She laid her head back down on the pillow and looked up at me weakly. I wasn’t sure if she could understand me. Although her eyes were open, they looked unfocussed.
“I’m going to go down and find some more food,” I said.
She muttered incoherently.
I pulled the blanket higher over her, then left the room, sure to double-lock it behind me.
Of course, the lock would be useless if a vampire really wanted to come in. But I hoped nobody had any reason to. It was just there as a mild deterrent. If somebody knocked, they couldn’t come in without breaking the door of a Novalic down. And few people on this island would dare do that.
I hurried back down to the kitchen for the second time within the space of a few hours. Relieved to see that it was still empty, I raced around trying to figure out what the hell I should bring up for her this time that her stomach could handle.
Soup was one of the most easy things to digest. But perhaps the soup I’d given her had been too rich. Or perhaps it had contained too many spices for her fragile stomach. Whatever the case, I had to try again.
Baby food is what she needs.
Unsure of what I was even doing—for I had always been a useless cook even as a human—I found a sack of vegetables and hurled them onto the counter. I dipped my hands into the sack and pulled out a handful of what resembled potatoes and carrots. These should do. I washed them, then I boiled a large pot of water and dropped them in.
I waited impatiently by the boiling pot, sticking a knife into the vegetables every few minutes.
These things take so damn long to get soft.
Finally, I decided that they were soft enough to not cause Anna more stomach upset. I dropped them into a bowl and began to mash them up together with a spoon. Once they’d formed a thick paste, I found some milk in the cold cellar and warmed a few cupfuls. I poured the warm milk into the bowl of vegetable paste. I grabbed some salt from the counter and added a few pinches. Then I blended it all together furiously until it formed a smooth consistency.
I poured the liquid into a large bowl and placed it on another tray. I also added to it another jug of water.
No bread this time. Let’s just try this.
I cleaned up after myself, then rushed out of the kitchen and began walking up the staircase.
I thought that I might have once again gotten lucky by not bumping into anyone on the way up, but just as I was about to turn the last corridor to my room, Efren appeared round the corner.
He stopped short, a look of surprise on his face as he saw me. Then his eyes narrowed on me. He looked at the towel-covered tray I was holding. I was relieved when he let me pass in silence.
By the time I reentered my bedroom, Anna was taking deep breaths. I walked over to her and placed the tray beside her on the bed.
I felt her forehead. It was still hot. But at least she seemed to be slightly more conscious than when I’d left her.
Seeing that she was clearly still in no state to feed herself, I lifted her up to sit against the cushions. Taking the bowl and spoon, I began to feed her. She coughed at first, but to my relief she started lapping up the food I was feeding her.
I watched her closely as she swallowed each spoonful. I wasn’t sure if it was just my imagination, but by the time she’d finished the bowl, I could have sworn that her eyes appeared less distant. She appeared calmer, more aware.
“Are you feeling better?” I dared ask.
There was a pause.
Then she looked up at my face and breathed, “You’re my angel.”
She’s still delirious.
Chapter 27: Mona
I stared at myself in the mirror.
Apart from my eyes having turned a few shades darker, and my skin looking a bit more sallow, there wasn’t much difference. But internally, it felt like something had shifted.
Although I was aware of why I had set out on this path—to break free from my life with Rhys—I couldn’t connect with that motivation any more now that the Ancient had bestowed on me such a gift and responsibility. I couldn’t even conceive of betraying her and Rhys. And I had no desire to leave Rhys any more. Rather, it felt painful when I wasn’t in his presence. I wanted him. I wondered if his being there for me while Lilith inducted me had strengthened our bond.
It had been a few days since we left the Ancient’s cave, and I was still getting used to my newfound powers. Rhys was helping tame me. He said we couldn’t return to The Shade until I’d got a handle on them. I’d already almost burnt our bed to ashes and made a huge crack in the wall.
Only once he was confident enough that I wouldn’t wreck the place did we return to The Shade.
I looked around as we walked through the courtyard up the steps into the castle. There was nobody around. It seemed to be late. I’d lost track of how long we’d been away by now, although it felt like an eternity.