Page 61 of The Human’s Heart

“Okay. I… I can stay with him, right?”

“Trust me, kiddo,” Uncle Thay said. “The last thing anyone’s gonna do is take you away from your viramore.”

I blew out a relieved breath, closed my eyes, and prayed this would work. Prayed to the Mother of All that Hugo would come back to me.

Chapter 19

Zaos

The long hours of waiting to see if Hugo’s transformation was successful were the worst of my life.

In normal circumstances, a fledgling would be in a room—or a cave or hole in the ground or whatever—with only their sire. But this wasn’t a normal circumstance, and there was no way in hell anyone was separating me from my viramore.

So I was with Uncle Toby and Hugo in my uncles’ basement dungeon or whatever the hell this place was. It was a small bedroom with an attached full bathroom in their basement with zero windows and a light-tight door, so there was absolutely no chance the sun could harm Hugo if—no, when—he woke up.

Because it was going to be a when.

Luckily, there was a faint blue nightlight plugged into the wall. Uncle Toby had assured me it was totally fine to have that light in here, and I was grateful for it because it allowed me to see my sweet and beautiful Hugo’s face whenever I needed to.

Which was basically always.

Except when I was pacing the room.

For his part, my uncle was pretty quiet, only offering me food and drinks once in a while, but he mostly left me alone. I was grateful since I didn’t think I could be civil at the moment, and the last thing I wanted to do was be cruel to the man trying to save my viramore’s life. Just letting me be and yet being there for me and offering comfort when and where he could was exactly what I needed. He was following my lead, even though I didn’t even know what I needed to do right now.

I began pacing the room for the hundredth time, running my hands through my hair, massaging my neck, and doing anything I could to distract myself. Not that it worked. The only thing that’d work was Hugo waking up and me holding him in my arms forever.

When Uncle Toby spoke, I actually startled because he’d been so quiet this whole time. “I think he’s going to wake soon.”

I rushed to the side of the bed and climbed in, lying next to Hugo and gently holding his hand.

Uncle Toby was on Hugo’s other side, sitting up. As Hugo’s new sire, he had to remain close by, and he was holding Hugo’s other hand. I didn’t like it, not really, not when I felt so vulnerable, but he was only doing it to keep Hugo safe. My viramore was going to need to be close to his sire for the next few weeks or months, at least.

Hugo let out a tiny whimper, and I leaned in close with my head on his pillow so my forehead was pressed against his temple. “I’m right here, isa mezelie. You’re safe. You’re gonna be okay.” I felt tears fall from my eyes as I realized what I said was true.

If he was making noises and waking up right now, he really was going to be alright. He was safe.

My viramore was safe.

But he was also hurting.

Hugo leaned into me a little, groaning louder. Which was good that he was waking up, but horrible that he was in pain.

To Uncle Toby, I quietly asked, “Can I use my magic to help him heal?”

Uncle Toby grimaced. “Give him another minute before you add anything else in. Let’s… make sure the vampirism sticks first.”

I grimaced back. I didn’t like it, but it made sense. Adding in incubus magic could have unforeseen consequences. “So he just has to suffer?”

“I’m sorry, Zay. I… I’ve never turned anyone before, so I’m only going off of my limited knowledge. I don’t like him suffering, but I don’t want to risk him either.”

“Yeah… yeah, you’re right. Sorry I keep snapping at you.”

He sent me a soft smile and reached over the top of Hugo to give my biceps a squeeze. “You have nothing to apologize for, okay? This is a stressful situation, and I know it’s scary. You’re doing fine, okay?”

I sent him a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

He gave me another squeeze, then released me when Hugo made another pathetic sound.