The brisk night air hits my face when I burst through the hospital doors. The city stretches before me, a patchwork of darkness and emergency lights. In the distance, Equinox Park beckons, a slice of nature in the urban landscape. I take a deep breath, then set off to find Vyvyan.
My feetbarely touch the ground as I race toward our rendezvous spot, pushing my vampire speed to its limits. The wind whips through my short hair as I run through the blackout-stricken city. Vyvyan’s impatience is legendary. If I am a second late, I will find myself locked out of the Nest forever, cast adrift in this cold, dark metropolis.
As I pass a group of teenage male witches tagging a department store window, the streets pulse with sinister energy. Veering off the main roads to avoid potential threats, I plunge into the relative safety of Equinox Park. The sudden absence of urban noise is jarring, replaced by the soft crunch of snow and grass beneath my feet. Patches of white glisten beneath an impossibly bright moon.
I approach the designated meeting spot outside the Iron Parthenon, and the air thickens. The wooded area surrounding the Parthenon reeks of death—a sickly sour odor—and my senses scream. A chill that has nothing to do with the temperature crawls over my body. Every instinct urges me to flee, but I force myself forward.
“Vyvyan? Vane?” I call out, my voice sounding fragile in the vast darkness. The silence that greets me is absolute, swallowing my words whole. I’m about to call again when a feeble cry forhelp pierces the stillness, sending my feet charging through a thicket of oak trees.
“Vyvya—” The name catches in my throat as I freeze at the sight before me.
The fierce and indomitable Vyvyan lies crumpled on the ground; her usual regality reduced to something fragile and broken. Vane cradles her in his arms. Tears mingle with the blood on his cheeks, the crimson streaks glistening.
A sizable wooden stake protrudes from Vyvyan’s chest.
“Holy shit.” I drop to my knees in the damp grass beside them. “What happened?”
“Desiree, finally!” Vane gasps. “I need your help.”
How long have they been like this?
Vyvyan gasps, the sound wet and painful. My attention snaps to her wound. The stake narrowly missed her heart—there’s a chance, slim as it may be, to save her. And I’m damn well going to take it.
“We need to move fast.” My voice is steady. “Hebe isn’t too far from here. My mom is there. She can help.”
Vane shifts as if to follow, but Vyvyan’s hand shoots out, gripping his bicep with surprising strength. “N-no,” she wheezes. “You’ll k-kill me if you move me.”
I groan. Even facing death, Vyvyan clings to control. “You’ll die if you stay here. You need blood. Lots of it, if you’re going to heal.”
“I’ll die anyway,” she rasps, her red eyes flickering with a chilling resignation.
No, I think. She can’t die. If she does, I’ll never forgive myself. As a healer, I took an oath.
“She needs blood,” I repeat.
Vane’s brow furrows. “You said that. But in case you haven’t noticed, there’s no one ar?—”
Before Vane can finish, I tear into the flesh of my wrist with my fangs. The pain is sharp, but I barely register it. Vane gasps in horror as my blood, so dark it looks almost black in the moonlight, wells up, and begins to drip onto the dirt.
I shift toward Vyvyan, but Vane twists to shield her. “What the fuck are you doing? You aren’t giving your blood to her.”
“Do you have another suggestion?” I snap, meeting his gaze defiantly.
Vampires do not share blood outside of mating purposes. A blood bond links a pair together empathically. However, there’s also a risk that a bonded pair could become addicted to each other’s blood or have one swap a mate for a master.
Vane hesitates, then rolls up his sleeves. “Let me do it. She’s already my sire.” He doesn’t sound excited.
For a moment, I’m tempted to accept his offer. It would certainly make things less complicated between Vyvyan and me. I know she hates me and having her feel how uneasy she makes me on a visceral level for all eternity sounds terrible. But another part of me—the part that still resents Vane for his rejection, for the pain he’s caused, for how close he and Vyvyan are—decides for me.
“No,” I say firmly. “I’m the one with medical training. If this doesn’t work, you need to be at full strength to address the vampires in her place. We can’t have both of you weakened.”
Vane’s jaw hardens, but he nods reluctantly.
“I promise you,” I say, my voice softening, “I’d much rather be doing this with a potential mate if I had one, but I know how much Vyvyan means to you and the other vampires.”
Something flickers in Vane’s eyes. “You want to find a mate?” he asks, surprise coloring his tone.
I shift uncomfortably. It was mostly a joke, but suddenly, I feel exposed. Yes, deep down, I hope that someone—someday—will love me enough to choose me over everything and everyoneelse. That being with me is worth the potential consequences the blood bond creates.
