I roll out my neck. It’s midday based on how my body is forcing itself to stay awake. “Second is right. Those who are turning should spend some time outside.”
Hannah looks back at her rescuer. “Your name is Second?”
He narrows his eyes at her. “It’s a good name.”
“I didn’t say it wasn’t.”
Second cracks the faintest smile, and my heart wrings.
Del crosses the room with a snort. “I’ll gather travel clothes and supplies for Aurelia and Samantha.” He points at Second. “I’ll be back with a map to show you the best route and where to acquire horses for the rest of their journey without you tomorrow.”
Second nods at him. “Good.”
“Come with me, ladies. You can spend time on my balcony while I gather things,” Del says and strolls out of the suite, with scrambling girls in his wake.
Two hours later, we convene in my suite again. Sunkissed cheeks and hopeful smiles dot the sitting room, ready for their next chapter.
“Who would you like to turn you, Sophie?” I ask as Del and Second review the map of Goreon at the mahogany desk in the corner.
Sophie’s upper lip curls in a sly grin. Already an alluring beauty, she’ll make an even more stunning vampire, the bite of her confidence sure to keep her alive for centuries.
“The queen, of course,” she purrs with a bow, her blazing hair falling forward.
“Where would you like your mark?”
Sophie strips her nightdress, naked before me, and holds her arm above her head. “Ribcage, near my heart.”
I smile at her, my fangs elongating.
Confidence. Beauty. Commanding.
Bold and brave.
“It’s my honor. And what will I call you from this moment forth?”
She looks at me around her arm. “Nix.”
“Are you ready, Nix?”
She swallows and nods. “To forever in the dark,” she says, and my mouth brushes against her skin, fangs sinking in.
My body races as the taste of blood from the vein hits my mouth, but I hold everything back, forcing myself to release my puncture from Nix without drinking.
The trickle of blood in my mouth is enough to sustain me for days, or so it feels that way.
“What now?” Nix asks.
I step back from her. “It only takes a few minutes,” I say kindly. “It’ll hurt when your fangs grow in, and your eyes will sting with their first flash of red, and your body will experience pain as you harden into immortality.”
A tear slips down Nix’s cheek. “Yes, I feel it.”
“Welcome to hell, Nix.”
She shakes her head. “I’ve been to hell. This will be my heaven,” she says, and my guilt flits away at her words.
Hair that was already fire becomes a brilliant, curling orange as Nix turns. Her cheekbones sharpen, lips plump, and the pigment of her skin lightens into porcelain glowing beneath blazing, lengthening ringlets. Nix draws her fingertips up her arm, her muscles defining, and the scars around her wrists from endless hours in chains fade.
“Oh my gods,” she whispers, stepping in front of the mirror in the room and gazing upon herself. “I didn’t realize we got prettier.”
