Page 236 of Eight of Swords, Part Two

‘He’s gonna be OK, I promise,’ Riley says.

Staring at the hooks on the wall, Kade decides not to ask right now. He has some idea of their use now anyway.

‘I wanted to ask you about Lachlan’s blood.’

‘Go for it.’

‘You can smell him, right?’

‘I can smell everything.’

‘He’s not human right now, immortal. I think his blood helped us to heal. Maybe it could do the same for Luca.’

‘Luca’s human and it’s like the doc said, he’d need to make that choice for himself.’

‘You heard that?’

‘If it happens in the Tower, I can hear it.’

Kade blushes. ‘Shit.’

Riley looks up at him in the broken mirror and grins. ‘Don’t worry, I can shut it off at will if the sound’s not too invasive.’

‘OK, well. Good. Great.’

‘Yeah.’

‘I’m really sorry about the… uh, hickey.’

‘I didn’t feel it. It just appeared. Céliane’s right, you can control it. I do.’

‘Good thing we both heal fast.’

‘Mm.’ He turns the taps off and faces Kade, looking around. ‘I wanted to talk to you about Lachlan’s blood too, but not for Luca.’

‘Oh?’

‘He gave it to me that day in Medical,’ Riley says. ‘It did help, but I think my body is reacting to it. I’m not sure how, but I can feel something changing, which…’ He sighs heavily, drags both hands over his face. ‘Change is never good for me.’

‘I’ve got your back.’

Riley nods. ‘I know. You’re the only one I trust. Lachlan’s blood isn’t human, obviously, given his healing, but it’s more than that. His hunger… I can smell it. He’s not just hungry for French toast. There’s something happening to him that I don’t think he can feel.’

‘Like what?’

‘I don’t know. It’s hard to explain, and I get that this is part of his bargain, that it’s magic, but…’

‘Go on, I trust your judgement.’

‘When people eat, their body stops producing the hunger signals, right? Well, his never does, not until I put human blood on the steak.’

Kade blinks. ‘What?’

‘I had a hunch it’d work.’

‘You put human blood on his food?’

‘Yes.’