Lenina awoke on the living room floor in front of the three-seat sofa. Thorne’s body lay close by, arms crossed over his flabby stomach.
Everything ached, from her toes to the tip of her nose.
She just had time to see Jason’s face looming above her before her stomach lurched. Rolling left, she retched; dry, throat-searing convulsions that brought tears to her eyes.
‘She’s awake.’ Jason slapped her on the back. Shock and relief mingled in his eyes. ‘She’s okay. I knew it.’
‘Stop hitting me.’
‘Sorry. Hold my hand, come on. Stand up.’
As the dry heaves subsided, Lenina allowed Jason to help her up, leaning into his grip.
‘How did I get in here?’
‘We moved you. Sorry. It wasn’t safe in the hallway.’ When she didn’t answer, Jason licked his lips. ‘You were thrashing around. Talking. You kicked the walls a few times before we could move you. Punched me too.’
For the first time she noticed the dark discolouration around his eye line.
‘I’m sorry, I didn’t know—’
‘No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have touched you. It’s my fault.’
Still clinging, Lenina grabbed her stomach through the borrowed sweatshirt. The fabric stuck to her skin, peeling away with a faint sucking sound. Beneath it, her skin was smooth.
‘You stabbed me.’ She looked at Tristen.
He leaned against the wall near the kitchen. Though he still held the wavy dagger, he seemed not to notice it as he spoke. ‘It was the only way to know for sure.’
His blank, unfeeling tone cut Lenina to the core. She tightened her grip on the fabric until sticky blood oozed through her fingers. ‘You didn’t know if I would live or die.’
‘Actually I thought you’d die.’
‘Don’t you care for me at all? How could you do this?’
‘I’m a watcher, it’s my job.’
Lenina gritted her teeth. ‘Your job is to watch me die?’
‘All vampires heal after their first tribute,’ Jason cut in. ‘It’s the only power we all get.’
She hesitated.
‘Powers. Saar had five different powers and he passed them to us through his blood.’
Mention of the ancient vampire sent a charge fizzing through Lenina’s body. She moaned, clutching her head with both hands. Like peeling the fragile shell of a boiled egg, she felt Saar fold back the walls of his mental cage and spring free. He billowed out like a cloud, filling her mind with knowledge she couldn’t possibly have.
‘Koach,’ she whispered. ‘Shalat, Tzuza, Okhel, Zakar.’ The words tripped off her tongue with ease. ‘Xamesh.’
Jason flinched.
Tristen gave her a shrewd look. His eyes narrowed. ‘We don’t use them any more but those are the old names. Physical strength which includes healing. Mind control. Telekinesis. Sensuality. Blood recall. The Five.’
‘I know them all,’ she murmured. ‘And I know what they do. It’s Pauline Lock all over again.’
‘So that was your kill?’ For the first time Tristen displayed open surprise. He chuckled under his breath. ‘At least that will be easy to explain to Kallisto.’
‘I saw her entire life play out in my head. I was living it.’
Jason tightened his grip on her arm. ‘Memories. Knowledge. You’re talking about blood recall, gathering memories from the blood you drink. Only Saar could do that.’
Lenina tugged free and faced Tristen. ‘Was it really the blood of a god in that bowl?’
Another searching look. His gaze ran up and down her body and Lenina felt the heat of it crawling over her skin. She shuddered. Her feet tingled with the need to run, but she forced them to remain still while she waited.
‘No one knows,’ he said at last. ‘I asked once and he laughed at me.’
‘You knew him?’
Tristen gave a bitter chuckle. His hand tightened on the dagger but he didn’t speak. That was answer enough.
Lenina reached towards him. ‘What did he do to you?’
‘None of your business.’
But as he said it, she knew.
She saw.