Through tiny slits in her eyelids she watched him lift his head. Blood continued to drip from his chin, splashing on her collar and absorbing into her robe. He pressed two fingers into her nape, searching for a pulse. She knew what he felt: a wild, strong beat.
“It’s done.” Nicolai severed all contact as he stood. “I’ve done my part. Now you do yours.”
“Step away from her,” Laila said. “I will check for myself.”
He didn’t hesitate. He moved to the other side of the tent, away from Jane, away from the princess.
But…just how was she supposed to kill the woman? She had no weapons, and Laila wasn’t devoid of all her powers. She could cast a spell in the blink of an eye.
Come on, Parker. Think. Footsteps pattered. Body heat wafted. Think faster. Then the creak of bones echoed as Laila crouched. The body heat drew closer…closer…as the princess reached out.
The flicker of an idea presented itself. Dangerous, untested, but the only way. Nicolai, can she travel with only a thought, like you? Jane rushed out.
No.
Perfect. Laila’s fingers pressed into Jane’s neck. Jane opened her eyes, reached up and latched onto her wrist. A gasp of shock sounded. At the same time, Nicolai swooped in and grabbed the timepiece from around Laila’s neck.
“Mine,” he snapped. “Jane. Now.”
“What are you—?” Laila began.
Before the princess could begin casting, Jane closed her eyes and pictured her home—with Laila in it. Now that her mind was calm, her focus cold, it wasn’t difficult. She saw her kitchen, experienced a wave of dizziness. Laila struggled against her, but as the dizziness intensified, the struggles slowed. For a moment, Jane felt as if she were floating, and tightened her grip on the princess.
“What are you…what…?” Laila’s voice was weak, and Jane could hear an underlay of pain.
“Jane,” Nicolai shouted. “Jane! What are you doing?”
When the dizziness left her, when she felt something hard and chilled pressing into her back, she looked around. She and Laila were inside her kitchen. Sunlight streamed in through the window, burning her so badly she actually sizzled. She rolled away with a hiss of pain, seeking the shade.
Nicolai hadn’t teleported with Jane that night in the forest, but then, he hadn’t been operating at full tilt. Most of his abilities had still been locked away. Tonight, he’d been like a powder keg—and so was Jane.
She stopped, flat on her back, Laila still in a crouch. The princess was pallid, sweating and…falling. She hit the floor, face-first.
Jane meant to leap away, grab a knife. That’s the reason she’d brought the witch here. Suddenly she could scent Laila’s blood. It wasn’t an altogether pleasant smell, and yet hunger twisted her stomach. Such raw, consuming hunger.
Before she realized she’d even moved, she was angled toward the princess, her teeth sinking into her vein. Only a trickle of blood met her tongue. Frustration clawed at her. She angled her head, bit again. Again, only a trickle. She lifted, found the princess’s pulse with her gaze, then swooped back down. This time, the blood flowed like a newly awakened river.
She should have had to chew to get what she wanted, a thought that grossed her out, but her gums were aching terribly, and her teeth—fangs?—had slid right in.
Warm, rushing life continued to fill her mouth. She moaned, dug her teeth in deeper, sucked harder, replenishing what she’d lost.
She must have hit a nerve because Laila came out of her faint with a jolt, and tried to push Jane away. She tightened her hold, gulping and gulping and gulping. Soon, Laila ceased struggling. Went as limp as a rag. Jane continued to drink, physically unable to pull herself from the drug that was this woman’s blood. Drug, yes. Because, with the blood, something else, something warmer, almost…fizzy, rushed through her.
Her cells practically exploded with energy.
Stop, you have to stop. If she took any more, she would kill the princess. She could hear the distant thump-thump of a heartbeat, and knew it was slowing, almost beyond repair. The flow of blood was trickling off, thinning.
I don’t want to stop. I brought her here to kill her. Stopping defeats the purpose.
But in the back of her mind, she knew—somehow, as if the memory were not her own—that to kill this way was to live this way. One death would not be enough. She would drain everyone she drank from. Always. No one would be safe from her. Not even Nicolai.
Nicolai.
Panting, she jerked her teeth out of Laila. She flicked her tongue and, sure enough, she had fangs.
Nicolai had made her a vampire.
With a shaky hand, she brushed the hair from her face. When she caught sight of that hand in the light, she gasped.
She…glowed. Bright, golden, white lightning exploded from her skin. And the crackling in her veins…she felt like she could do anything. Until she moved her hand into a ray of that sunlight and started sizzling. She groaned with pain, her arm falling to her side.
Note to self: avoid the sun.
Another thing of note: You’re here for a reason. Don’t forget.
As if she could.
She leaped up and, knowing exactly where her knives were, grabbed one, careful to remain in the shadows. As she peered down at the woman who had enslaved Nicolai, taken away his rights, abused him physically and sexually—for over twenty years!—she found that she couldn’t stab her. Couldn’t kill the bitch that way, either.
Death would be too easy for Laila. You have to do something. When she wakes up, she’ll use her magic against you.
Could she, though? This world was different from Laila’s, with different metaphysical laws, different atmospheres. Would her magic work here? Nicolai’s ability to cross from one world to the other worked in both places, but while Nicolai could withstand his own sun, he would not be able to withstand Jane’s. Proof: she could tolerate his, but not hers. And she’d dealt with this sun all her life.
She wished she had interviewed or dissected a witch—and she didn’t care what kind of monster people would think her for such a desire. But one had never been brought to her lab. Could that be because no one had known they were here? Could they not use any of their powers in this world, and were rendered human?
There was one way to find out.
Jane dragged the princess to her bedroom, which was hard to do with her windows and drapes all open, found rope and tied the bitch to the bedposts. Not once did Laila awaken. Jane showered quickly, cleaning off the blood, then dressed in familiar jeans and a T-shirt. Felt odd, wearing her “normal” clothes. Felt…wrong.
Trembling, she threw the robe in the washer. Nicolai? she cast out mentally, hoping for a reply. Are you out there? Are you okay? Soon as she took care of Laila, she would go back to him.
They hadn’t yet bonded fully. Otherwise, neither of them would have been able to drink from others. She wanted to bond fully.
Jane returned to her bedroom, pushed a chair in front of the princess and waited. She wouldn’t let herself think about Nicolai yet.
Hours passed, ticking by slowly. Finally, though, Laila cracked open her eyes. She moaned, tugged at her bonds, frowned. Realization jolted her upright—or rather, as much as possible.
“Relax,” Jane told her. “I haven’t done anything to you that you haven’t done to someone else.”