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This was not the time.

Pam approached us, looking between Cairn and me. “We rented a lodge nearby in case this worked. We should get Sten there before any tourists turn up and start taking pictures. Joseph has already taken the ladder back to the road.”

“Before we go anywhere, I need to know what’s happening to him,” Robyn said. “Why does he start turning to stone whenever I move away? How do we stop it?”

“The planet is not suitable for our bodies,” Cairn explained. “Petrification protects us from hostile environments. Your presence delays it because you are his mate.”

“Potential mate,” Robyn corrected.

Cairn glanced at Georgie. “You two are so alike.”

“How do we stop it?” I asked. Usually, we would use protective suits or at least a breathing apparatus to visit a planet we couldn’t survive on. Why hadn’t we taken our suits? My memory was hazy when it came to the last moments on board the ship. Something about a locked door. Panic. Fear. Pain.

Cairn hesitated. I knew that expression. He had information I was not going to like.

“What?” I demanded.

“There may be another way to delay the petrification.”

“What way?” Robyn asked.

“Your blood.”

Her hand went still against my waist.

I stared at Cairn. “You drank your mate’s blood?”

“Believe me, it was not my first idea.”

“It wasn’t even his second,” Georgie said. “We only tried it when he was almost completely petrified. I was desperate. I would have done anything to bring him back to life.”

Robyn looked between them. “And it worked?”

“Yes,” Cairn said. “I remembered a story that claimed that a mate’s blood could help a gharrgoil survive in the most desperate of times. At first we tried putting a drop on my skin, but I had to taste it.”

“Taste it,” Robyn repeated.

Cairn bared his teeth, showing her his fangs. I almost forgot that humans didn’t possess any. They were such defenceless creatures, without fangs, horns or even wings.

Her pulse quickened.

I heard every beat. The sound filled my mind, drawing my attention to the side of her neck. I could almost see the movement beneath her skin.

My fangs began to ache.

Robyn noticed me looking and raised her free hand to her throat.

“So… you’re vampire gargoyles?”

“What is a vampire?”

Robyn pointed at my fangs. “A creature with fangs just like that. They suck blood, occasionally turn into bats, are immortal, and can’t stand garlic. Or crosses.”

“And some sparkle in sunlight,” Georgie said with a laugh. “Modern vampires are definitely sexier than Dracula.”

The two females clearly had a lot of knowledge on these vampires.

“How much blood did he drink?” Robyn asked.