asked, he would help her, but she couldn’t bring herself to say the words. His gaze trapped hers and she watched, tight-lipped, as he bit into his wrist and held it out to her.
She stared at the dark red blood that oozed from the twin wounds and knew that was the answer to the agony ripping through her. With a cry of denial, she turned away.
“Bryony, do not be foolish. There is no need to suffer when relief is here.”
“I don’t wantanythingfrom you.” She spoke between clenched teeth as the pain grew stronger and more insistent.
“It is the only thing that will ease the pain.” He swore softly when she refused to look at him, refused the help he offered. “I can force you, if necessary.”
She bit down on her lip. What would be the least humiliating? Drinking of her own free will? Or having him compel her like a stubborn child?
Turning to face him, she said, “I will never, ever forgive you for this,” as she grasped his arm and drank.
Stefan clenched his free hand to keep from stroking her hair. There was a certain pleasure in having her drink from him, to know that he was easing her pain even though he was the cause of it.
When she lifted her head, she refused to meet his eyes.
Stefan licked the wounds in his wrist, sealing them. “There are things you need to know,” he said quietly. “As a new vampire, you will need to feed every night. I will take you out and teach you what to do. You will succumb to the dark sleep when the sun rises and you will not stir until it sets in the evening.”
She looked at him, mute, her eyes filled with fear and denial.
“It is not so bad, Bryony,” he said, his heart aching with regret for the life he had taken from her.
“What if I don’t want to be a vampire?”
“As I told you, the sun will destroy you. And if that is what you decide, then I will go with you.”
“But the sun doesn’t hurt you,” she said, her voice laced with bitterness.
