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“I hadn’t had much time to really think about it,” I said, stumbling over my words as what he was asking sank in. “But I still think it would be better. Yeah. Every time I get sick like this there’s a chance I’ll never get better. It’s only a matter of time until, well…”
“Yeah,” he said softly. “That’s why,” he continued, speaking to Ana and Vladimir again. “I wanted to ask if you could turn Sylvie.”
Ana raised an eyebrow. “We don’t turn humans to vampires on request.”
“Not typically, no. But it’s like I said. Help us, and we help you. I can’t go handle this if she’s sick and continuing to get worse. Make her better. Turn her.”
A chill ran through me. Did I really want this?
I waited for some last-minute doubt and panic to strike, but it didn’t come. All I felt was a sense of calm. I imagined life without worrying about germs all the time. Without getting sick every time I dared to go outside and be around other people. And I thought of everything my sister had risked and given up to try to give me this exact gift. It was all because she wanted this for me.
Ana and Vladimir exchanged a silent look, then Vladimir shrugged.
Ana approached me, slicing her arm with her fingernail. “Drink. Once you’re finished, I’ll drink your blood and it will trigger the transformation.”
I looked at the blood skeptically but did as she said. I opened my mouth and let her press her arm to my lips. I sucked some of the blood from her, cringing at first but finding the taste surprisingly appealing, kind of like red wine if I’d been the sort of man to enjoy that sort of thing.
She pulled her arm away after a few moments, then bent toward my neck, teeth elongating.
I felt Riggs tense beside me, and I flinched instinctively. Ana closed her lips around my neck, teeth pressing and punching through my skin. I winced, but the only sensation was the warmth of her mouth and the wetness of my blood as she drank. She pulled back, and I felt a hot line of blood run from the place on my neck down my chest.
I put my hand there, pressing against the already sore and aching spot.
“It’s done,” Ana said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “You taste quite delicious, by the way,” she added.
“Agreed,” Riggs said.
“I don’t feel any different,” I said.
“You won’t at first,” Ana said. “I should also mention you will feel a slight bonding effect toward me until the transformation finalizes. In some circumstances, the bond can be extremely intense. However, the purpose is to compel the partially turned vampire to complete the ritual. We’ll be completing the ritual immediately, which will only leave you with a slight lingering sense of my presence and perhaps a vague desire to be near me. Once turned, you’ll hardly feel it unless I wish you to.”
“How long will that take? Fully turning, I mean.” I asked.
“A day, perhaps. I’m rather old and quite powerful. That will speed the transition.”
“She’s being modest,” Vladimir said. “Ana is the oldest known vampire in our world. You’ve been given quite the gift being turned by her, girl. You’ll be powerful beyond your years, and it will only grow. Just like our son.”
I thought of how Victor’s supposed powers hadn’t stopped his head from getting ripped off, but that was an ugly thought, so I tried to ignore it. “As long as I stop getting sick, I’ll be happy.”
The two older vampires let us out of the dungeon and agreed to give us our room back for the time being. At our door, Ana stopped before she left. “What was the other thing you wanted from us?” She asked Riggs.
“I was hoping I could speak with a vampire who stays here. Kyla.”
34
Riggs
Sylvie was still weak, so I laid her down on our bed once Ana and Vladimir left. Her silky hair spilled around her head and a trickle of blood seeped from her neck, staining the pillow.
She smiled up at me, eyes red-rimmed. “Thank you.”
I shook my head. “It was the right thing.”
“Are you going to hate me now?”
“This was my idea, Sylvie. Well, originally yours and your sister’s, but no. I don’t think I could hate you if I tried.”
She smirked. “I’m pretty sure you did try to hate me a few times.”
“Maybe. So then I can say for certain I couldn’t hate you if I tried. And stop worrying about it. Just focus on resting so this change can happen smoothly.”
“It’s kind of exciting, you know? But I feel guilty. Like we should be rushing out the door right now to find the others.”
“They will be okay for now. It’s like I said. They are bargaining chips for Lazarus. He won’t waste them without a reason. That gives us time to do this right and make sure we come at him with a plan.”
