Hisses of disgust passed around the room, and several vampires walked from the room then and there. There was a commotion too as a small party of trackers assembled, darting from the room. Ashton, an efficient, merciless vampire known for his ability to track, gave me a terse nod as he left the room, leading the others into the grounds.
‘For Pete’s sake, man, clear the room, will you? Don’t you think her dignity has suffered enough?’ Galen insisted in an undertone, taking her pulse and dipping his fingers into the puncture wounds on her neck. Hearing, Jag and Sky snapped into action, instructing the servants to clear the room whilst my family closed in, forming a protective circle around her.
‘Fracture to her right wrist and considerable blood loss, presumably drained via the neck.’
‘How much blood?’
‘Too much. She is going into shock. If she doesn’t receive a transfusion, her major organs will fail.’
He didn’t need to continue. ‘Get her a transfusion.’
‘It’s not that simple. The blood you have stored here is untested, whole blood, which is unsuitable for transfusion and it would take too long to acquire suitable blood from human blood banks.’
‘Then turn her!’
Galen shook his head, laying her arm back down on the floor and rolling back until he sat upright on his knees. ‘It’s too late for that. Her body would not be able to cope with the change. I’m sorry.’
My mouth opened. I closed it again. Instead, I took her unbroken arm, stroking it, stunned at how she was colder than me. I heard somebody suggest going to the Sage, before another dismissed it.
‘Couldn’t we give her a small amount of our blood?’ I began, an idea forming in my head. ‘Enough to keep her alive and let her body heal, but not enough to turn her.’
Galen looked at me sceptically. ‘That would make her a dhampir.’
‘So? It would save her life! Father?’ I appealed, desperately, to my father’s mercy. He did not say anything, but motioned for Galen and Eaglen to join him away from the circle. I caught snippets of their conversation I didn’t want to hear, but was interrupted as Fabian appeared at the doors, joining me in a flash. He was still crying and when he glanced at me, his eyes told all.
‘She’s fading,’ I murmured, and watched as my oldest and closest friend broke down, falling to the ground, sobbing. I looked on, unsure of what to do, unable to cry, as I told myself I would not, could not, cry for a human.
Her breathing was becoming more rapid, but her pulse was fading. Beads of cold sweat slid down her neck to the long slits he had given her across her collar and br**sts; her skin was getting ever more icy.
‘Come on,’ I muttered, staring at the men huddled near the doors, catching my father’s gaze as he glanced towards her.
You have nothing to say, Kaspar?
Her life is in your hands, father, so what would be the point?
I saw him sigh and turn to Eaglen, speaking aloud and raising his voice a little. ‘This decision will gravely affect the fate of the Kingdom, will it not?’
‘In more ways than you can imagine,’ Eaglen revealed, smiling. He knows things we can only dream of.
‘Arabella?’ my father said, turning to her. She nodded, confirming what her blood father, Eaglen, had said, and strengthening her father-in-law’s point.
If I let her die, we risk angering Lee and the human government and giving him his excuse to become aggressive. If I allow her to live, and become a dhampir, we risk the same. I must think of her too. Even if she were to consume a small amount of vampiric blood, there is no guarantee it will work. And of course, you must remember she despises us with a passion. Would she really want to be connected with the dark beings in even the slightest way?
His last words caught me and he knew it. She wouldn’t. But neither would she want to give up so easily. She was a fighter.
Lee will never even know she’s a dhampir. And this isn’t her fault. She didn’t choose this. She shouldn’t even be a part of this world in the first place. I’ll give my blood. I owe it to her.
I didn’t know whether my words were working, but then his eyes did something unheard of: they turned blue.
‘Do it.’
Galen snapped into action, hoisting her up into his arms and snapping for the servants to have a fire lit in her room. I froze in shock for a second, before grabbing Fabian and leading Galen up the stairs.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Violet
‘Violet, it is time to wake up,’ a musical voice sang from beside my knees. There was a gentle pressure on my leg from a tiny hand and I found myself wrenched back to consciousness. My eyes fluttered open to reveal a giggling little girl with wide emerald eyes, framed by tumbling blonde ringlets. Thyme. ‘You have been human asleep-y for a very long time, Violet!’
My eyes continued to open, the haze disappearing. Dazed, I managed to discern that I was lying partially sitting up on my bed, soft pillows supporting my aching back. My wrist was wrapped in a support – but not a sling. Kaspar, Fabian and Lyla stood nearby, their backs to me.
‘Violet’s awake!’ The girl dived at me, wrapping her matchstick arms around my neck, her knees digging into my stomach. I winced, groaning as my entire body erupted into joint-wrenching pain. She kissed my tender neck over and over, clutching me tighter. I felt her pass over fresh wounds on my body and I tried to cry out in pain, only to hear a screech. Immediately, the three vampires turned and Lyla rushed to pull Thyme off.
‘Thyme! Can’t you see you’re hurting her?’
I breathed heavily as the pain dulled. Thyme’s bottom lip quivered, and her lips swelled to a pout. She scuttled from the room, sobbing without tears. I watched her, before slowly beginning to prop myself up. I inched back, wincing as I put weight on my strapped-up arm. Kaspar stood a way back, seeming hesitant to move closer. His cold gaze lingered on me for a moment, before he averted his eyes and looked out the window. Fabian plumped the pillows behind my back, and remembering my last few moments at the ball, I scooted away an inch. He didn’t seem to notice.
‘Here, drink this,’ he said, passing me a glassful of water. My throat was so dry I downed it in one and he poured me another from the jug on the bedside table. ‘Violet, I am so sorry for what has happened to you.’
I made a small choking noise in the back of my throat, wanting to shake my head but finding my neck too stiff. There was an awkward pause.
‘I’ll go get Galen,’ Lyla muttered, leaving the room. Nobody spoke for the next few minutes as I managed to sit fully upright with the help of Fabian: until the King entered the room, followed by a tall, imposing man, who I presumed was Galen. Behind him was Eaglen.