I lay Celeste down gently, reluctant to let her go even for a moment. The bond pulses between us. I can feel her even when I'm not touching her, a constant presence at the edge of my consciousness. But it's stronger when we're in contact. Brighter.
Elena examines the wound, her movements clinical and efficient. "The bleeding has stopped. The tissue around the wound is strange. Regenerating, but differently than normal vampire healing."
"Konstantin modified her. In Rome. We don't know exactly what he did, but we know some of it. Enhanced healing. Sunlight resistance. And the trigger."
"Wonderful," Elena says dryly as she reaches for Celeste's wrist. "Let me check if the silver damage has spread to the extremities."
She freezes.
Her fingers press harder against the inside of Celeste's wrist. She holds still for a long moment, disbelief written across her face.
"That's not possible," she whispers.
"What?"
"She has a pulse." Elena looks up at me, eyes wide. "Vampires don't have pulses. They don't have heartbeats. But she..."
"I know." I press my hand against my own chest. "I have one too. The same one. They beat together."
Elena stares at me. Then, hesitantly, she reaches for my wrist. Her fingers find the pulse point, and I watch her face go pale asshe feels the rhythm, identical to the one still beating beneath her other hand on Celeste's wrist.
"The bond did this?"
"We don't know. Nothing like this has ever happened before."
Elena stares at us for a long moment, the scientist in her clearly warring with the impossibility of what she's feeling beneath her fingertips. Then she shakes her head and returns to her examination.
"Sir." Her voice is hesitant. "Your shirt. There's a mark on your chest."
I look down. My shirt is still torn open from earlier, and the crimson bond mark is clearly visible, still pulsing faintly with that soft glow.
"Yes. Another effect of the bond." I pull the fabric of Celeste's shirt aside slightly, revealing the matching mark over her heart. "She has one too."
Elena's eyes widen further. "I've read about bond marks in the archives. They're described as faint black lines, barely visible. But this is..."
"Different. Everything about this bond is different."
She stares at the marks for a long moment, watching them pulse in perfect synchronization. Then she shakes her head and returns to her examination with renewed focus.
"Whatever the modifications are, the bond seems to have stabilized them. She's healing faster than I'd expect given the blood loss and the silver exposure."
"She'll recover?"
"She'll need rest. A lot of it. And blood. Clean blood, as much as she can take." Elena straightens, wiping her hands on a cloth. "But yes. She'll recover."
Relief floods through me, so intense it's almost painful.
Celeste stirs on the table. Her eyes flutter open, unfocused at first, then finding mine.
"You're broadcasting," she murmurs, her voice barely a whisper.
"What?"
"Your relief. I can feel it." A small smile plays at her lips. "It's very loud."
The bond. She can feel my emotions as clearly as I felt hers during the forming.
"You're supposed to be resting," I say.
