Mikey squeezed my arm in warning. We had to tread carefully because it looked like Drake wanted a reason to walk away from our treaty.
Defeated, my shoulders slumped. “We’ll sign the treaty. It’s the best thing for both our kinds.”
Drake nodded sharply, then turned on his heel and walked out of the dining room. I glanced at Jenna, shaking my head. What happened sent her far into a black hole I wasn’t sure she’d make it out of. Who could blame her when she only had five years to live?
Chapter Seven
Screaming had me shooting up in bed. I looked around frantically, trying to figure out what the fuck was going on. Then I remembered. Jenna was staying with me until she could cope with her change.
Hurrying into my guest bedroom, I peered through the darkness, finding her shadowy form still on the bed. She screamed again, her back bowing, as if in serious pain. I turned on the light and rushed to her side. She was covered in a sheen of sweat, the bed soaked.
I grasped her shoulders, gently shaking, getting her to focus on me. “Jenna... Jenna, what’s wrong?”
“I’m dying. I have to be... Ahh!” She started screaming again.
Running out of the room to grab my phone, I called the medical team, then Mikey. He appeared seconds later, Carlos with him. I didn’t bother to ask why they were together. I just hurried back into Jenna’s room.
“What’s wrong with her?” Mikey asked, unsure of what to do to help.
The demon hunter walked to Jenna’s side and examined her eyes. He opened her mouth, seeing the fangs. “She’s dying.”
“How can she be dying? She’s a new change!” I shrieked.
“I don’t know, but it doesn’t seem like her body is taking the change too well.”
Tears stung my eyes as I pushed her damp hair from her forehead. “Don’t leave me now, Jenna. We need you here with us.”
“I can help her.” Carlos dug into one of the bags attached to his belt loop. He had a dozen of them, like walking storage. It was kind of weird, but hell, I wasn’t about to tell him that.
“How?” I demanded, eyes narrowed.
Carlos chuckled. “Don’t worry. I won’t kill her,” he promised.
He hummed to himself as he pulled runes from the bag, then knelt by Jenna’s side. “Hello, beautiful one. I will make the pain go away so you’ll never have to worry about it again.”
“Don’t kill me,” she whimpered.
He laughed again. “No. I’m going to save you. When I do, I expect you to go to dinner with me.”
“I can’t make any promises,” she moaned, causing him to smile wide.
Mikey rolled his eyes. “Please. Jenna dating? Yeah, right.”
“Shut up, jackass,” she whispered.
I glanced at Mikey, who seemed genuinely annoyed. His jaw clenched and unclenched as he started to pace, scowling at them.
Is he jealous? Didn’t they refuse to date after the spell was broken? Hmm... Interesting.
Carlos brought a knife toward Jenna’s throat. I gasped, but he held up a hand. Expertly, he cut her shirt to expose the top of her chest. He laid four runes across it while chanting something I couldn’t understand. Whatever it was sounded old and not from this world.
He cut into his hand, allowing the blood to drip onto her chest. He smeared it across her skin, drawing symbols above the runes. Then he took his finger and wiped blood onto her bottom lip.
It suddenly became hot, stifling. Mikey gripped the wall, obviously having the same issue.
Astonished, I watched as the runes began to move, switching places frantically. They settled down and began to sink into her skin, symbols forming in their place. The blood disappeared, her skin soaking it up until only a faint line of pink remained.
Looking up at us, Carlos nodded sharply. “It is done. She’ll be able to live a long life as a Vampire.”
Jenna stared up at the ceiling and sighed, her body calm. She looked over at me and smiled. “The pain is gone.”
Relieved, I threw my arms around her in a tight embrace. She was sweaty, but I pretended it didn’t bother me. Then I went to Carlos, giving him a hug. He stumbled back in surprise, awkwardly patting me on the back with one hand.
“You saved my best friend. I owe you.” Tears formed in my eyes as I released him.
“It was nothing, High Mistress.”
“Hey now. Don’t you be hugging my friend like that,” someone said from behind me.
I spun around to find Ethan standing there, his bag over his shoulder. Giving an excited squeak, I ran to him and hugged him fiercely, placing a wet kiss on his cheek, ignoring the groan from Mikey.
“I’m so happy to see you,” I said.
Ethan lifted me and squeezed me hard, then placed me back on my feet. “I came back a little earlier than planned. I’ll tell you about what happened when we’re alone.” He raised his eyebrows and looked at each one of us. “What’s going on?”
“Maybe we should talk about it in another room so Jenna can rest,” I suggested. When I glanced over at her, she was already lightly snoring. Sighing in relief, I ushered them out of her room and closed the door. I motioned them into the kitchen where we could all have some wine. Well, they could have whatever they wanted, but I needed wine.
We all stood around the kitchen island as I told Ethan what happened. His face went through several expressions, from amazement to anger to sympathy. I knew he wanted to kill Drake for what he was doing to me, but I pressed a hand to his chest and shook my head. I already had our people looking over the treaty documents and we would soon have it signed. Then Drake would have to abide by everything. That included any changes we made to the agreement. I didn’t think the
