I tucked my face into the side of hers, praying silently to a god I wasn’t sure existed. And if they did, would they answer the prayer of a creature such as me?
Alches laid down beside me, resting his chin on his paws and letting out a tiny whine.
I lifted my head and looked down at him. He quirked his eyebrows at me in expectation.
Drying the tears that had leaked free, I sat up, taking a look at Deborah through my other sight. My magic flared into view. Tiny red lights that I associated with the vampire part of me. All streaming through her veins to pool at her center. They milled around like they had no idea what to do. Just sitting there.
In addition to the magic that made me vampire, there was a tiny splotch of my abyss that had found its way into her. It nestled inside her as if it had found a new home.
Ignoring the darkness that represented my abyss, I focused on the vampire part of my magic, brushing my mind against it.
The red lights gave an excited shimmy.
With renewed hope, I grasped the magic, guiding it until it circulated throughout the rest of Deborah’s body.
I wasn’t sure if this was what I was supposed to do, having never seen the making of a vampire besides myself. And that didn’t count. But something about it felt right.
It was faint, but I thought I felt Deborah’s lips move weakly against my wrist.
Thomas smoothed a hand over her head. “That’s a good sign.”
I looked over at him hopefully. “It’s working?”
“A transition takes hours, if not days. Soon, her heart will stop, and she will have the appearance of death. It’ll be out of our hands after that. All we can do is wait to see if she wakes up.”
I didn’t like that answer, but there was nothing I could do except continue to feed Deborah. Several times, I had to make new wounds with the silver knife when the old ones healed. The blood loss eventually left me feeling woozy and a touch light headed.
Liam supported me when I wove in place. “Almost there,mo chuisle.”
I rested my head on his chest as I continued to bleed into Deborah’s mouth.
After what felt like an eternity, Liam stirred, taking my wrist away from Deborah and putting pressure on the wound as he folded my arm between us.
Distantly, I felt him press a kiss on my forehead. “Well done, wife. Rest now and let fate take care of the rest.”
Not yet, I wanted to say.
Through the narrowing crack in my eyelids, I focused on Inara’s prone figure.
Sensing the shift in my magic, Lowen lifted his head. “What are you doing?”
Making something new, I tried to mumble.
Brin’s approving tone was the last thing I heard as I fully sunk into unconsciousness. “You chose an interesting branch. Well done, daughter. Congratulations on the first stage of your becoming. May your nightmares terrify your enemies for an eternity to come.”
Blood touched my tongue. The power in it jolting me out of the dark fog I was drifting in. I woke to find myself clutching Thomas’s forearm as I fed greedily from his wrist. Liam made soothing sounds as he rubbed my back. “That’s it. Almost done.”
I swallowed twice more before pushing Thomas’s wrist away from my mouth. He let me, already healing as he rolled his sleeves back down.
“That should do for now,” Thomas informed Liam, rising as a commotion came from the forest.
Daniel and Anton emerged dragging a bedraggled Sophia between them. Her sleek updo had come loose, a hank of hair sliding over her face. Her ballgown had ripped in places, givingevidence of a struggle. Dirt coated her knees and chest. There were also leaves stuck to the streaks of blood I could see on her skin.
Despite the fatigue pulling at me, I forced myself to focus. When Deborah woke up—and shewouldwake up—I wanted to be able to assure her that her torturer was no longer walking this plane of existence.
It was the least I owed her. And if it gave me a little closure as well, so be it.
Anton and Daniel tossed Sophia on the ground in front of Thomas. “We caught her trying to escape. Unfortunately, Councilor Navya eluded capture.”
