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Chapter Sixty-Two
Helena runs toward us, blood spattered across her armor and skin. Following her is a tall male vampire, his short blond hair disheveled. In his arms is Carmen, her skin sallow, a stake in her shoulder.
Raúl rushes to her side, examining the stake. “She needs blood immediately. It’s been in too long.”
Helena gives him a scathing look. “Obviously, cousin. I was simply checking on Penny.”
I smile wanly. “I’ll be fine. Meet you in there?”
She nods, then gestures to the vampire behind her. “Come on, Leif.”
They both speed off toward the castle, disappearing inside.
“I need a healer,” I say, grimacing at my wounds, following them at a much slower rate.
Raúl walks beside me, and I tell him how I dealt with Airalin. After describing the vampire who took her, he shakes his head in disgust. “Nelson. He’s one of my grandfather’s favorite vampires. He’s ruthless.”
I made it halfway toward the castle before stopping. “I cannot go any farther.”
Immediately, Raúl holds out his arm for me to lean on. “Do you want me to carry you the rest of the way?”
“No. I want to try.” Gritting my teeth, I put one step in front of the other, until I am at the steps of the castle. With a frown, I turn to Raúl. “I am done. Please, take me to the healer.”
Gently, he lifts me in his arms. Though he tries, he cannot help but press against them, causing me to cry out. Soon, the cool air of the castle brushes against my skin. Raúl doesn’t take me to the rooms they regularly use for injured vampires, but to my own. Sick vampires might not have full control of themselves, and the smell of fresh blood, combined with my heartbeat, would drive them mad. It wouldn’t be safe for me. Or the vampires after Raúl got his hands on them. As soon as he drops me off, though, he is called to his office with reports from the vampires who followed the escaping rebels.
A healer comes to my room, applying a salve to my shallower wounds. My old arm wound is restitched, for the third time, and so are the deeper thorn gouges.
I sigh. Between my past and now fighting with vampires, my skin is marred.
The healer finishes, handing me a small cup filled with a light purple potion. It smells most strongly of lavender, but has hints of calendula and chamomile. “Drink this.”
I down the drink, which is quite tasty, and hand him the cup. He leaves my room just as Helena walks in.
She collapses onto the sofa, blowing the hair that falls into her face away. “I am exhausted.”
“I bet,” I say. “How did your end of the fight go?”
Helena launches into her tale, exuberantly describing how she fought off four rebel vampires before her brother joined her. Most of the blood I saw on her was from them. She smirks. “It was a good fight.”
“I know fire kills vampires,” I say. “But what else? Are the ones on the field going to stand up and walk away?”
Helena grins, her fangs sliding out. “Not today.” She clears her throat, leaning forward. “I am telling you this because I know you mean us no harm and will not tell any other humans. Our swords are made with a combination of metals, but the most important one is silver. Silver is poison to us and werewolves. If it gets into our systems, we need blood in a few hours or we die.”
My mouth drops open. The mirror my mother had was silver, but it hadn’t done any harm to Raúl when he held it. I mention this to Helena and she nods.
“Oh, we can touch it just fine. Just not be stabbed with it. Stakes to the heart are lethal unless the weapon is taken out within minutes and blood fed to the vampire immediately.”
“Carmen was stabbed with a stake.” My voice trembles slightly. “Is she going to be okay?”
She waves her hand. “Yes. That was just in her shoulder. She’ll need blood around the clock for a few nights, but after that, she’ll be fine. And, as you said, fire. Fire leaves marks on us, a shadow of the sun we used to walk in, and if it’s on us too long we’re done for. Now enough of that. Tell me how you fought off that witch.”
I tell her as much as I could, but exhaustion keeps my words slow. At the end of my story, Helena shakes her head. “That witch is something else.”
I nod in agreement, and she stands up. “Off to bed with you. I must see to my aunt. I’ll tell Raúl I’ve checked on you.”
“Thank you, Helena. I’m glad you didn’t die.”
She laughs as she heads out the door. “Me, too, darling. Me, too.”
