All but forgotten, Peter stirred. “Please, DeLavine,” he said sullenly, and I despaired at the filth I was wallowing in, the system that Ivy had worked within her entire life. “She knows the spells,” Peter continued. “I hurt so badly.”

DeLavine let go of my will. My pulse beat wildly, and with his support ripped away, my muscles gave a massive spasm and went limp. Barely conscious, I crumpled.

“For you, Peter,” I heard from above me as I worked my arms under me so I could push my face off the floor. Dizzy, I wedged myself into a seated position. The undead vampire was ignoring me, his gaze tracking the perimeter of the room. Ivy had unwrapped herself from him and was standing at the curtained window, her head bowed as she tried to bring herself down. Guilt hit me, and I took a breath that was almost a cry.

“There are a few things I want from this,” DeLavine was saying, having apparently forgotten me lying on the floor. “Peter wants his last sight to be of the setting sun.”

“That can be accommodated,” Ivy said softly. Her voice was still husky, and I ignored the memory of hearing it whisper in my ear. Head down, I crawled to Jenks, checking his pulse and pulling back his eyelids to see if his eyes dilated. He was okay, and I slumped against the front of the couch, content to stay on the floor. Ivy wouldn’t look at me, and quite frankly, I didn’t want her to. How could…How could I ever repay her for this?

“Accommodated?” DeLavine scooped up Rex and looked into her green eyes. The cat looked away first. “There is no accommodate. Do it.”

“Yes, DeLavine.” Ivy turned, and I stifled a shudder at the thinnest brown rim to her eyes. They were almost fully dilated, and just standing there breathing, she looked like she wanted to pin someone to the floor and have at it.

Peter looked ticked that Ivy was taking something from his mentor that he wanted, and Peter’s future scion was frightened as she saw her future, turned into nothing more than a source of blood and memory. When Peter died, she would have a shell of the man she fell in love with. She knew it, but she wanted it all the same.

“I’m concerned about possible damage to his facial structure,” DeLavine said, gently setting Rex down and going to Peter. Not a hint of his blood lust showed, but I could feel it, shimmering under his voice. “Auto crashes can be extremely disfiguring, and Peter has suffered so many indignities already.”

From the floor, I watched DeLavine run a finger down Peter’s jawline, the touch both possessive and distant. It was nauseating. Peter’s temper eased, his manner softening.

“Yes, DeLavine,” Ivy said. “The charms will minimize that.”

Oh, yeah. That’s why they had come to the motel. “I, uh—” I jerked when everyone’s eyes fell on me. “I need a swab of Peter’s mouth so I can sensitize the disguise charm to him.”