“Shouldn’t we stop the bleeding?” My eyes strained to stay put on his face, though I could still see all the red. My stomach turned.
“It will stop on its own.” He sounded out of breath.
Vampires healed far faster than humans, within seconds. And they could survive many injuries a human couldn’t. He should have been healed by now.
He eyed my waist, and when his eyes met mine, his stare burned through me. “Why didn’t you fight back? You didn’t even reach for your dagger.”
I looked away from him. The sharp tang of blood filled my nostrils. I could almost taste it. My mouth watered as I swallowed hard. “I don’t know—blagh.”
“What the hell was that?”
I kept my hand to my mouth as I looked back to him. His brow furrowed to a frown.
“It’s nothing. It’s ju—agh—just a lot of bloo—agh.” I couldn’t suppress the gags any longer.
“Okay, I’m starting to understand why you didn’t reach for your dagger,” he said flatly.
His complexion continued to pale, and a sheen formed over his face, but he still donned his typical bored, placid expression. Though his eyes started to appear heavy.
“Don’t you—” I stopped to swallow, forcing down another gag. “Don’t you think you should be healed by now?”
“Yes.” He took in a slow breath. “I haven’t been able to feed in awhile. I may not have the strength to heal.”
“What?” My voice hitched. “You told me you were well fed.”
“I wanted to put your mind at ease. But it has proven to be more difficult than I expected to feed here, and I haven’t been able to get through the portal lately as I’ve been at your father’s beck and call.”
“What does it mean when your body doesn’t have the strength to heal?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve never gone this long without feeding.”
His head lolled to the side along the tree he was slumped up against. A sharp pang needled through my chest. He looked dangerously close to passing out, and I didn’t know if he would ever wake up if he did. The only ways I had read of how a vampire could die is from the black tourmaline daggers to their hearts or decapitation. I didn’t know if this could kill him, but I did know that I did not want to find out. A wave of nausea roiled through me at the thought, turning my already sick stomach. He needed blood.
“What if yo—blagh.” The metallic scent was becoming overpowering now. My eyes watered at the assault. He was at death’s doorstep, but he still had the gall to stare at me with a sparkle of amusement in his quickly dulling eyes. “Fed from me.” I swallowed, suppressing another gag.
“Charlotte, I couldn’t—”
“I don’t think we have any other choice,” I cut him off.
“We can just give it some more time.” The time it took for him to open his eyes after blinking ticked on, longer and longer.
“I don’t think you have much time to spare.”
He shook his head, though it was a lot rockier than he probably anticipated, bobbing along the tree like a buoy at sea.
“Sebastian.”
His eyes opened and held mine at his name.
“Just do it. It’s okay. You need it. And quite frankly, I don’t want to be out here alone when you die.”
He smiled, and I felt a shift within me. A subtle movement, a feather picked up by the wind. An evolution I’d rather not acknowledge.
The last thing I ever thought I’d do wassavea vampire. Someone I was raised to despise and taught to fear. But I couldn’t just let him die. I had to at least try to save him.
I walked over, kneeling beside him, regretting it instantly. I gagged at the sharper scent now that I was closer. I pinched my nose attempting to breathe out of my mouth, but I couldtasteit. And at that, I heaved through a violent gag, ignoring Sebastian’s side-eyed glare.
“Charlotte.” His voice grew softer, raspier. Talking was becoming too laborious. “I can’t promise you won’t ... you’re going to feel ...”
