“Okay, we’ll review that again later. Does your gift work?”
“I’ll try.” I reached for it, moved a psychic hand through his mind just as effortlessly as always. “It works.” But that didn’t seem to relieve him. I used my thumb to brush away the crease between his brows. “You’re really worried.”
“If you’re a little human, that could mean a lot of things.”
He was right. I could be weaker now. I could age. I might not heal as quickly. None of those things were good. “You said I’m the only one to get through the entire transition alive. Does that mean others have been injected?”
He told me about the serum, the volunteers, and how each of them died.
Somehow I managed to speak through gritted teeth. “Who did this to me?”
“You know who it’s most likely to be.”
“Marco or one of his bunnies.”
Butch nodded. “All of them are being held in the containment cells. Soon—” A knock sounded at the door, and he sighed. “That’ll be Sam, Jared, and Lena to see you.” He got out of bed and pulled on a T-shirt and jeans. Then he grabbed another of his T-shirts. “Put this on, baby. I don’t want them seeing you naked.”
Slowly, I forced myself to sit upright, wincing at the spike of pain in my head. My stomach protested moving, but I managed not to balk. Butch helped me slip on the tee. “Thanks.”
He pulled the covers over my legs and tucked them around my waist before pressing a kiss to my temple. “Missed you.” He left the room before I could respond, returning moments later with Sam, Jared, Lena, and Antonio.
“Hey,” I greeted, tucking my hair behind my ear. I couldn’t help feeling a little self-conscious, knowing I had to look like utter crap.
The picture of concern, Antonio asked, “How are you feeling?”
Honestly… “Like a bag of shit.”
Jared’s lips twitched. “At least you’re back to your old self.”
“How long was I not myself?”
“Three nights.” Butch sat beside me and took my hand in his. “Three very long nights.”
“You worried the shit out of me, Imani,” Sam snapped. Like it was my fault. “I’ve spent all that time panicking that you wouldn’t live through it.”
“The question is,” said Antonio, “are you any different for living through it?”
“She still has her gift,” Butch told them. “She’s too queasy to consume anything, so we won’t know if she still craves blood until the nausea wears off.”
Sam studied me carefully. “Even without the amber irises, you still have a preternatural look about you. But it wouldn’t be obvious to our kind that you’re a vampire, even with the Keja pull.” She turned to Lena. “Do you think you’ll be able to read her DNA now?”
“I’d like to try.” Lena gingerly sat on the edge of the bed, her smile gentle. “The first time I came to see you, it was impossible for me to tell what was happening to you. Do you know how my gift works?”
I nodded. “You see DNA strands and can alter them.”
“Not DNA strands exactly. To me, the DNA looks like numbers and equations. As such, I can see what adds up, what doesn’t add up, a person’s weak points, and a person’s strong points.”
“That’s sort of awesome.”
Her smile widened. “It is, isn’t it?” She sobered as she continued. “I was unable to read your DNA on my last visit because the numbers were moving at a rapid rate; the equations were changing so swiftly, I didn’t even have time to calculate them. This meant I had no idea if the transition was working or failing. Now that the transition is over, I’d like to take another look. Would that be fine with you?”
“Sure.”
Lena gave me a winning smile. “Wonderful. Just be still for me.” She didn’t move or touch me; just looked at me, her gaze focused and intent, yet not meeting my eyes. Finally, she blinked and straightened. Jared handed her an NST, which she took gratefully.
My stomach churned at the smell, and I tasted bile in my throat. Butch gently rubbed my back until the nausea subsided. Thankfully, Lena drank the NST quickly and Jared took away the bottle.
“Tell us,” said Butch.
Lena cocked her head. “I must say, I’m still a little befuddled by your DNA, Imani.”
That wasn’t good news. “You can’t read it?”
“I can read some of it, but it is difficult. What I can tell you, Imani, is that your DNA is no longer in flux. Your body’s state is now frozen, just like that of a vampire.”
“So I won’t age?”
“No. You are once again immortal.”
Well, that was both good and bad. Aging would be a problem, since I intended to spend eternity with Butch. But if I was weaker than before and couldn’t regain that strength, that would be a major problem. I was a member of the legion. I couldn’t afford to be weak. “And the transition won’t reverse?”
She shook her head. “You will neither go back to what you were before nor alter any further.”