Page 87 of Discovery of the Vampire
"Come on," Angel said. "Let me do something here to feel useful."
Without taking my eyes from Esme's face, I gave her a sharp nod, then tore my wrist open again. This time, Angel massaged her throat, helping her swallow.
When the wound on my wrist closed up again, I didn't immediately reopen it as we watched.
"I think the swelling's going down," Jamal said.
"Aye," Killian agreed. "It is. And her color is looking better."
My eyes met Angel’s, and I said, "It's working, right? Is it working?"
She nodded. "Yes, I think it is."
Angel could be a bitch sometimes, but that’s why I knew she wouldn't lie to me.
Lifting my arm a bit, I tilted Esme's head back slightly, watching the next trickle of blood drip into her mouth as Angel tried to work it down her throat. Some of it ran down her chin, wasted. The clock on the wall ticked mercilessly, each second longer than the last.
A faint moan escaped Esme’s lips, and I pulled back, hope surging through me.
"Es?" I positioned my wrist over her mouth again. "That's it, darlin'. Drink."
Her eyelids fluttered, and her tongue licked my skin as she began to take the blood on her own. Relief washed through me so intensely I nearly collapsed.
"Good girl," I whispered. "Take as much as you need."
I didn't know how long we stayed like that, Angel, Esme, and I, but it seemed like hours before her bones shifted back into place as I held her. My heart broke into tiny pieces when she cried out from the pain, only to swell beneath my ribs when her hand weakly grasped my arm, holding it in place as she was able to take stronger pulls.
She was fighting her way back to me.
The others stayed with us, scattered throughout the room, offering her their silent strength. Even Kenya, standing in the back with tears running silently down her cheeks.
I felt Killian's eyes on me as he probed around in my head. "Stop it," I told him, but there was no hostility behind my words. I knew he was only worried.
“Ye're going to need to stop soon. Ye’re losing too much blood."
"I'm fine."
"He's right," Angel agreed, still kneeling on the floor beside my legs, although she didn't need to help Esme swallow anymore. "You look like a goddamn vampire, for once."
"Take her to bed and let her rest," Lizzy told me. "And you, too."
Without removing my wrist from her mouth, I stood, just to shut them all up, holding my precious cargo in one arm while she drank from the other. With a nod of thanks at Angel, I headed toward the stairs and carried her up to my room.
Esme released my wrist when I laid her down on the bed, sighing in contentment as I removed her boots and jeans and shirt, leaving her in her underwear. I pulled the comforter up over her before climbing in beside her. I wanted to take her into the shower and clean her up, but much as I hated to admit it, the others were right. My head was woozy and my legs and arms were weak.
"I should have trusted you." My fingers trembled as I stroked her face. "You tried to protect me from him, and I—" My voice broke. "I thought you were only using me."
She turned her head toward me, like she could hear me even in sleep.
Wrapping my arm around her waist, I pulled her closer, pressing my forehead to hers. "Please forgive me, Es."
She didn't respond. But her heartbeat was steady and her breaths were relaxed and even. And eventually, I couldn't hold my eyes open anymore.
I woke with a violent start, my body tensed for an attack. Something moved beneath me. The events in the cemetery rushed back—Marcus, Alice being taken, Esme nearly dying in my arms...
Esme.
She stirred, shifting beneath the weight of my arm. My heart stuttered as I raised up on my elbow to study her face.
