The shudders had me like an animal shaking something in its teeth. But the bloodhunger retreated,

and nausea rose with a fast hard cramp.

“Three.” Christophe’s reply was a breath of sound. “You’re lucky she doesn’t need more.”

“Goddamn you.” Bruce moved. A whisper of cloth, and Christophe tensed. I made a weird whining

sound. It felt like I’d been pulled apart and bolted back together with the wrong parts, every bit of

me aching.

A bolt of heat hit my stomach and spread out, a haze of warm contentment. It soothed the aches and

soaked in, and if it wasn’t for the fact that I’d just been bleeding all over the place I thought, maybe,

that I could stand up.

But I let my eyes shut. It was a relief to just lie there in Christophe’s arms and know he was handling it.

A little voice inside me tried to tell me I should be worried about something, but I shut it off. I had

all I could worry about already. There was no more room on my worry plate.

“He already has. Go away.” Christophe’s voice was a dry husk. He cleared his throat. “All of you.

Give her some privacy. If the aura-dark hits her—”

“It won’t. She’s svetocha.” It was one of the other djamphir, and he sounded awestruck. “Look,

she’s fine. Blood pressure normal, pulse a little elevated but fine—she’s going to make it. Look at

her shoulder.”

I didn’t want to look at my shoulder. I curled more tightly against Christophe and thought of my

torn T-shirt. Heat stained my cheeks, a different heat than the goodness swirling down my skin.

“Christophe,” I murmured and felt vaguely ashamed.

“All’s well, skowroneczko moja.” A light touch—his lips against my tangled hair. “Everything is

well in hand.”

That was what I wanted to hear. I kept my eyes tightly shut.

“You take unacceptable risks.” Bruce had to force the words out between clenched teeth. “Do you

hear me, Reynard?”

“Yap at someone else, ibn Allas. I’ve done what I set out to do.” Was Christophe actually sneering?

It was hard to tell with my face buried in his chest. He took deep heaving breaths. “I’m here, and if

Kouroi will stop trying to kill me I’ll be the best ally you have. As long as you keep her safe.”

“Anna will be caught. She’ll pay for what she’s done.”

“What are you going to do? She’s svetocha, and her Guard is fanatically loyal.” Christophe moved.

He surged up from the floor, faltered, and righted himself. “You helped with that. Every one of you

on the Council turned a blind eye or actively encouraged it. She’s a monster. God willing, the nos-feratu will find and kill her if she doesn’t make devil’s bargains with them first.”