“You’d better appreciate this later.” I extended my finger so several drops of blood splashed into Inara’s mouth. “No more shooting me with arrows covered in pixie dust.”
After a moment, the wound on my finger healed.
Lowen and I held our breaths as we waited. I stared at Inara’s chest, willing the heart inside to keep beating.
After a moment of no change, Lowen’s wings drooped. “It didn’t work.”
I raised my hand to my mouth. “Maybe she just needs more blood to get things started.”
Lowen shook his head and waved me off. “None of that now. You tried. Inara wouldn’t want you wasting any more time on her. Take care of the lass. You might still be able to save her.”
I felt torn as I looked over at my companion. It went against everything I believed in to abandon Inara, but time was not on my side. Deborah was slipping away.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, feeling like the worst sort of failure.
The pragmatic part of me understood the concept of triage. It was something that the military included in our training. On the battlefield, you couldn’t always save everyone. You helped who you could. The goal being to save as many as possible with the resources you had. Sometimes, that meant making hard choices.
I looked up at Thomas. “Tell me what I have to do.”
“The first part is already done. The past few months of blood exchanges between the two of you would have primed her body for this. Your venom has already started the change. Whether you were aware of it or not. Though having a few more years together would have helped the odds. We’ll do what we can,” Thomas said in a comforting tone. “Drain her. But be careful not to go too far. It’ll be difficult. The closer she grows to death, the more you will crave her blood. Its instinct.”
Taking a deep breath, I nodded. “Okay.”
Thomas helped me arrange Deborah with her back to my front, her neck arched for my bite. “Don’t be afraid. You can do this. I’ll stop you if you lose control.”
We were already on the precipice. There was no going back now. All I could do was trust him and hope for the best.
With that thought in mind, I lowered my mouth to her neck. It was like biting into a grape. A brief resistance before a pop. Next thing I knew, blood trickled into my mouth.
I drank it down greedily.
Humans so close to death had a distinct flavor to their blood that was addicting. The tang compelling you to sip deeper. Thoselast few swallows were the most difficult. The essence contained within them made my eyes roll into the back of my head.
Before I could finish savoring its unique bouquet, someone nudged my shoulder. “That’s enough.”
I clutched Deborah to me, a tiny growl slipping free in warning.
Another shove. This time harder and containing an echo of power. “Aileen—stop.”
I came unlatched from Deborah’s throat.
No wonder it wasn’t recommended for vampires my age to try changing a human. As I’d just found out, our control was nowhere near developed enough to withstand temptation. Without Thomas, I wasn’t sure I would have been able to stop.
He handed me a silver knife. “Now for the next step. Give her your blood.”
Taking the knife from his hand, I slit my wrist and held it to Deborah’s lips. Without her awake to swallow, it filled her mouth and dribbled out the side.
Thomas showed me how to hold her jaw closed and stroke her throat to force her to swallow.
“It’s not working,” I said, panic creeping up my spine.
“Give it time,” Thomas soothed.
Anxiously, I watched Deborah’s features for signs that something was happening. When the wound on my wrist stopped bleeding, I made another cut and held it back to her mouth.
“Come on, Debs.”
Don’t do this to me.
