The Accidental Vampire(78)

to him, still she wasn't showing any sign of waking yet, but there would no doubt be

internal damage to be repaired as well.

"The men are wondering what's going on," Mabel announced, returning from another

blood run. "My bringing up all this blood has tipped them to the fact that something is

going on."

"What did you tell them?" Victor asked, taking the blood from her and setting it on the

side of the bed.

"Nothing, I just waved away their questions, and came back up here."

"They'll follow her up then," DJ said with a frown.

"They already have," Edward announced from the now crowded doorway.

Elvi heard the murmur of voices and wondered fuzzily who was standing outside her

coffin talking. It was only when she opened her eyes that she recalled she no longer

slept in a coffin. She was on her stomach in her bed, and her room was full of people.

Victor, Mabel, DJ, Harper, Alessandro, and Edward were all there from the voices she

could hear.

"Who would want to hurt Elvi?" Harper was asking with dismay.

"I don't know, but I intend to find out," Victor said grimly.

Elvi frowned, trying to understand what they were talking about. Hurt her? Had

someone hurt her? She'd barely asked herself the question when she spotted the

bloody arrow on the side of the bed and recalled sitting on Victor's lap in the sunroom

and a sharp pain in the back.

So that had been the source of the pain. She stared at the bloody arrow and recalled

the one that had narrowly missed them at the furniture store. Elvi had been sure then

that it was an accident and, if not, then it had been meant for Victor. She'd lived in

Port Henry her entire life. No one here would harm her, she'd thought. And still

thought that.

Elvi briefly struggled with what had happened, trying to make sense of it, and then

stiffened as an idea struck her. She turned cautiously onto her back, relieved when

there was no pain. It seemed she was healed.

"We must find who did this," Alessandro said furiously. "They can not hurt the Elvi. She

is good woman, so bella, so sweet."

"Yes, and we will have to guard her until we do," Harper murmured.

"Then you'll be guarding the wrong person," Elvi announced, drawing their attention

as she managed to sit up. While there was no pain, she was feeling a bit weak and

suspected she needed more blood to replace that used up in the healing.

"Elvi." Victor hurried to the bed, concern on his face. "You shouldn't be moving around

yet."

"I'm fine," she assured him, but was frowning at the weakness hampering her and

asked, "Is there more blood?"

"I'll go get more," Mabel assured her and rushed from the room as the men moved to

surround the bed.

"How are you feeling?" Harper asked, his face lined with concern.

"Fine," she repeated, then admitted, "A little weak maybe, but fine."

"What did you mean we'd be protecting the wrong person if we guarded you?" Edward

asked curiously.

"I wasn't the target," Elvi announced.

"Elvi," Victor said, shaking his head. "You were shot in the back. You had to be the

target."

"I don't think I was," she argued pleasantly.

"Well, I doubt I was. They'd hardly shoot through you to get to me."

"No, but—" Elvi fell silent and smiled at Mabel as she rushed in with four more bags of

blood. Murmuring a " thank you," she accepted the bag Mabel held out and slapped it

to her teeth, giving herself the time to try to find a way to explain what she was

thinking. By the second bag, she'd decided that showing would be more effective than

trying to explain and slid her feet off the bed to stand up.

"What are you doing?" Victor asked, sounding alarmed. "You shouldn't be up yet.

Allow your body time to—"

"I feel fine," Elvi said with exasperation as she took the second empty bag away. "I'm

not suffering any pain, and most of the weakness is gone thanks to the blood."





"Yes, but a little rest wouldn't go amiss," Harper said, cutting off whatever Victor had

opened his mouth to say. Judging from his expression, it hadn't been as diplomatic as

Harper's words and she suspected he'd done the man a favor by cutting him off.

"Probably," Elvi said agreeably as she accepted a third bag from Mabel, then added

firmly, "and I will after I make one trip downstairs."

There was rumbling all around at this announcement, but Elvi ignored the men and

leaned to whisper in Mabel's ear. When she'd straightened and her friend nodded, Elvi

turned to the men.

"Come with me and I'll prove I wasn't the target," she said, then slapped the latest bag