“It’s not our choice,” he whispered.
“I know,” she replied, turning her attention to the woman. “But I’m sorry it’s one she has to make.”
Dire Straits
It wasn’t that Vivienne didn’t want to help the woman.
On the contrary, her heart ached at the sight of a mortal in pain.
A hundred years ago, which somehow felt like yesterday and an eternity ago, she’dbeenthis woman.
When Ian Beaumont, a soldier in the queen’s army, had found Vivienne, she’d been on the brink of death after a vampire attack. Ian had Made her, which saved her life.
Once she was safe, he hunted the three vampires who had assaulted her before using her as a midnight snack. Ian had avenged his new progeny, ending their immortal lives.
Vivienne’s Maker had taught her about being a vampire, and it was because of him that she joined the vampire army in the first place.
She would never forget what he’d done for her.
The problem was that over the past century, Vivienne had learned a complicated truth.
Sometimes, death was a blessing.
There were moments in a person’s life when letting go of everything and giving into the peace that came from no longer breathing was easier than surviving in the hell that often was this life. Eleyta was a harsh place to live, especially for mortals, and sometimes, the best path to healing was to pray for a quick passing.
The human’s injuries were extensive. Bites covered most of her body, the snow was red with her blood, and her heartbeat was irregular. The hand Vivienne held between hers was like ice, and the darkness within her knew this woman was close to the end.
Death would be easier than the pain the woman would have to endure on the road to recovery.
Marius met her gaze. “Can you give her your blood, Vivienne?”
It would solve their problems, but unfortunately, it wasn’t an option.
“I’m sorry, I can’t.” She shook her head. “I gave you everything I had.”
She needed to feed.
Earlier, her growing hunger had been something she could ignore, but that was no longer the case. It had increased tenfold during the fight with the First. Her stomach had become a hollow entity inside her, and her fangs ached. Healing the prince had taken every available drop of blood she had.
Vampires her age still needed to consume blood on a regular basis.
Vivienne wouldn’t feed from the prince—that was a terrible idea for several reasons—but she needed to find a Source. Drinking from the woman in front of her was out of the question, too. Not only would it be immoral, considering the human’s near-dead state, but who knew what kind of toxins the First’s bite had transmitted?
The creature’s blood had been black. She’d never seen anything like that.
At this point, even a deer would be better than nothing.
“Damn.” Marius frowned, raking a hand through his hair. “We can’t leave her here. It would be wrong.”
Vivienne pointedly ignored the way the prince’s brown locks settled ruggedly against his forehead.
You’re the man’s bodyguard, and a woman is dying in front of you; for Isvana’s sake,she chided herself.If you want to keep your head on your shoulders, you’ll stop thinking about him like that this very instant. Boundaries, remember?
Forget the king being angry that she’d failed to stop the prince from going on this mission. Imagine if he found out she’d almost kissed her charge?
Shadows would undoubtedly swarm from King Sebastian, his wings would burst from his back, and he would make an example of Vivienne, resulting in her lengthy, drawn-out death.
No, thank you.
