What would Jillian truly want? As much as she loved the sun, would she want to live out the rest of her days, the rest of eternity, in the shadows?
But on the other hand, Isaiah had said there was only a fifty percent chance of her transforming into a vampire. It was possible that his blood would heal her and she’d be fine. If she did transform, she’d be able to be with him easier.
There really was only one choice.
“Do it. Save her, Isaiah. If this is the only way, then do it.”
Isaiah wasted no time. He held his wrist to his lips as his incisors elongated. Allowing his own blood to spill forth, he hastily propped himself up onto the sofa and pulled Jillian into his lap. Then, he allowed his blood to flow from his wrist into Jillian’s mouth.
Hayden held onto Kenzie as she watched the repellent scene before her. She hoped this would work, so badly. Even Ellis knew better than to intervene; with Flossie dead, he was no longer needed, anyway. Elijah and his croons headed back to The Crypt, the favor to Isaiah repaid. They didn’t even wait around to witness Jillian’s fate. Kenzie and Hayden were left alone in the frayed manor with Paige, Isaiah, and a dying Jillian.
At last, Isaiah’s wound healed and he stopped feeding Jillian the crimson liquid that seemed to never cease flowing.
Kenzie could have sworn that she heard him murmur, “I’m sorry” to her with genuine culpability in his voice.
“She’ll need rest,” he said out loud, but still quietly, as if unsure himself if she’d be all right. “I don’t want to risk moving her from the house. Plus, if worse comes to worst, we won’t want to be around…civilization.”
Kenzie tried to stifle a shudder. Isaiah had a point. If Jillian did transform, it would be best to keep her away from humans. Including herself.
Isaiah didn’t leave her on the couch, but he did carry her to one of the bedrooms and place her on the bed.
“If only we’d gotten here sooner,” Kenzie was going on frantically. “We could have helped her sooner…”
“No,” Isaiah stated. “Florence was blocking the blood bond. She was more powerful, being an elder vampire. That’s why I wasn’t able to locate Jillian without Paige’s help. She only knew of me; she didn’t block a witch’s magic because she hadn’t anticipated that.”
“But why won’t she wake up? And why does she still have that nasty gash in her neck? Your blood should heal her.”
“It will take time, Kenzie. My blood has to work its way through her bloodstream, and then her tissue has to repair itself from all the…trauma.”
“The bite marks inflicted by that bitch, you mean.”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“There’s no way to tell.”
“Kenzie,” Hayden said as he held her tightly, “it’ll be okay. Jillian’s stronger than you think. She’ll pull through this, one way or the other.”
Kenzie spun around and buried her face into her boyfriend’s chest. It wasn’t just trepidation that was causing her turmoil. It was guilt.
A small voice in her head kept taunting her, chanting over and over, “It should be me. It should’ve been me.”
It was like a broken record playing over and over relentlessly with no one to turn off the phonograph. Guilt had been eating away at her ever since Flossie had stated the reason she’d come after Isaiah – because he’d killed his mother, which was to be her revenge. And he’d had a human companion help him do it.
Jillian was paying the price for something that she’d done.
Isaiah had pulled up a chair and was sitting next to Jillian, scrutinizing her closely, watching for any signs of change.
The agony was unbearable, the tension too high. Isaiah seemed to sense this with his keen abilities.
“I think it would be best if you went back to the hotel,” he said at last. “Just to be safe.”
“No. I’m not leaving her.”
“Kenzie, please, don’t argue. Not now.”
“Isaiah, you know why I’m staying.”
“Because Jillian’s your best friend. But if she changes…”
“It’s not that. You heard what Flossie said.”
“About what?”
“You took away her revenge with the help of a human companion. She thought your mate was that companion. But it wasn’t. It was me. This is my fault. Jillian doesn’t deserve to leave this world permanently because of me. I’m the one that should be laying in that bed.”
Kenzie hadn’t turned away from Hayden upon saying this. She didn’t have the nerve to look Isaiah in the eye.
Hayden, however, was the first to respond.
“Don’t you dare blame yourself for this,” he said intensely. “No one could have known that psycho woman would plan this bullshit. You were just trying to stay alive when that happened back in Bridgeport.”
“I don’t hold you responsible, Kenzie,” Isaiah affirmed. “That woman manipulated everyone she met, even back before she knew my father.”
“But still. Jillian should never have been kidnapped. It should have been me. And then even if I was in the same position as she is, Hayden could have healed me, and even if I turned into a werewolf, it would be okay because…”
“No, it wouldn’t be okay,” Hayden interrupted hotly. “We’ve already talked about this.”
“But…”
“No buts. And I think Isaiah’s right. We need to leave. Give them some privacy.”
“I’ll stay,” Paige added. She’d been so quiet that Kenzie had practically forgotten that she was there. “Maybe there’s something I can do. Some spell or other that will help.”
Kenzie didn’t want to leave. Even if it meant having to shack up in one of the dreary, filthy old rooms of this manor, she didn’t want to leave. Not wanting to argue anymore, Isaiah finally assented and only asked her and Hayden to stay clear of the bedroom.
********************************************************************************
Three hours. That was how long it had been since Jillian had succumbed to darkness. She was breathing fine and her wounds seemed to have healed. But she still hadn’t woken up.
Kenzie’s imagination was beginning to run away with her. She began pacing, fretting, envisioning horrific things. Hayden tried to console her as best he could, but to no avail. Even taking a private tour through the Cavanaugh manor (though Isaiah hadn’t known that until earlier tonight) couldn’t repress her fears.
Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore. She excused herself to go to the bathroom, but she didn’t actually go that way. She went into the master suite, where Isaiah was hovering over Jillian, his fingers brushing her face, a look of peril upon his face.
“Any change?” Kenzie asked. Isaiah shook his head. “She shifted in her sleep slightly, but nothing more.”
“I’ve been thinking,” Kenzie continued. “She’s your mate. You truly love her. You would have healed her regardless of what I said.”
“Yes. I love her and refuse to lose her.”
“Then why ask my permission?”
“I guess I needed reassurance that, no matter what happened, you’d know that we did everything possible to help Jillian. And I wanted to know that, in the end, it was all right with her best friend. I guess I wanted to have a clear conscience if worse came to worst.”
“And if she changes?”
“I would never do that to her. You know that. Not if there were any other way. But, as it turns out, there wasn’t.”
Kenzie looked down at Jillian. She seemed to be sleeping peacefully. It was reassuring to see her chest move up and down, and she didn’t appear to be in any pain.
Still, what was really going on inside her body?
Suddenly, Jillian stirred. Kenzie got closer and looked down at her. “Jill?”
Jillian’s eyes fluttered open. She looked fine, normal.
Upon seeing Kenzie, her lovely face broke out into a smile. She reached out her hand and Kenzie grasped it while climbing onto the opposite side of the bed.
“How are you feeling?” Kenzie asked softly.
“Okay, considering.”
“Do you remember what happened?”
“Unfortunately, yes. I remember all too well.”
Her eyes shifted until they rested on Isaiah’s. “Isaiah,” she whispered.
Kenzie moved away so that Isaiah could hold Jillian now.
“My love,” Isaiah said as relief washed over his face. “Are you all right?”
“I hurt. I feel weird.”
“That’s undoubtedly because of the vampire blood in your system.”
“Vampire blood? What?!”
Isaiah leaned down and kissed Jillian, as if touching his lips to hers would make everything just fine again. Although, knowing Jillian, it probably would; she was already wrapping her arm around his neck.
Then, he looked at Kenzie and asked for some privacy. Kenzie frowned, but obliged.
When she got back downstairs to the parlor where Hayden was, he was waiting for her, waiting to comfort her. She tried to ignore the dried blood on the rug from Jillian’s earlier wounds.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“She’s awake.”
“Uh…why is that bad?”
“Because I’m scared. She isn’t quite herself, and she says she’s in pain and she feels weird. I don’t know if she’s…”
Hayden embraced her, cutting off her words.
“Jillian will be fine, one way or the other,” he consoled. “She’s awake, and she’s healing. Just keep your fingers crossed.”
Kenzie nodded, but she knew that crossing her fingers wasn’t going to help. She wanted Jillian back the way she was, and safe.
Fear of the unknown was a powerful thing. She didn’t know how much longer she could endure not knowing the fate of her best friend.
********************************************************************************
By the time morning arrived, everyone was still at the manor. Jillian had been slowly showing signs of progression overnight, but she still complained of pain, particularly in her neck area. Isaiah was certain that was because of all the feeding that had been done on it.
But she’d still insisted that she felt well enough to return to the hotel, so that was where everyone was now. Everyone had their own rooms, grateful to be in a clean hotel instead of the grimy old manor.
Two nights later, Kenzie was lying in Hayden’s arms, trying to sleep, but she was restless. Nightmares invaded her mind, threatening to strangle her. Hayden comforted her, as always, but she couldn’t shake the foreboding feeling that seemed to make itself prominent in the forefront of her mind.
The next day, Kenzie was once again in Hayden’s arms, finally taking a nap after those restless nights.
Unfortunately, her naps were also restless. Dreams haunted Kenzie. Horrid, nightmarish images flickered through her subconscious depicting all manners of monsters. A demonic child with glowing eyes was the last thing she saw before she shot up in bed, a scream caught in her throat.
“What’s wrong?” Hayden asked as he shot up in bed like a toaster pastry.
“Bad dreams. Horrible.”
Hayden wrapped her in his arms. He cursed himself inwardly for not asking Paige to give Kenzie something to help her sleep peacefully.
Because that was all that could really be done at this point. Sleep, eat (when he could convince her to eat anything), and wait. He was also beginning to get restless and worried that his methods of comfort would soon wear off.
“It’s okay,” he said as they once again sprawled across the bed. “It was just a dream. It wasn’t real. Why don’t you think about something happy before you fall asleep, and that may prompt a better dream?”
“I don’t know how I’m supposed to sleep at all,” Kenzie quipped. “How do you possibly expect me to sleep? My best friend was dying just a couple of days ago, being kept alive by vampire blood, she still isn’t feeling like herself, and I’m supposed to sleep?”
Hayden held Kenzie close, her face pressed into his chest. He could feel her suffering, her anguish, in her trembling voice and quivering body. He offered her comfort, all he could give, in the only way he could. But he was just as worried as she was, only for different reasons. If Jillian didn’t come out of this all right, what would become of the woman he loved?
“Jillian is safe now,” he said softly. “That’s the important thing. She’s alive and well, as good as can be expected. Worrying won’t help her, and I know she wants you to take it easy.”
Kenzie seemed to be following this advice when suddenly, an agonizing shriek sounded from the adjoining room.
“What was that?!” Kenzie and Hayden exclaimed simultaneously. They both bolted from the bed and ran to the next room, Hayden charging right in.
Jillian was lying supine on the bed, her eyes rolled back into her head. She was clutching her throat tightly, as if gasping for air. Kenzie jumped back in trepidation.
“What the hell?!” Hayden boomed as he barged further into the room, Paige right behind him and Kenzie sandwiched between the two.
“Everyone get out!” Isaiah commanded. To Jillian, his voice ringing with authority, he said, “It’s all right. I’m here.”
“Isaiah…it burns! My eyes! And my throat! What’s happening to me?!”
A red mist cloaked Jillian, and Kenzie swore she saw bats flying around inside it.
“No!” Kenzie screamed. “Jill!”
“Get out!” Isaiah roared. Hayden grabbed Kenzie and tried to pull her away, but it was too late. It was over as fast as it had begun.
The red fog had vanished and Jillian was sitting upright on the bed, her head lowered. When she raised it, she took everything in with new eyes.
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