to stay long because you still need your rest and I’ve got to get ready for work anyway. You focus on getting better, okay? I’ll come and visit with you again first thing in the morning.”
I tried to sit up and hug him but a sharp pain in my chest and stomach stopped me cold as soon as I moved.
“You lie still now,” Trey tsked as he leaned over and hugged me. “You haven’t fully healed yet.”
I nodded my head as he stood up and gave him a tired smile. “Thank you for the flowers, honey. They’re beautiful. It was the first thing I smelled when I woke up.”
Trey’s face fell and he was silent for a long moment. “I wanted you to be surrounded by something beautiful when you woke up. Ever since you awoke as a vampire, you’ve had to deal with a whole lot of ugliness. I wanted you to have better this time.”
“Oh, Trey,” I whispered as tears fell anew. I was deeply touched by his thoughtfulness. “I don’t know what I did so right to deserve a friend like you, but I’m glad.”
“Me too,” Trey managed a small smile as he gently patted my ankle.
“Dinner is served,” Archer said as he entered the room carrying three bags of blood.
I watched Trey walk out and then turned to Archer with wide eyes. “I can’t drink bagged blood.”
“It’s fresh,” Archer smiled. “I just drew it from your three feeders. They’ve been here all afternoon. I wanted to make sure you had food in case you woke up.”
Archer sat down next to me and handed me the first bag. “Í think the citrate phosphate dextrose preservative solution that’s in most collection bags is what makes you ill after consumption. The citrate, when combined with blood calcium, acts as an anticoagulant. This blood here is additive free.”
I sucked on the tubing that was still connected to the bags and drank deeply. The blood had only cooled by a degree or so, but it was delicious just the same. I quickly polished off the three bags and felt stronger almost immediately.
I tried to sit up again and Archer gave me a hand. The pain in my stomach and chest were still intense and I lifted my nightgown to see that I was heavily bandaged. The gauze was tinted in two areas with my blood.
“Why haven’t I fully healed yet?” I lifted my eyes in confusion. “I don’t understand. I’m supposed to heal faster than any of you.”
Archer frowned as he looked at my bandages. “Amun’s cuts were inflicted by the Sword of Saint Patrick. It is not a mere sword, Skye. If you had not been half Day Walker, you would not be here right now. It’s a miracle you survived and I’ve thanked the good Lord every chance I’ve gotten.”
“If I’m healing, does that mean Amun is healing too?”
Archer nodded his head and explained what happened after I drove the sword through Amun’s chest.
“We thought you were dead. You stopped breathing and your heart stopped beating. Amun, on the other hand, had signs of life so Ruarc and his men withdrew the sword and carried his body to their van. They heavily chained him in silver and draped him with rosaries. Ruarc thought there was a chance you were still alive because Amun was, so he refused to kill him. Ruarc’s remaining men helped me carry you to the car before they gathered their fallen and left for the airport. Trey, Hagan and I brought you home and Trey cleaned you up while I called Jameson. I needed him to come heal you, even though I wasn’t sure if you were alive or not. Jameson immediately chartered a private jet from New Orleans and was here less than three hours after I called. As soon as he touched you, your heart started to beat. After he healed you the first time, your head wound was gone and you were breathing steadily again.”
“Jameson came?” I whispered in shock.
“Aye,” Archer nodded. “He is still here. He’s been healing you every 6 hours for the past five days.”
“Oh crap,” I cringed. “You took him away from his tour? Is he mad at me?”
“Yes I took him away from his tour,” Archer said, raising his voice a little. “What part of ‘we thought you were dead’ do you not understand? I’d trek through the nine circles of hell and fetch the devil himself if I knew there was any chance of saving you,