She released my finger from her mouth and grabbed my hand to study the tip for a moment. "It's already healed."
I turned her wrist toward her. "So are you."
Her mouth fell open. "How did that happen?"
"My saliva and blood have healing properties," I explained. "I used them to close your wounds."
She ran her fingers over her wrist. "Wow. That's...just wow." Merry looked up at me. "So it's done?"
I nodded.
"I don't feel any different."
"I'm not surprised. Dumont took pains to hide his presence and his influence on you."
There was a light knock on the bedroom door.
Merry looked at me and I shrugged. "It's your room."
"Come in," she called.
The door opened to reveal Ava. "That was quick," she commented, a brow arched.
I cursed silently as my face began to warm and I knew I was blushing. "Merry's safety was the most important thing."
I glanced at Merry and saw she was blushing as well.
"Well, now that that's done," Ava said as she came further into the room. "I have something for you."
She withdrew a slender chain from the pocket of her dress. On the end, a pale bluish-white stone shimmered in a silver setting. "You'll need to wear this. Don't take it off even when you shower," she said.
Ava brushed by me and clasped the necklace around her neck. The stone flared for a moment, emitting a bright light as the enchantment became active.
"This will not only keep Dumont out of your dreams and prevent him from re-establishing the connection and feeding off of you, it will offer you protection from magical attacks from any witches or warlocks you come across."
Merry lifted her hand to the amulet and curled her fingers around it. "You mean that if I met someone like Rhiannon again, this would protect me?"
"Yes."
While Merry's relief was evident in her expression, I could feel it unfurl inside me as it did within her.
I struggled to lift the block between us, to separate her emotions from my own. She understood the link would exist between us, but that didn't mean I should take advantage of it. Merry was entitled to privacy when it came to her thoughts and emotions.
"I know the situation isn't ideal, but if you don't exchange blood again and Marcus doesn't feed from you, the bond will begin to fade with time. I know we discussed it before but I just wanted to make sure you knew it isn't permanent, even if it is intense at the moment."
"I understand."
"Other than that, how do you feel?" Ava asked.
"Well, considering I barely slept last night, I feel pretty good. Energetic."
"That's the vampire blood," Ava said before I could even open my mouth. "It has that effect on humans. If taken in larger amounts, it can aid in healing and slow or reverse aging."
Merry's eyes widened and she looked at me. "You mean vampire blood is the ultimate anti-aging treatment?"
Ava laughed. "Maybe not the ultimate, but pretty darn close."
"Hmmm."
