Chapter 35

Remy found the syringes he needed by accessing an area he had no permission to be in, but that didn't bother him. Ephie's health and well-being were at stake here. He would have done anything for her, legal, illegal, or otherwise.

It occurred to him he could have asked. As a sheriff's deputy, there was every chance they'd have given him anything he requested. But how long would that have taken? He was in no mood for paperwork or waiting on approval.

When he returned, Alice was sitting by Ephie's bedside with her hand on Ephie's arm. Jean-Luc was barely visible, his little body so still that he had to be sleeping. Alice's eyes were closed, and she was whispering in Latin.

It had been a few years since Remy'd had to use his knowledge of the language, but it sounded like a spell to him. He picked out enough words to know it was something for comfort and healing and a long future.

He approved. He stood by, patiently waiting.

Alice finished and opened her eyes. Her gaze went to his hands before meeting his eyes. "Did you get them?"

He pulled two large syringes out of his back pocket and showed them to her. "Good enough?"

"Those will do nicely." Alice glanced at the chart on the wall, which mostly read like gibberish to Remy due to the incomprehensible handwriting. "She's due for a visit from her doctor in the next half hour or so. After that, you'll have time to do what needs to be done."

For a moment, he worried Alice was leaving. "You're going to stay with me, aren't you? Please. In case … I'd just feel better if you were here."

Alice nodded, smiling softly. "Your love for her is a beautiful thing. Of course I will stay."

"Thank you." Remy wasn't sure how they were allowed to be here at all because visiting hours weren't twenty-four-seven. Someone with pull had intervened. For that he was eternally grateful.

They sat with her until the doctor came and went. Jean-Luc, still thankfully translucent, hissed at the man, then swatted at the ID card clipped to his white coat. None of which had any effect, as the doctor was apparently human with no secret ability to see ghosts.

The doctor was also quick and made very little small talk. For that, Remy was glad. His head was in no place for such things. He was fixated on what he was about to do. The path Ephelia was about to take.

Without her knowledge.

That part unsettled him. She ought to have some say in this.

The doctor left. Still, Remy sat, his mind filled with what-ifs.

"Something's bothering you."

He looked over at Alice. "What's that?"

"You're frowning. Your brow is furrowed. Something's bothering you."

He nodded, a feeling of bleakness coming over him. "What if Ephie doesn't want this? She never has before."

"You asked her?"

"Yes. Twelve years ago. I asked her to be my bride and to let me turn her so that she and I could spend eternity together." He looked at his hands. "Not only didn't she want that, she ran from me. That was the last I saw of her until this trip to New Orleans."

It had cost him so much.

"And yet she still wears the ring you gave her."

He raised his head. "Yes. How did you know that?"

"Educated guess. I saw it on her hand at the coven meeting. It's a very old ring. Not necessarily the style a woman of her age would wear unless it was sentimental." Alice smiled gently. "Also, it carries the scent of vampire."

He let out a quick, humorless laugh. "It was from my share of my grandfather's hoard, one of the many pieces of bounty he collected in his days of privateering. I thought it was a good sign that she still wore it, too."

"A sign that she still loves you. Never stopped, most likely," Alice said. "I understand that you'd prefer to talk this over with her, to include her in the decision, but if that were possible, this decision wouldn't be necessary."

He sighed, the weight of the decision heavy even in the face of Alice's logic. "That is true."

"This turning will not only save her life, it will give her a brand-new one. And just because you turn her, it doesn't mean she has to choose to be with you for the remainder of her days. She may not. You have to accept that as a possible outcome."

He was frowning again but couldn't stop himself. "I'm aware. Just like I'm aware that if she comes out of this and hates what I've done to her, she'll hate me for doing it."

And once again, he'd be the reason for his own broken heart.

Alice nodded solemnly. "That is another possibility. But not one I foresee."

Did she mean that she'd had an actual vision of the future? Or was she just projecting? He wasn't sure.

Alice stood. "Are you ready? Dawn will be here before you know it."

He wasn't ready, but putting it off another night or two would only mean prolonging Ephie's suffering. It might also mean she'd get worse and he'd lose the opportunity altogether. That was not an outcome he wanted to risk. He got to his feet and walked to her bedside.

He laid the syringes on the bed. "I've never drawn my own blood before. Or anyone's, for that matter. Not like this, anyway."

Alice held her hand out. "If you'll permit me."

He picked the syringes up and placed them in her palm, then pushed up his sleeve as he walked around to her. "What if we get interrupted?"

"We won't. For the next hour or so, this room will cease to exist."

"How is that— Oh. Thank you. Good idea."

"A small spell, nothing much." Alice removed the cap from the first syringe. "This won't hurt."

"Won't bother me if it does."

"I'm sure. But you needn't endure more than you already have."

As Alice sank the needle into his arm, he watched Ephie. At times, she looked peaceful. But now and then her expression changed, and she seemed to be distraught or in pain. He hurt then, too.

Jean-Luc twitched in his sleep, whiskers quivering, but he never woke.

After a few long minutes, Alice patted his arm. "All done. Would you like me to administer it?"

He knew why she was asking him that. She was offering him the option of not shouldering all the blame, should Ephie not approve of this decision. "No, I'll do it. No reason for her to hate you, too."

Alice gave him a quick smile. "Directly into the port on the IV."

"Okay. How long will it take to work?"

"I'm not sure. In her condition, it might be another twenty-four hours before she wakes up. Maybe longer." Alice shrugged. "It will take as long as it needs to."

"But it will work."

"It will."

He inserted the needle of the first syringe into the port and depressed the plunger, hoping that he was doing the right thing. Praying Ephie would understand. No, that she would do more than understand.

That she would welcome this new life. That she would still love him.

He administered both syringes before kissing Ephie's cheek. "Rest and heal. I love you."

Then he woke Jean-Luc. "Time to go, little man."

Alice walked with them on their way out of the hospital. She didn't say a word, which was fine with him.

In the parking lot, Alice said goodbye and went to her car. He stopped and stared back at the building, calculating where Ephie's room was and sending her every bit of positive energy and all the good thoughts he could muster.

All while praying he hadn't just made the biggest mistake of both their lives.