“That is not how medicine works.”
“Well, we’re about to throw my brother under the proverbial bus. Give me something?”
“So that you can worry?” Washington set the tube down and faced her again. “If you persist in badgering me, I’ll have you escorted out of my laboratory. Brian volunteered for this operation. That’s what you wanted—a volunteer. It would be imprudent to reject the opportunity now.”
“Fine. Fine,” Reyna grumbled. Except she desperately wanted to reject the opportunity.
Reyna tried to sit and wait out the process as Washington added Golden Blood to a syringe. The needle made her mouth dry. It wasn’t even for her, and it made her want to run in the other direction. She shuddered and hastily glanced away as Brian was escorted in.
It was the first time he’d been unchained and out of that room. His eyes took in everything like a sponge soaking up water. Reyna could see that his vampire abilities had manifested just in the way that he moved. Most vampires post–blood type cure had developed a human way of walking again. But Brian seemedto shift from one space to the next as if he couldn’t quite control his speed. He prowled more like an animal than a man. It was disturbing.
God, she hoped this worked. She desperately wanted her brother back. Even though he’d never be the same.
Brian took a seat next to Washington, flanked by Beckham and Philippé. Reyna clenched the lab table as Washington prepped Brian for the cure.
“You understand that this is experimental treatment for the case of vampirism. Possible issues related to the cure are still uncertain,” Washington said to Brian as he swabbed his arm with an alcohol pad.
“Yes,” Brian said. “Just fix me.”
“You’ll feel a pinch and then a burning. That’s normal.”
“I’ve endured torture. Just get it over with.”
Beckham raised an eyebrow at Reyna. She shrugged. He’d asked her for another solution.
It only took a second. Washington inserted the needle and pumped until the liquid was gone. He removed the needle, covered the drop of blood with a cotton ball, and then placed a Band-Aid over the injection site. A vampire with a Band-Aid. Now she’d seen everything.
“Did it work?” Reyna asked. She chewed on her lip and stared intently at Brian to look for any changes.
He hissed and clutched his arm. “You said burning. Not like I was on fire from the inside out.”
Brian doubled over, clutching his stomach. It was as if he had a stomach bug and was about to spew everything he’d recently eaten. Except all he did was moan over the pain. It scorched through him as Golden Blood took root, acting as white blood cells fighting the vampiric virus that had infected his body.
Suddenly, he fell backward off his stool and collapsed onto the ground. His body seized once, twice, three times.
Washington rushed to him, turning him on his side to try to mitigate the problem. Reyna was there next. Her hand on Brian’s shoulder. She didn’t care that she was potentially in danger. This was her brother. She would not let this happen.
“What can I do?” Reyna gasped. “My blood?”
“No,” Washington snapped. “I warned you it would be traumatic. Golden Blood has to get through his entire system. It’s as painful to be remade human as it was to be turned.”
Brian convulsed, yet was unresponsive while Reyna watched on helplessly. He had volunteered. This was what he wanted. But he must be in unbelievable agony. Suddenly he stopped, shifting onto his back and groaning.
His eyes fluttered open and he looked up at the ceiling. “Oh God.”
“Brian? How are you feeling?”
“My skin is melting off.”
“Did it work?” she asked Washington eagerly.
“Let’s get him back up,” Washington said. “I need to test his blood.”
Philippé and Beckham helped Brian back into his seat. Brian shuddered against every touch as if he had an intense sunburn and his skin was on fire. Washington drew blood and went to work. Reyna remained at Brian’s side, hoping and praying that this wasn’t all for naught.
Finally, Washington loosed a breath. “It’s eliminating the virus.”
Reyna gasped. “It worked?”
