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“He’s not going to have any time if you don’t act! He’s dying now!” Xiang shouted.
“Change him!” Moon screamed as he ran over to them.
Winter’s wild eyes scoured the hill and Xiang suspected he was searching for his brother, but Bel was still lost to the fight, protecting his wolves. Swallowing hard, Winter shifted his attention to Fox and whispered, “Forgive me.” He moved his hand from Fox’s throat and drank a couple of swallows of blood from the wound the elf had opened. As soon as he lifted his mouth, Winter placed his hand to Fox’s throat to slow the bleeding.
Raising his own wrist to his mouth, Winter tore a hideous gash in his flesh and pressed the wound to Fox’s parted lips, pouring his own blood into his mate. Fox’s eyes closed, but there was no movement. No breathing. Winter massaged his throat, trying to force Fox to swallow the blood.
“Is it working? Why doesn’t it seem to be working?” Moon demanded, his voice growing more panicked. The former witch admitted he remembered next to nothing of his own turning months ago—but then, he hadn’t been in better shape when Chen was forced to make him a vampire.
Xiang swore softly. “He’s losing blood faster than we can put it into his body.”
“I can help!” Moon lifted his hands and Xiang’s heart jumped to his throat. The fledgling was going to use his blood magic—something he’d been forbidden to do. They were going to lose two people tonight if Moon continued.
“No! Get Chen!” Xiang pointed a finger just past Moon’s shoulder in the direction he’d last seen his martial brother.
“I can do it!”
“No! You’ll kill yourself before you can save Fox. Chen can help. Get him!”
Moon spun on the balls of his feet and darted off. As much as it hurt to admit, there wasn’t much Moon could do at the moment. Any attempt to use his old magic would destroy him, and as a vampire, he was still coming into power and strength. He needed decades of growth. For now, he could only assist from the background.
Part of Xiang sympathized with Chen, not that he’d admit it to Chen’s face. He didn’t envy his task of explaining to Moon that decades of slow training and meditation were going to be a blink of the eye in the grand scheme of his lifespan. The ex-blood witch was accustomed to being in the middle of the fray and being a powerful figure. Now he had to accept that his elders would protect and coddle him until he was ready. It was critical that they dealt with the fae so they could return home to Luoyang. Then Moon would be safe.
The rain had slowed as they worked, but that only made it easier to see the blood still pouring out between Winter’s fingers. Any heat in Fox’s skin had disappeared, and his lips were now blue under the smears of blood.
“It’s not working,” Winter said. The words were like shards of glass tumbling from his lips. “I’ve never turned someone. Not alone. I don’t know how to make this work.”
“We need more help. It’s coming. I swear. We’ll save Fox,” Xiang replied through a growing thickness in his own throat. He didn’t know how Winter was holding it together this well. If this was his mate dying in front of him…
The thought had barely crossed his mind when his brain flashed an image of a bloody and unconscious Kai from the time he’d found him in the cave. He shoved it away and turned his attention to Fox. Kai was fine. He was safe. The roars and thunderous boom of his tail hitting the ground could still be heard. The dragon was having the time of his life crushing the fae. And the longer Kai fought, the less they had to worry about the fae drawing close to threaten them.
“What can I do?” Chen demanded as he appeared opposite Fox. Xiang almost laughed and cried in relief. Chen was the calming, in-control person who just knew how to fix things.
“He’s losing blood faster than we can replace it,” Xiang answered.
“Mn,” Chen grunted. He reached out and placed one hand to the center of Fox’s chest and Xiang could feel a chill sweep through Fox. Chen was using his power to lower Fox’s body temperature, slowing his heart and the flow of blood out of his body. “Baobei, find Xiao Dan. We need him.” Chen spoke low and calm, without an ounce of urgency.
Moon nodded once and scrambled off, half crawling across the muddy ground before finding his feet.
“Chen?” Xiang prodded.
“Da-ge will be able to help,” Chen answered, his eyes falling closed as if he were turning all his attention toward maintaining the right temperature to keep Fox alive a bit longer.
Xiao Dan joined them, his dark eyes sweeping over the situation as he kneeled beside Chen.
“That’s enough, Winter,” Xiao Dan announced, covering Winter’s shaking hand with his own.
“No! He’s not awake yet. He’s not even healing,” Winter argued. The vampire tried to pull free of Xiao Dan while keeping his wrist pressed to Fox’s parted lips, but Xiao Dan had him by two full millennia. He would not be put off so easily.
Still holding Winter’s hand, Xiao Dan turned it so that his wrist was facing upward. Xiao Dan dipped his head and licked across the wound that had begun to heal, closing it. “And you’ve given more blood than you can spare. You’ll kill yourself and still not be able to save him. May I help you?”
Winter pulled his hand from Xiao Dan, his eyes darting to Fox. Indecision twisted up his features. Turning a human to a vampire was a very personal experience. This person would become the vampire’s fledgling. The vampire would hold a power over the person for the rest of their existence. And if Xiao Dan helped to turn Fox, he’d be tied to the Zhang clan for the rest of time.
“I…” Winter started, but the words broke off in his throat.
“I relinquish all hold on Fox Varik from this day forth. He will not be beholden to me or my clan. He will always be your mate first,” Xiao Dan interjected, not giving Winter a chance to second-guess him further.
Winter squeezed his eyes shut, sending tears streaming down his blood-splattered cheeks. “Save him. Whatever you want, I’ll do it. I swear. Just save him.”
