Although the chaise lounge wasn’t as comfortable as his bed, Vail slept soundly in the hours between his conversation with Victoria and her awakening in the late afternoon. He had a few fleeting dreams throughout his slumber, but none were vivid enough to remember, so it felt like he hadn’t had any when he was roused by the sound of her cough. He sat up with a yawn, blinking blearily against the light that poured in through his bedroom windows. It was earlier than he normally woke, so he was slightly disoriented until he remembered what had happened the night before and who was in the room with him.

With the memory came the abrupt realization that the cough that had drawn him back to consciousness had come from Victoria. Suddenly feeling much more awake, he got up from the cushioned furniture to check on her, concerned about her condition. He didn’t even have to look at her face to know that she’d become ill. The malodor of sickness permeated the air around them. It was a smell that was both familiar and foreign to his kind, since they were immune to human ailments but sometimes used the scent to distinguish inadequate prey. Sick humans had a higher white blood cell count, which meant less iron and vital nutrients for the predators who fed on them. Even though they were easier targets because of their waning energy, vampires often ignored them in favor of healthier victims whose blood was more satisfying to drink.

Of course, none of that mattered now, since Vail had no intention of feeding on the woman in his bed. He reclined on the edge of the mattress, examining her pale face with a frown. As one who had never been unwell in all his long life, he couldn’t tell how serious her affliction was nor knew how he could help her feel better. He wasn’t sure if his father would know how to approach the situation either, since the Hygraces had always treated other vampires. As far as he knew, the subject of diseases was unknown to all of them.

Looking at her in this condition, with her feverish skin and inflamed wound, it struck Vail just how fragile humans really were. He had already understood their mortality to some degree, but this was the first time he had been invested enough in a human’s wellbeing to realize how easily their lives could be stolen away from them. Last night, he had been determined to get her medical attention because it was what he’d thought she needed to recover. Today, it looked like the work Peter had put in hadn’t done much to help her at all. He felt a flutter of worry in his stomach, unsure what the unexpected dip in her recuperation would mean. He was aware that he wouldn’t be able to hold onto her forever, since she would only live for a fraction of his natural lifetime, but he was afraid of having their time together cut even shorter.

A distressed expression painted his features as the Hygrace heir located her hand beneath the blankets. Her fingers felt clammy from the sickness. A mortal man might have kept his distance to avoid the contagion, but being what he was, he ran no risk of catching the disease that plagued her. “Victoria, is there anything I can do to help you?” he asked, brushing her hair away from her forehead with his free hand. He didn’t want to leave her alone while his cousins were stalking her like a pack of wolves, but if she was in danger, he was willing to get whatever she needed. “I can even fetch my father if you think he would be able to do more than I can.”