“Is there an antidote?” Declan is asking. “What can we do–”
“Get out. Leave us.” What I’m about to do can’t be witnessed by anyone but me.
“Sire–”
“Your debt is paid,” I snap at them, cradling Selene’s head with gentle hands. “Go.”
“No.” Declan sounds so stubborn I tear my gaze away from Selene. No one says no to me. “We’re not leaving her.”
Of course they’re devoted. She inspires that level of loyalty without trying.
“I would never hurt her. But you must leave. Leave and shut the crypt behind you. Tell no one what you saw today.” The echo of my voice dies with the sound of retreating footsteps. I relax. Selene and I are alone. The only sound is the rattle of her breath in her broken chest.
“Oh, pet, you are undone.” She’s so pale, her life slipping away with every heartbeat. By the time her body fights the poison off, she’ll die from the stake wound.
“Worth it…” she whispers. No anger, no rancor on her face. Nothing but love. She raises a hand and I capture it, bringing it to my lips.
“I hope you can forgive me for what I’m about to do.”
Her eyes widen. “What–”
“Shhh.” I stop her lips again, leaning close. “If you could choose, would you stay with me?”
Her brow quirks. “Stay?” Her body convulses in my hold as pain wracks her organs. The poison taking over.
“Listen, Selene.” I’m running out of time. “What would you choose?”
Her mouth tips up under my fingers as she whispers, “You.”
My head falls back, relief bursting in my chest. With Selene fading at my feet, I tear a wound in my flesh, right above my heart. I lift her and press her mouth to the red slash.
“Drink,” I order. And her throat works, her lips sucking at my skin as she drinks deeply.
It might not work. It might be too late. But there’s a slim chance and I have to try.
She convulses in my arms and I grip her tighter.
“That’s it, pet. It’ll be all right.” She clutches me, straining. I tip her backwards so my blood flows more easily down her throat. The transformation takes several exchanges, sire to sired. We’ve exchanged blood several times, and with the amount she drank today, it might work.
But only if the poison doesn’t overwhelm her body first.
A sigh shakes her body and her hands lose their grip on my shoulders. Her eyes close. This is it. Her organs are failing.
Hands shaking, I pull out the stake. Blood spurts, and I press my hand to her chest as she breathes her last. Her body can’t survive the blood loss and the poison. But as she dies, the vampire virus will take root. I can only hope my blood will be enough to save her.
I can only wait.
In the stillness of my crypt, I hold her body for hours, long after she goes still. Long after the blood dries. Pressing a kiss to her cold lips, I rise and sponge her body clean. I lay her on the stone slab. In the grim darkness, her body glows with an inner light. A creature of moonlight, a beacon in the night. I could fall to my knees beside the sarcophagus and worship forever.
Instead, I clean the crypt and deal with Xavier’s body. I wash and purify the crypt, and settle in for a long night. Over the years, I’ve held countless vigils, waiting for the vampires I’ve created to rise. The joy of their birth is always tinged with grief, their life predicated by their death. I bow my head in semblance of prayer. This crypt is now a womb.
Close to dawn, the silence breaks with a long mournful note. A wolf howling. The melancholy sound both a greeting and a goodbye. And I know.
Day is coming. I stretch out beside the sarcophagus and wait for the sleep of the dead. Above me, on the slab, Selene’s body lies still, but I can sense the change. She’s cheated death and come nightfall, she will rise as a vampire.
Immortal, like me.
Selene
I OPEN my mouth and air rushes into my lungs. My body is heavy as a slab of marble. I draw in deep breaths until tingles go up and down my limbs, bringing them to life.
I must have made a small sound, because the next moment Lucius stands over me, his forehead creased as he looks me up and down.
“Hey.” I give Lucius a half grin. My mouth isn’t working right. None of my limbs are. “What’s happened?”
“Selene.” There’s a world of relief in his voice. “You’re awake.”
“Yeah. Captain Obvious.” My muscles tense as I try to rise. Why can’t I sit up?
“Easy, pet.” He places a hand on my chest.
“I feel weird.”
“Yes. I thought you might.” He slides an arm under my shoulders and helps me sit up. My body feels different, and I’m not sure why. I’m naked, but surprisingly not cold. The crypt air flows around me, the cold vampire scent transformed into something warm and comforting. I touch the spot on my chest where Xavier stabbed me. The skin is smooth, unmarred. I am whole.
Lucius’ hands skim down my sides. Blood roars in my veins, my body awakening to his touch. His chest is still smeared with blood but my own is clean. I swipe at the red stain and he captures my hand.
“What’s wrong, pet?”
“So much blood,” I mumble.
“Yes. It was necessary.” He tilts his head close, his dark hair brushing my forehead. “You drank all the blood I gave you.”
“I needed it.”
He squeezes my hand. “You came back for me.”
“You were in danger. In trouble. Xavier–” I push at Lucius, frantic to look past him.
“Shhh, he won’t hurt you again.”
My mentor is gone, the spot on the stones where he lay scrubbed clean.
“Is he…” I look from the stones to Lucius’ shadowed face.