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“Did it work?” Isabel asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Sebastian nodded and she began to cry tears of relief. “We did it. Help me up?”

Josephine jumped to her feet and took both of Isabel’s hands, pulling her up while Sebastian pushed. He stood as well and allowed her to rest against his chest while she tested her legs. They were a bit wobbly, but she didn’t fall.

“I can’t believe you survived all of that,” he whispered, brushing his lips across her sweaty cheek. “I’m so sorry,cuore mio.You never should have had to go through anything I’ve put you through.”

“I think the fact she was unconscious helped her endure the pain. And weakening the spirit most likely helped as well,” Vlad said, interrupting their moment. “Not to mention the help from your fancy healer. I’ve never seen a human survive that many paintings. They always die.”

“How many times have you seen this happen?!” Sebastian asked, incredulous.

Vlad shrugged, thought for a moment, and answered, “Probably a dozen, now. My coven is larger and has existed far longer than yours. But we learn something new every time it happens.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver object. “However, some things are non-negotiable.”

Isabel gave a squeak and looked down to see a knifepoint emerging from her chest.

CHAPTER37

Venice, Italy. 23 June, 2007

Sebastian was so caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the blade that it took him a moment to realize what was happening. Isabel slumped into his arms, her eyes glazing over and the sound of her heart coming to an abrupt halt. “What did youdo?!” he screamed at Vlad.

“I told you. The girl has to die,” Vlad replied, his voice entirely business as usual. He pulled the dagger from Isabel’s back, licked the blood from the blade, and put it back in his pocket.

Sebastian’s first instinct was to fly into a rage and tear Vlad’s head off. But the weight of Isabel’s body grounded him enough to avoid starting a war for real. He pressed his ear to her chest and heard her heart beat once, twice…and then stop. “Dolcezza!” he howled in agony.

Josephine pressed her ear to Isabel’s back and confirmed her lack of pulse. “Victor, it’s time,” she cried, and stepped out of the way so the master vampire could reach her. “Please let this work!”

Sebastian repositioned Isabel so her arms were around his neck, and he felt her warm blood soaking through his shirt and clinging to his skin. He swept her hair to one side, exposing her neck, and closed his eyes. Victor stepped up, fangs extended, and sank them right into her jugular vein. His fangs remained embedded in her skin for a solid thirty seconds as he pumped venom deep into her body.

Sebastian couldn’t bring himself to look until he felt the extra pressure disappear. Once the bite was finished, he carried her into the next room where a gurney gave him a place to lay her down. Seeing her there, pale and covered in blood, made him dry heave out of sheer despair.

“Wake up,” he murmured, smoothing her hair and running his hand up and down her arm. Josephine stood on the other side and held Isabel’s hand, pressing her forehead to their entwined fingers.

Yet Isabel remained still and cold on the gurney. “It really should have worked by now, if we were within the correct window,” Victor murmured while standing in the doorway watching the proceedings. Remus lingered over his shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of Isabel and avoid seeing her body at the same time.

“Give it a few more minutes,” Vlad said. “She was fully dead. Sometimes it takes a few minutes for everything to restart, assuming the brain wasn’t damaged too badly. You might have your healer bite her again, just in case the heart needs help.”

Josephine needed no further prodding. She again bit Isabel’s wrist and licked the wound. “Her skin healed,” she announced, a small light of hope in her voice.

Sebastian perked up and checked Isabel’s neck to discover Victor’s fang marks were missing as well. “That’s good. It has to be,” he insisted, continuing to stroke her face and arms. “Come on, my love. You can do this. You shouldn’t be immune anymore.”

Silence fell over the room as Sebastian examined every feature of his beloved. He couldn’t help worrying that this would be his last chance to see her.

He drank in the way her long eyelashes curled upward. The curve of her lips. How her hair framed her delicate face. The tiny freckle on her nose. He memorized it all.

And then, her eyelids flickered. Everyone in the room held their breath as Isabel’s eyes slowly opened. She took a deep breath and life returned to her face. “My throat is burning,” she whispered in a hoarse voice. “Why is my throat burning?”

Sebastian and Remus let out sighs of relief, while Josephine collapsed against the gurney. “Get her some blood,” Victor ordered, and Sebastian opened the morgue fridge to pull out two bags of blood from the coven’s stash.

“You lost a ton of blood today, so it makes sense you’d need to feed immediately,” he said, and began kneading the bag with his hands to warm it at least a little bit. “This is probably going to be a disgusting introduction to your new life, but this will make you feel better.”

“Let’s sit you up,” Josephine said softly, and helped Isabel upright. “Open your mouth for me? I want to see if your fangs have grown in yet.” Isabel opened her mouth and her eyes widened in surprise as her fangs extended for the first time. “Yes, very good! Think of them as straws and you’ll be able to feed just fine.”

Sebastian positioned the pouch in front of Isabel’s mouth. “It might help to close your eyes the first time, too,” he suggested. At Sebastian’s urging, Isabel’s fangs pierced the plastic. The blood began to disappear and color appeared in Isabel’s cheeks. “That’s my good girl,” he whispered. “Drink it all up.”

As she drank, Sebastian pierced the second bag and swiftly drained it. It was, in fact, disgusting. But as it flowed into his veins, he could feel the strength returning to his body. He let out a sigh of relief and returned his attention to Isabel.

The bag was empty, and Isabel withdrew her fangs and smiled. “It really worked,” she exclaimed. “I can’t believe it finally worked! You know what this means?”

“That we never have to lose each other again,” Sebastian replied. He wrapped his arms around her and their lips met, drinking each other in deeply, as if making up for lost time. They may have remained locked in that moment for hours if they hadn’t had an impatient audience standing nearby.