At first, I couldn’t process the scene. Kai ripping into Andrej. Pulling him apart limb from limb with superhuman strength.
I don’t know if I passed out, but the next thing I felt was Kai lifting me in his arms. His hand pressing against my neck.
“Anna? Can you hear me? Stay awake. Stay with me.”
I felt dampness against my cheeks. Was I crying again? But when I opened my eyes, I saw tears dripping from Kai’s face, falling against my skin.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I should have protected you. I’m sorry.”
I lifted a shaking hand with the muddled thought of wiping away his tears, but I couldn’t reach him; myshaking muscles wouldn’t let me. He gripped my hand with his, bringing it to his heart. I could feel the inhumanly slow beat of his pulse.
“Promise me,” I wanted to say, but the words caught in my throat.
“What?” He leaned closer, his dark eyes filling my vision. And I tried to smile. If this was the last thing I saw in this life, then I felt lucky.
“I don’t want to turn,” I said. “Promise me.”
His eyes widened in understanding. And then he closed them, taking a deep, shaky breath before saying, “I promise.”
“Thank you,” I said, closing my eyes again. “I’m sorry, too,” I pushed the words out, knowing I had to say them. That it wouldn’t feel complete if I didn’t say them. “I never stopped loving you.”
The sound of beeps and whispered voices, the smell of antiseptic.
So, I didn’t die, I thought.Or did I? And Kai didn’t keep his word? Maybe I’m transitioning.
But I didn’t feel any different, except that my whole body ached.
And when I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw were two NVRD agents standing at the foot of my bed, talking to a doctor. My pulse picked up, the way it always did when I saw authority figures, no matter if I’d done something wrong or not.
The heart monitor echoed my speeding heart rate.
“She’s awake,” the female one said dispassionately, glancing over at me.
They didn’t even wait for me to fully open my eyes before peppering me with questions.
“How did you know the vampire who did this?” the female officer asked. She kind of looked like the main cop onLaw & Order: SVU.
My damn heart kept racing on the heart monitor like an unofficial lie detector. What should I say? Should I tell them about Andrej? But would that lead them to Kai?
“I don’t know,” I muttered.
“Are there other vampires in the area?” the male officer asked. He looked like a real-life version of Mr.Incredible. I must have been delirious from the blood loss ’cause all I could think was that his giant hands made his pen look tiny.
“I don’t know.” My heart kept bumping along the stupid heart monitor, but I figured I could just claim it was the blood loss, right?
“Why did this vampire target you?”
I closed my eyes against a brewing headache. “I don’t know,” I said again.
“You know that if you have information that leads to the capture of a vampire, you have a right to claim a finder’s reward,” the female officer said.
And there it was, an easy out. All I had to do was trade in Kai and his uncle.
I opened my eyes, my heart finally steady now. And I looked right at the officer and said, “I don’t know anything else.”
Finally, the doctor stepped forward and insisted they let me rest.
I leaned back against the pillows and closed my eyes gratefully as they left.
