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Nodding, I led her back to Morio’s room. “It’s okay, sweetie. It’s okay. I know you would have done anything else if you could have. You didn’t do anything wrong, and I think you’ve got remarkable empathy and restraint in not reaching out and kil ing Vanzir.”
“I think the Moon Mother already did worse. Could you get me some water? My eyes are so dry they hurt, I’ve been crying so hard.”
As I moved toward a row of vending machines, she entered the room and took her place by Morio’s side again. Once more, I felt the pul to be there, near him. I quickly plugged four quarters into the soda machine and punched the water selection. Pul ing the bottle out of the slot, I headed back to find that during our absence, Morio had woken up.
Camil e was smiling, and I’d never seen such a look on anyone’s face—absolute joy and relief.
She laughed at something he whispered and leaned down to give him a long, leisurely kiss. He pul ed her into his arms, and with shock, I saw him reach under her skirts, and she was letting him.
“Whoa, you two. I’m pretty sure Sharah would nix any horseplay. Take it easy, dude, you’re stil recovering—” But then, I stopped. The wound on his side was almost knit through and the gash was a thin red line that oozed clear liquid, free of toxin and pus.
“Wow. You’ve come a long way in fifteen minutes.”
Morio pushed himself to a sitting position—slowly, to be sure, but it was something I hadn’t expected to see for some time.
“I’m not ready to get out of bed yet, and you’re right. Play of any kind would be a bit much for me right now.” He glanced over at me and stopped, his gaze catching my own. “Menol y . . .”
As his voice drifted off, he opened his arms and I walked into his embrace without thinking. It seemed the most natural thing in the world to lean down to kiss him, but, startled, I caught myself before our lips met and pul ed away. Camil e watched us, eyebrows arched, but she didn’t look mad, just confused.
“What the fuck?” Morio let go of me abruptly and pul ed back, but his hands lingered along my waist.
“This must be the link,” Camil e said. “Menol y—do you think the two of you imprinted?”
Morio looked from her to me, then her again. “Link? Imprint? What’s going on?” He looked confused. “What the fuck just happened, babe?”
“You . . . uh . . . Menol y?” Camil e shot me a pleading look.
I let out a sigh. “To save your life—you were terribly sick with an infection—Sharah injected some of my blood into your wound. You have a little bit of me flowing through your veins. And it appears to have created a link between us.”
He let out a sharp yip, but I didn’t kid myself. It wasn’t a compliment. “I was that sick?”
“Yes, love,” Camil e said quietly. “You were that il . We stood a good chance of losing you.”
“But do you know what vampire blood does to my kind?”
“No, that’s the point. We didn’t. We stil don’t, though I’m getting the impression it’s not a good thing. Not entirely.” Camil e slid into a nearby chair, and I joined her in the one next to it.
“Tel us,” I said. “What do we have to expect now?”
“Vampire blood creates a bond between the giver and receiver, a lot like siring a vampire but without the subservience. It also . . . I’l be a whole lot stronger for a long, long time, once I’ve healed up. And . . .” He glanced at Camil e. “Don’t worry, my love—I won’t forsake you for your sister. But for the next few weeks, it’s best if Menol y and I aren’t left in the same room alone. My demon nature wil be at the forefront a lot . . .”
I didn’t want to admit it, but I knew what he was talking about. I wanted to strip down and join him under the covers, to push my sister out of the way and tel her to leave the room. Apparently Morio wasn’t feeling quite so possessive, or he wasn’t showing it, thank the gods.
“He’s right. You’re my blood, my sister. And I don’t know how long this wil last. Morio wil be in the hospital for a little while longer . . . I’l just try to keep out of your way,” I said. I had no intention of stealing my sister’s husband.
As I headed for the door, the bond threatened to snatch me back, to prevent me from leaving.
Pushing the feeling away, with an abrupt jolt, I launched myself into the hal way, ignoring the urge to return to the room where Morio lay.
This was a fine mess, but my guess was that it would be temporary. Until it wore off, we’d just be cautious and avoid being caught alone. Because I knew, were we in the same room, the pul would be so strong that we’d be in each other’s arms. And the last thing in the world I wanted to do was interfere in Camil e’s affairs.
As I hurried out of the medic unit, I didn’t know where I was going. I just knew that I needed to put some distance between the fox-demon and me. I found myself roaming down to the Wayfarer, which was open and busy.>“What’s happening to him?” Camil e looked up, her expression bleak.
“I don’t know . . . but look!” Sharah pointed to the wound. With a hiss, the pus thinned and then became just a trickle of blood flowing, drop by drop, into the basin. Within another minute, the stream stopped.
Sharah moved the container of blood and infection and washed her hands. I helped Camil e down off the bed as Sharah examined Morio’s side.
“He’s beginning to heal.” The flesh was mending before our eyes. Muscle and sinew bound together, weaving new threads, coiling and tightening into scar tissue. Within twenty minutes, the wound was stil angry and swol en, but the infection looked to be gone.
