Vail squeezed Victoria’s hand when she shook her head, momentarily worried that she meant there was nothing that could be done. He had seen a few humans with congestion or a cough, but, having never witnessed anyone with a condition as severe as hers, he didn’t know what to do about it. The odor of illness hung thickly in the air now that he was closer to her, but he couldn’t yet detect the foreboding scent of death. It seemed she still had time, but his knowledge of human ailments was limited. He was unsure if there was even a cure for the disease that had taken over her frail body.

Her following words were as foreign to him as if she had begun to speak Chinese. Vaguely, he recalled reading something about the discoveries of sepsis and penicillin, but he hadn’t been interested enough at the time to commit the information to memory. Medicine was about as helpful to vampires as tunnels were to a bird. It was an impressive leap forward in the timeline of human achievements, but his kind was beyond the need for antibiotics. There had been no reason for him to study something he’d thought he would never use. Although now, he was starting to wish he’d paid closer attention to the news article.

“Of course,” he nodded when she asked for water. That was another discrepancy between their species. While vampires did consume food and water like humans, they needed far less to get by in conjunction with the blood they drank. Like many other predators in the animal kingdom, they fed infrequently and then rested to conserve their energy until they needed to hunt again. The occasional meals they ate in between just supplied some nutrients they couldn’t get by drinking blood alone. If Victoria hadn’t requested water, he wouldn’t have thought to bring her any, since it wasn’t a substance he needed to stay hydrated the same way her kind did.

Leaning down, Vail touched a swift kiss to her cheek and then stood up from the bed. “I’ll be right back,” he promised as he headed for the door. Before he left, he took a moment to breathe in the scents in the air, cautious in case his cousins were still loitering outside his bedroom. It seemed like everyone had dispersed while they had been sleeping though. Perhaps the smell of her sickness had discouraged them from trying to secure a bite. Relieved, he headed down to the kitchen to fill a glass of water for the Crest heiress from the tap. He didn’t return to his room right away though.

On his way back, he took a detour to his father’s study, where Peter was furiously writing a letter at his desk. From a distance, Vail couldn’t quite make out the name in the address line, and the clan leader noticed his presence before he could get closer. He turned around in his chair, knitting his brows bemusedly. “How is Lady Crest?” he asked, straight to the point as always.

“Worse,” a hint of concern seeped into Vail’s visage. “She woke up with a fever and her neck looks infected. She thinks she might have sepis.”

“[i]Sepsis[/i],” Peter corrected, drumming his fingers against his thigh. Having obtained a formal education in the field of medicine, he knew about the condition as well as the treatment. However, he wasn’t a certified doctor, so he didn’t have access to the antibiotics Victoria needed. If she was as ill as she believed, her case was beyond him now.

“She needs a human doctor,” Vail insisted, echoing Peter’s thoughts. “Do you know anyone in the city who would be willing to see her? Perhaps someone who has treated the servants?” Unlike other families, they didn’t have their own doctor for obvious reasons, but he knew his father had connections through his continued education. He just hoped the clan leader wouldn’t choose to let her succumb to the disease.

Peter pursed his lips for a drawn out moment before he rose to his feet. “I know one man who might help,” he admitted, pulling his coat over his shoulders. “I’ll go to his house to find out if he’s at home.”

“Thank you,” Vail felt the tension ebb from his shoulders.

Peter said nothing in response as he exited the room. The younger Hygrace took a step after him and then paused, his eyes flitting back to the letter on his father’s desk. Too curious to leave without taking a closer look, he sidled over to the abandoned parchment only to find that it was addressed to Alexander’s widow. It seemed that Peter had been writing to explain to her that they had not kidnapped Victoria but were holding her until she was well enough to return home. He had also added that Diana could visit the Hygrace manor if she desired to see evidence that her daughter was still alive, since he understood that she must have been worried about her safety. It was both formal and sympathetic in nature, an obvious effort to make peace with the Crest family after Vail had run off with the heiress in the night. 

When he finished skimming the contents of the letter, he turned and walked the rest of the way back to his room to bring Victoria the glass of water and make sure she was still faring all right.

Meanwhile, all was not as quiet among the other Hygraces as Vail had thought. Most of his cousins had given up on drinking the Lady’s blood after Peter had warned them away, but Caleb was stubborn. Throughout the day, he had passed by the heir’s bedroom a few times, checking the scents through the door in the hopes of catching her alone. When Vail left to fill her request, he saw his chance.

Performing a quick sweep of the hallway to make sure no one else was around—he didn’t want to share her with his siblings—Caleb slipped into the room and closed the door quietly behind him. His feral eyes locked onto Victoria, and he advanced silently toward the bed. Like the others, he could smell the illness inside of her, but the unique aroma of her blood was too enticing to ignore. He licked his lip hungrily and leaned over her when he was close enough. The aged mattress creaked as he pressed one hand next to her head. If she’d been sleeping or otherwise had her eyes closed, she would know he was there now.

A victorious grin spread over his features, and he lifted one finger to his lips, instructing her to be quiet with a breathy ‘[i]shh[/i]’ just before he pressed his hand down over her mouth.