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“We need all the other samples, because we can’t be sure exactly which pack venom affected me.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I know exactly which other venom you need, and you already have it.”

She frowned at me. “What the hells do you mean?”

“Aura, do you trust me?”

She shook her head, but her movements paused, and she said, “I trust you.”

My entire body warmed. I stepped forward automatically, and she put her hands up again.

“Sylvan, I swear. If you step closer, I will pluck your jugular from your neck and drink from it like a straw.”

I halted. Vivid, but effective.

“Sedate me, get the venom, make the antivenom, and add it to my draft. Have Gertrude help, because maybe her strength isn’t alchemy, but she has herbology on her side. And if all fails, you’ve hopefully read my notes. Find a cure for this thing. Don’t let any of this be in vain. Please.”

“You’re not going to⁠—”

“Sylvan. Promise me, godsdammit.”

“I promise.”

“Now please, sedate me and get the venom. Now.”

I nodded, but I didn’t move for some time. I stood there, watching her jittery movements. Watching her pick at her skin and scratch, she didn’t even seem aware of it. She didn’t seem to feel the pain from the blood oozing into her shirt. I glanced at Magdalena, who turned away, a tear rolling down her cheek. She grabbed a vial from Aura’s case and poured the contents into a mug, topping it up with blood from a bottle.

She approached Aura and knelt, helping her drink the blood since Aura’s hands were shaking so badly, I was surprised she was able to even scratch at her skin.

Aura looked at me with so much heartbreak in her eyes I felt my heart own crack. Then she slumped in Magdalena’s arms. “Grab the syringe and a vial,” she said. “They’re all in the box.”

I nodded and returned with an empty vial and syringe. “Have you done this before?” I asked Magdalena.

She shook her head. “No, have you?”

“No, but she extracted venom from me. You just insert the needle into the top gum and⁠—”

Magdalena looked woozy.

“I can do it,” I said. She didn’t argue with me. I very carefully peeled back Aura’s upper lip, exposing her fangs. Those beautiful, pointed teeth that sank into my arm with surprising gentleness, that had hurt for only a second before unexpected bliss took over. I’d once thought her to be so selfish, but now I knew her as quite the opposite. All along, she’d just been scared. Of herself. Of being discovered. Of opening her heart to others.

I inserted the needle into her gum, my heart hammering as I pulled back on the plunger. The venom wasn’t like all the others, it wasn’t black but an amber color. Like a snake’s venom. When the syringe was at capacity, I transferred the venom into a vial, corked it, and handed it to Magdalena. Her sepia skin was tinged with grey as she took it with a feeble “Thank you. I’ll be back.”

The door quietly shut behind her, leaving me alone with Aura. She looked peaceful under the sedation potion. Her brows were smoothed out instead of skeptically quirked or furrowed, and her cheeks were relaxed without the scowl present on her face. A lot like her moments in Heat where she was resting. I wished she was just sleeping. I wished I could look upon her beautiful face more often while she slept. I needed more time. More time to figure things out. To talk to Clover. Hells, to talk to Aura.

The night stretched on endlessly. Magdalena returned, announcing Gertrude was working on the antivenom. The woman apparently hadn’t even questioned it as she and Magdalena had a long and trusted friendship. Magdalena dismissed me, telling me to get some rest. I hesitated but eventually stretched out on the loveseat and waited for sleep to come.

When I awoke, the candles had been blown out, and the room wasn’t as dark as it had been before. Magdalena was sleepily staring at Aura as if she hadn’t moved from the spot for hours. “Time for you to get some rest,” I said.

She nodded and stood. I took her place beside Aura, listening to the ticking clock. I thought of Clover back in Sublune Creek. Of Evander. I thought of my next steps, but it was hard to think beyond Aura’s worsening condition, hard to think of how to move on without her in my life, at least in this life.

More time ticked by, and I stood to fetch some water and munch on some wild berries. When I returned to Aura, she was still out cold. It was for the best, I supposed, but seeing her so still was terrifying.

As if she heard my thoughts, her eyes flew open. Both of them glowed an eerie combination of gold and red, and thick deep purple veins webbed up her neck and across her cheeks. She lurched upright, head snapping to me as she bared her teeth, each of them jagged as her vampire fangs lengthened. The snarl she let out sent my heart into a wild gallop.

“Aura?” I called, but there was absolutely no recognition in her eyes. Foam bubbled from her lips with the next growl, and I leapt to my feet.

“Shit!” I exclaimed.