Emily lay there, her breathing steady, as I double-checked the IV. It had been a few days of monitoring her every hour. Lizzie had been camping out in our room since Emily’s change began. Her concern for Emily tugged at my heart. She tried staying up with me, but failed miserably, so I left her asleep in my bed while I sat by Emily’s side with my head buried in my hands.
“Tasi,” Emily said, her voice hoarse. Her hand slowly reached out to touch my face as I looked up at her.
“Hey, Squirt, don’t try moving. Do you need anything?”
“No, I’m just glad you’re here,” she said. Lizzie stirred in my bed. “Who’s over there?”
“Lizzie. She was worried about you. We have shifts set up between Jelena, Lizzie, and me. So if I’m gone, it won’t be for too long, and I’ll be close by,” I said. “Is that okay?”
“Yes, I trust you to do what’s best.” Emily coughed.
“Okay, no more talking. You rest. It’ll be over soon enough.” I tried my best to comfort her as she drifted off again. Saying it would be over soon enough meant . . . what, really? Over as in she’d survive, or over as in she was going to die. I continued to weigh both outcomes in my head. There was no in-between in this situation. My sister would either make the change, or she’d die.
There was a quiet knock, and I heard Jelena outside talking to someone. When I opened the door, she was standing there with Ethan.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“We need to talk, and not in front of Emily. Ethan can fill you in. I’ll stay here,” she said.
Ethan wasn’t looking at me. “We can go in my room. No one’s there.”
“You two figure it out. I’m going to see Emily. I’ll make sure she is well taken care of.”
We headed to his room, which was about half the size of mine, but then, it was a room for one. He had a full-size bed in the middle of the space, and to the left was a wall of bookshelves filled with a rainbow of books. A big comfy chair sat in the room’s corner.
“Wow, have you read all of these?” I ran my hand along the book bindings.
“Most of them, but some I haven’t gotten around to yet.”
“It’s an impressive collection. Maybe one day I can read them.” I turned back to him. “So, what’s going on? Jelena made it sound like it was important.”
“Your blood’s gone. Jelena said she stopped by Sonya’s office to ask where your blood was because she thought if she did some testing, maybe something in the results would help Emily through the transition. Sonya told her the blood was gone and she hasn’t told anyone yet because she’s trying to track it down or see if it got into the hands of the Deity.”
“What! That’s not supposed to happen. We were the only ones who knew where it was, and Sonya promised me it was safe, or she would come after our heads.”
I was emotionally overloaded, but I couldn’t stop the anger flooding through me now. Ethan looked at me as if he knew the news of my missing blood would trigger something. He tried to put his arm around me, but that didn’t happen.
I took off before he could stop me and scrambled into the main hall. Fury must have filled every feature in my face because anyone who was in my way moved as I passed. I grumbled under my breath over and over as I headed to Sonya’s office. Not even a freight train could stop me. Ethan gripped my arm.
“Stop, Tasi. Don’t do this right now. Think of Emily,” he said.
Ethan’s words lingered in my head. Emily needed me, and needed me to be safe. As angry as I was, I wouldn’t put her in danger.
“Ethan, I am thinking of her. If someone finds out about our blood, or it gets into the wrong hands, it will be open season on dhampyr girls. No bloodsucker will want us alive, knowing our blood could be the cause of their death.” I yanked my arm out of his grip. “Sonya won’t kill me, ’cause I’ll kill her first. So I’m still going into this office. Please don’t follow me or try to stop me.”
Then, the door opened, and Sonya stood there staring at us. She might have heard the entire conversation.
“Come in.” Her voice was cold, her face humorless, as if we were about to be put in our place. “Both of you.”
I stomped into the room and crossed my arms tightly over my chest. Ethan slumped forward as he stepped through the doorway. He looked at me with irritation in his eyes.
“Where’s my blood? You said it was safe. You lied.”
“Hello to you too, Tasia,” Sonya said as she sat down in her chair. “Both of you, sit down, please.”
Ethan didn’t hesitate as he sat in the chair across from Sonya. I faltered for a few moments before following her simple direction. You know me; anything to be complicated.
“How about you explain yourself?” I said.
Ethan shook his head.
“Because of your emotional state, I am going to ignore your poor manners and bad attitude. I am not sure what you have heard, but your blood is safe. It was sent out for testing to someone I trust more than Jelena, or anyone, for that matter.”
“Are you lying?”
“Careful, Tasi.”
“Now is not the time to be careful,” I said.
Her lips were pursed as she took me in. She let out a long breath. “I understand we had agreed Jelena would handle the testing, but plans changed. I had an opportunity to have someone test your blood who has a previous blood sample from when you were younger. I didn’t share this information with anyone because there was no need to. When I receive results, we can then discuss any findings, including comparing them to your results from when you were younger,” she said. “If you had asked me, I would have told you what I am telling you now.”
“But—”
“You need to put all this energy into caring for Emily. Your blood can wait.”
Before I could jump down her throat, Ethan stepped in. “But we were told someone did come to you and asked about it, and you said it had been stolen.”
“If that someone was Jelena,” Sonya said, “she must have misunderstood when I told her I did not need her to test the blood, days ago, or she blatantly lied to you. Don’t worry, I will discuss this matter directly with Jelena. I am not sure why she would rile you up this way.”
Ethan and I looked at each other. I was becoming more and more confused as this conversation continued.
“Okay, so Jelena was mistaken. So then, where is my blood?”
“You’re not listening. It’s with someone I trust. She picked it up the night of the dance. It was the perfect time to hand it off to an ally without anyone being suspicious or knowing who is helping us. It has been with her ever since.”
I knew there was something up with that dance. “So the dance was a ruse to keep us preoccupied while you went ahead and handed off my blood.”
“Trust me, Tasia, no one wants to keep that blood safe more than I do. Do you think I want to start some major outbreak if it falls into the wrong hands, or have two dhampyr girls under my care go missing or end up murdered? No, Tasia, I don’t. It would be best if you took down whatever wall you have put up with me before someone gets harmed. I wouldn’t hurt you or Emily.”
She had a point. From what I knew of Sonya, she was in favor of keeping the species safe. I couldn’t see her selling my blood on the black market to make a buck or two when she had everything.
“Fine, I believe you. If you say it is safe, it’s safe.”
“Thank you, Tasia. I appreciate your trust in this matter. I promised to keep you informed, and I plan on keeping my promise.”
Ethan stared at me in disbelief, but quickly reverted his face to indifference. “Okay, so this is settled,” he said.
“Almost. Tasia and I have settled our business. She knows my door is always open to her, and that she can come to me with whatever questions or accusations she may have. Even if the accusation has no backing.” She stared straight at Ethan, no longer even acknowledging I was in the room. “But you and I need to talk.”
The discussion from the coffee shop of what would happen if Sonya knew Ethan was helping me played in my head. “Please, Sonya, he was trying to protect my sister and me,” I blurted out, briefly pulling her attention.
“Tasia, you go. Ethan, you stay.”
“But—”
Ethan turned to me and placed his hand over mine. “Go, Tasi. I can handle myself.” He looked at me, digging into my eyes for understanding. “You’ll make it worse. Please go.”
There was a bang on the door. I leaped for it as Sonya and Ethan stood. Lizzie fell to the floor as the door opened, tears in her eyes, hands shaking uncontrollably.
“It’s Emily.”