Page 30 of The Book of Blood and Roses

She breathes out, relieved, and lifts the dagger. “Look away if you don’t want to see my blood,” she says, holding her palm out.

I watch. I’ve seen plenty of vampires bleed before. She winces as she draws the blade across her skin, the dark liquid instantly pooling in her cupped hand. “You won’t feel a thing,” she assuresme.

She presses her blood-soaked hand to my neck, and just as she promised, I don’t feel anything. Nothing but my own pulse, loud, beating against her skin. A strange feeling rushes through me as her blood seeps into the wound, warmth slowly eating away at the pain.

Her frown relaxes, and she smiles. “There. It’s gone.”

The pain, as she promised, vanishes. Even my period cramps. Slowly, I sit up. I’m in my nightgown, although I have no memory of putting it on. Her shirtsleeves are wet. It’s only now, as the pain recedes, that I realise she must have gotten me out of the bath. She’s seen me naked.

I touch my neck. The wound has healed completely; all that’s leftis the sticky residue of her blood. The feeling makes me want to vomit, but I keep that to myself. I can’t believe I let her heal me. “Thank you,” I say.

Aliz gawks at me, shocked by the words. She clears her throat, and I could swear she looks embarrassed. “You should rest,” she says, mattress creaking as she gets up. “But now I need to have a word with whoever did this to you,” she says, darkness slipping into her voice.

“Did what?” I ask, reaching for my water bottle. Astra crouches down, picking something up from the floor. My white shirt with a couple of spots of blood on the collar. I sigh. “Some girls,” I say.

“What did they look like?”

“Vampires.”

She narrows her eyes at me. “Very funny. At least try to describe them.”

“A vampire’s beauty is impossible to describe,” I say. Strength slowly returns to my muscles.

“Was it the Red Ribbons?” she asks. I bite my tongue, keeping my expression neutral.Shit.I see her rummaging through her bag for something. A makeup wipe of some sort. Before I can ask what she’s doing, she sits next to me again and rubs it against my neck, cleaning the blood. I clench my teeth, trying to ignore our proximity. “I knew they were plotting something, so if—”

“How did you know?” I ask, not breaking eye contact. She’s so close. The scent of her blood, of my own, mingle with the mossy fragrance she carries everywhere. “Are you a member?” I already know she isn’t, but I like seeing her frown.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Just last night you told me you were superior.”

“No, I said my senses were more refined. And I was only trying to annoy you,” she says. “Please, Cassie. Just tell me.”

“I don’t remember them,” I say. “It all happened very quickly, all right?”

“I’m trying to help you.”

“You already did,” I say. “The wound is gone.”

“Fine,” she says, exasperated. “But I’m going to find whoever did this to you, whether you like it or not.”

I wait untilshe’s out of the room before picking up my phone.Did you know that Astra blood is magical?

I type this, almost hit send, but I stop. If I tell Penny about Aliz’s blood, I’ll have to tell her about my encounter with the Red Ribbons, after she explicitly told me to stay away. The feeling that I might have disappointed her aches almost as much as the wound in my neck did.

That odd warmth that slipped beneath my skin when Aliz healed me hasn’t left yet.

I stare out at the moon one last time before shutting the window. When I close my eyes, I can still feel her hand, pressed to my neck, and her breath against my lips.

Chapter

Eleven

My neck is itchy. I start scratching before I’m even fully awake, pulling at my skin as though there’s something stuck inside. I open my eyes, and search through my bedsheets for my phone.

It’s already eleven. If Jannet and Stella told anyone about last night, campus security would have barged into my room by now. The black curtains that separate our room are wide open, and for the first time, I’m not perturbed by the sight of her coffin.

Why would she help me? I let out a shaky breath, trying to get her out of my mind. Until now all she’s wanted was to get me out of here. And yet last night, for some reason, she helpedme.