Dinner With a Vampire (The Dark Heroine #1)(40)
Author: Abigail Gibbs

‘I shouldn’t be alive,’ was all I could say. Fabian and Kaspar exchanged looks whilst Galan took my uninjured arm and pressed two fingers to my vein, taking my pulse. I tried to pull it away but he wouldn’t let go, shooting me a subduing look. Fabian smiled in a reassuring way and I allowed the man to continue, as he had me clench and unclench the hand of my injured arm. I was amazed when it didn’t hurt.

‘How do you feel?’ he asked.

Ashamed. Hopeless. Sick. ‘Stiff,’ I answered.

‘You will be. You have been unconscious for the past three days.’ I gawped. Three days? That long? ‘She will be sore for a while,’ he continued, turning to the King and Eaglen. ‘And her wrist will need to remain in the support for two weeks. The wounds might take a little longer to heal, but other than that, she has made quite the recovery.’ He left my bedside and muttered something to the King, in a volume he obviously thought I couldn’t hear, but I could hear every word: ‘The long-term mental impact is quite a different matter. And I would bear in mind, Your Majesty, that this may greatly influence her decision on turning.’

I cleared my throat. ‘But how am I alive?’ Again, looks were exchanged and everybody seemed reluctant to speak.

‘You were drained of a third of your blood and went into hypovolemic shock,’ Galen eventually said with a clinical detachedness that told me I wasn’t about to hear good news. It was the same voice the doctors used when they told us Greg hadn’t made it; that Lily had cancer. ‘You required an immediate transfusion. Unfortunately, this meant there was not enough time to access human blood.’

My eyes bulged and the room went silent, waiting for my reaction. The only sound was the crackling of the fire in the hearth – lit for once – and the sound of my breathing, becoming faster and shallower.

‘Turning a human requires just over half the blood to be replaced with a vampire’s blood, which consumes the remaining human blood. A quarter of your blood was replaced with vampiric blood, meaning you are a half-blood, or what we call a dhampir.’

I didn’t pay much attention. I frantically checked my palm, checking to see if it was any paler than I remembered it. It wasn’t. In my chest, I could feel my heart beating.

‘You’re lying,’ I growled.

‘We’re not lying, Miss Lee,’ Galen countered.

‘But my heart is beating! You must be lying!’ I screamed at them all, refusing to believe it. Fabian stroked my arm but I wrenched it away so forcefully the joint clicked and I winced. ‘I don’t want to be anything like you. I’m human!’ Anger, such extraordinary anger, built up inside me, to the point where I wanted to hurl.

Kaspar was suddenly inches from my face, grabbing my flailing shoulders and pinning them to the headboard. He knelt with one knee on the mattress and his face was unreadable. Angry, because his eyes were flashing between their emerald and black, but something else was there. Pity?

‘Violet!’

I jerked away from him, thrashing about trying to release myself. ‘Get off me!’ I spat.

‘Look at me, Violet!’ I turned away, refusing to do what he said. ‘I said, look at me!’ he shouted. Still I refused. He grabbed my chin roughly and yanked my head around to face him; my neck stung where I knew there would be bite marks. I looked down at the sheets, not wanting to meet his eyes.

‘For heaven’s sake, just look! What’s different?’ Stunned, I conceded, raising my gaze to meet his. I reluctantly studied his face for a moment. Something was different. The colours. The green of his eyes was brighter, standing out more against the white.

‘I—’

‘Listen. Smell. Everything is better, isn’t it?’

Yes. ‘No,’ I breathed. ‘No!’ I began thrashing around again, needing to get away. I screamed and screamed, without any rational thought.

Swiftly after my third ‘no’, however, a hand came into contact with my wet cheek and I squeaked, shutting up, stunned into total silence. My eyes widened and Kaspar breathed heavily on my face, looking shocked that he had actually hit me. He slowly released me, backing off to the corner of the room. I reached up with one of my now free hands to touch my stinging cheek. It hurt. But it worked.

‘Fabian said vampires struggle to cry. I-is this the only time I can cry?’

‘No,’ Eaglen replied. ‘If you would let us explain, it may not be as bad as you first thought.’

Galen stepped forward again from where he had stoked the fire. ‘We had very little choice. The shock would have caused your major organs to cease functioning and your chance of survival without a transfusion was nil. None of the human blood supplies stored here are tested thoroughly enough for anything but consumption and, thus, vampire blood was our only option. And of course, vampiric blood has the added benefit of being able to heal wounds at an extraordinary rate. You are very fortunate that His Highness volunteered to donate some of his own blood to you.’

I looked at Kaspar, my eyes wide in surprise, but when I caught his eyes he turned away again, staring at something interesting on the window. I owe him my life – again.

‘So, if I’m a dhampir, why is my heart still beating?’

‘Because a dhampir is more human than vampire. You will function as before and you will not lust for blood in any way. Legally, you are still governed by humans and not the Kingdom. The only difference, as the Prince pointed out to you, is your slightly enhanced capabilities. Vision and stamina, for example. You will also live for longer than the average human.’

The King nodded. ‘Thank you, Galen. You may leave us.’

‘Should there be any problems, do not hesitate to send for me,’ Galen muttered, and now I understood why I could hear them when they were stood on the opposite side of the room. With that he bowed and left with Eaglen.

‘Fabian, Lyla, allow us a moment. Not you, Kaspar,’ the King said as his son went to follow the other two. When the door had shut behind them, he continued. ‘Miss Lee, you are under what we call the King and Crown’s Protection, meaning that harming you in any way is a crime punishable by death. Ilta Crimson has fled, but we will endeavour to find him. When we do, he will stand trial. It was Kaspar here who found you and he has therefore been called as a witness. You have no objection to this?’

‘No,’ I replied, feeling my lips quiver. Below the sheets, I pressed my fingernails into my palm, finding it stopped the tears from welling.