“That was the blood that fool gave to you without thinking about the consequences!” Ramaro snapped as he pushed his paws against the lid. “Now let’s get her out of here so we can get her out of this place.”
“We’ll do the first, but we’re waiting on the second,” Marc insisted as he pushed the lid aside with ease, then offered me his hand. “Can you get up?”
I flexed my feet and hands, and found they responded, but not very well. “Not without some help.”
“Then let me.”
Marc reached in and grasped both my hands. He drew me to a seated position before he drew his arms beneath me and behind my back. His prodigious strength allowed him to draw me from the pit that was the coffin and against his chest. I was glad for his warmth, as my weak heart still wasn’t pumping much heat through my body.
Marc carried me over to a small bench carved into the wall behind one of the free-standing coffins. Ramaro followed us and hopped onto the seat beside me. He set a paw on my bent leg and wrinkled his snout.
“She’s almost as cold as I am.”
Marc stepped back and folded his arms over his chest to study me. “That’s not hard to believe when she was dead a few minutes ago.”
My jaw hit the ground and bounced back up. “I-I was what?”
“Your heart couldn’t take the pressure of Adrien’s blood and stopped.”
I looked down at myself and patted my body. “But I’m not dead now. Unless-” A horrible thought struck me that left me in a terrified stupor.
“You are not a dravenkin, Lady Larkin.”
We all turned our attention to the stairs, down which Adrien strolled. His hands were clasped behind his back, and his bloodless lips were pressed tightly together. He stopped beside Marc and examined me. “How are you feeling?”
I tried not to throw up. “Not great.”
“That is understandable. The process was interrupted. You will feel better after you have eaten.”
More blood drained from my face, and I whipped my head to Marc. “Steak,” he assured me.
“Then I’m not really a-” The urge to say ‘vampire’ made me pause.
“Dravenkin,” Adrien finished for me. “And the answer is a very definite ‘no,’ Lady Larkin.”
I needed more assurance than that, so I licked the bottoms of my teeth. My canines were their normal short selves again. I set my hand over my heart and felt the soft murmur of my heart.
I fell back in relief, and my eyes flickered over the others. “What happened to me?”
“The magic of dravenkin derives from our ability to draw strength from our blood, and that which we consume,” Adrien explained to me as he took a seat on my other side. He took up my hand, and I had to force myself not to shrink from his cold grasp. “Mr. Torvus has informed me that you have magic that works much the same way. That you draw magic from your surroundings and are able to make beautiful things with it.”
I lifted my eyebrow at Marc. “He said that?”
Adrien chuckled. “Not in so many words, but your magic blended with the magic of my blood. Given such strength, my blood began to cause you to descend into the arms of the Beloved.”
I blinked at him. “The what?”
“Death. We dravenkin refer to the eternal sleep as our Beloved One, a companion who waits for us at the time when our long lives are finished.”
“I do not think he is that great.” The voice that spoke up belonged to the young girl I’d earlier seen. She stood behind Marc with her nose out of joint. “There’s nothing nice about dying.”
“That is because you are young, Victoire,” Adrien scolded her. “You will welcome his embrace when you are much, much older.”
“I do not think so,” Victoire persisted as she danced to the bottom of the stairs, where she half-turned to us. “That is why I shall live forever. I will find the grave of Ancestor and eat from his body, and be immortal. You’ll see.” She skipped up the stairs and out of sight.
“Mind explaining things a little faster so we won’t be interrupted again?” Ramaro spoke up.
Adrien bowed his head. “My apologies. There is little more to tell. Her magic invigorated mine and attempted to change her into a dravenkin. I removed my blood via my bite, though I must admit I was almost too late.”
