“You have to drink my blood.” Harry offers his open wrist to Ian, who’s bent over the toilet and throwing up his guts.
“No.” Ian dry heaves and waves him away. “You left. Left me! You can’t just show up and get me back like this. With fucking trickery.” Ian retches again.
“I didn’t trick you.” Harry pulls Ian’s hair from his face and wipes his forehead with a damp cloth.
“I think you might need to go to the hospital.” Everly leans closer. “Your skin is so pale you’re practically see-through.”
Ian smiles weakly. “We’ve already got vampires, a witch, and a spectral werewolf on our plates, let’s not add a ghost.”
“Good, then we’re agreed. You drink my blood; you won’t be a ghost.” Harry thrusts his wrist into Ian’s face.
“No.” Ian turns his head petulantly.
“Ian, please.” Everly presses her palm to his forehead. “You’re burning up.”
“I’m okay. It’s just that cauldron must’ve—“ He retches into the toilet, and Harry helps him get to his knees.
“But you were feeling better.” Everly wets another washcloth and hands it to Harry.
“Come.” I pull her gently from the bathroom as Harry tries again to convince Ian to drink from him.
“He should be better, right?” she asks as we walk to the kitchen.
“Depends on what the cauldron did to him, I guess.”
“But how can we figure that out?” She sits heavily at the kitchen island as I pull out bacon and eggs to cook her breakfast.
She takes one look at the supplies and sticks her tongue out. “No, thank you. Unless you want me to barf like poor Ian.”
I pause and press my hand to her forehead, worry creeping up my spine. “Why? Are you feeling sick?”
“No. I’m fine.” She takes my hand. “But I only want you.” Her gaze flicks to my throat, and my cock hardens instantly.
“My blood, poppet?” I stroke her cheek.
“Just your blood.”
“It’s a mates thing.” Harry walks into the kitchen and goes to the pantry. “Neither of you need food, and you’ll live as long as the other.”
“As long as the other?” Everly asks.
“Right. If Vincent lives for 200 more years, so will you.”
“But if I die?”
Everly slaps her hand over my mouth. “Don’t say that!”
Harry grabs some crackers. “Then she dies. If she dies, so do you.” He takes the crackers and heads back to the powder room.
Everly blinks slowly. “So we could live …”
“Forever.” I kiss her, her elation matching my own. I lift her to the counter and slide one hand under her shirt to cup her breast, intent on devouring her, when someone knocks at the back door.
I groan when I hear the familiar sound of Mrs. Brewster’s shoes on the wood decking.
“I’ll get it.” Everly hops down and straightens her top.
I stay at the counter and put up the food I was going to cook for her.
“Hi,” Everly says with utterly fake warmth.
I put a dirty coffee cup into the sink and notice a plate and fork that haven’t been rinsed. Residue from some fruit tart Mrs. Brewster brought over remains on the porcelain. Leaning closer, I take a sniff. Immediately I stand straight up.
“Everly.” I turn to her.
But she’s out in the sun on the deck talking to Mrs. Brewster. She feels my concern, though, because she starts to come back to me.
“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.” Mrs. Brewster drops the casserole dish she was holding and grabs on to Everly.
“Stop!” I dash to the edge of the sunlight, my toes burning as I stand at the edge of my destruction.
Everly tries to fight her, but Mrs. Brewster whispers something in her ear and blows some sort of dust into her face.
It’s like a veil comes down, separating me from my mate. “Let her go!” I thunder.
Harry runs up behind me, and Buffy darts out, hissing at the old woman.
“I’m sorry it had to go this way, young man, but you got too nosy. You never should’ve gone to Imelda’s home. I should’ve known before that you were a vampire, especially when you never ate my very special treats.” She smiles, black hollows between her teeth. “But now I’m going to have to take care of you and your friends.” She pulls Everly away from me.
I let out a howl of desperate rage and step into the burning sun.
“She’ll be with me, vampire. Come on over when the sun goes down. I invite you in. All of you.” She grins. “I’ll have some fun waiting.”
I take another step, burning to my knees, but the pain is nothing like how it feels to watch her walk away from me. “Everly!”
She’s in a daze, walking gingerly as the old witch pats her arm and leads her away from me. Away from safety.
I don’t feel when Harry yanks me back, away from the sun. I feel nothing except the yawning void of my stolen mate.