A Fire in the Blood(85)
“He will never be yours!” Katerina screamed before vanishing from their sight. The echo of her maniacal laughter trailed behind her like smoke from a funeral pyre.
Jilly buried her face in Luke’s shoulder.
“Dammit!” Luke exclaimed, staring at the body. “How are we going to talk our way out of this?”
“We aren’t,” Andrei said curtly. Concentrating, he gathered his power, wrapped it around each one of them, and transported them all to his house on the hill.
* * *
As soon as they reached Andrei’s place, Tessa ran into the bathroom to wash the blood from her face. With hands that shook, she peeled off her dress and tossed it into the bathtub. She never wanted to see it again, wondered if she would ever forget the awful sight of the magistrate’s face as Katerina brutally ripped the man’s beating heart from his chest.
“Tessa?”
“I can’t do this anymore,” she said dully. “Enough is enough. Why did she kill that poor man? Why not me? He was no threat to her.”
“Tess.” He closed the door, then stood there, regarding her face in the mirror. She was pale, eyes red, shoulders slumped.
She shook her head. “I don’t want to be the cause of anyone else’s death. I’m tired of feeling helpless. Tired of always looking over my shoulder, always being afraid. I want you to turn me.” She took a deep breath. “Now. Tonight.”
“Tessa.” Andrei stared at her, unable to believe what he was hearing.
“It’s what you wanted, isn’t it? Now it’s what I want, too.”
“Maybe you should think it over for a day or two,” he suggested.
Tessa shook her head. “I’ve made up my mind. Don’t try to talk me out of it.”
“I just want you to be sure.” He wanted to go to her, to take her in his arms and assure her everything would be all right. But something told him it would be a waste of time. She had, indeed, made up her mind. He only hoped she wouldn’t hate him when it was done. “I don’t want you to have any regrets.”
“I don’t know what else to do. Katerina’s never going to give up. She killed a complete stranger today. The next time it might be Jilly. Or my parents.” Her tormented gaze met his in the mirror. “I want her dead, Andrei. That’s the only way this will ever be over.”
He nodded. Hadn’t he had the very same thought not long ago?
Closing the distance between them, he took her in his arms. “Between us, we’ll settle this once and for all.”
* * *
Luke, Jileen, Bailey, and Tristan were huddled together in front of the fireplace when Andrei entered the room.
“Where’s Tessa?” Bailey asked anxiously. “Is she all right?”
“She’s made a decision,” he said quietly. “It wasn’t easy.”
Jilly’s eyes widened. And then she shook her head. “No. She didn’t! Tell me she didn’t?”
“Not yet,” Andrei said. “She’s waiting for me downstairs.” He had taken her to his lair before returning to the living room.
“I want to see her,” Jilly said. “Maybe I can . . .”
“You can’t talk her out of it. She’s made up her mind. You’re all welcome to stay the night here. It’s the one place I know you’ll be safe.”
“Was this really her idea?” Jilly asked.
Andrei nodded. “I suggested she wait and think it over for a day or two, but she’s determined.”
“Have you ever done this before?” Luke asked.
“No.”
“What if you make a mistake?” Jilly exclaimed. “She could die! Luke, stop him!”
Luke put his arm around Jileen. “I don’t like this any better than you do, honey. But it’s her decision.”
Jilly glared at Andrei, then buried her face in her husband’s shoulder, her body shaking from the force of her sobs.
Bailey sank down on the sofa, hands clasped in her lap. “As I understand it, you’re going to drink Tessa’s blood, right? And then she’ll drink from you?”
“That’s how it’s done.”
“Aren’t you taking a terrible risk?” Luke asked. “Her blood destroys fledglings. I know you’ve tasted her before with no ill effects, but how do you know that taking it all won’t destroy you?”
“I don’t.”
“So it’s dangerous for both of you,” Luke said. “And if her blood destroys you . . . what then? There won’t be anyone to bring her across.”
“If her blood proves fatal, it will destroy me before her life is at risk.”