Pia Does Hollywood (Elder Races, #8.6)

Curious about which Djinn Tatiana would call to bargain with, he watched as a tornado of Power whirled into the yard and coalesced into a tall, feminine form. The Djinn had vaguely familiar, regal features, white skin, bloodred hair that fell past her shoulders, and the signature starlike Djinn eyes.

After the Light Fae Queen and the Djinn had a brief, private conversation in silence, the woman whirled away to return a few moments later with Grym and Dr. Medina. Both of them looked around as they got their bearings and stared at Dragos, chained to the Hummers. They converged upon Pia. Eva joined them, and the four Wyr engaged in an intense, silent conversation, glancing in Dragos’s direction often.

He composed himself to patience by closing his eyes and pretending to lie in wait in the warm sunshine during a hunt. He could wait for hours or even days for the right moment to strike at a particular prey, and had done so before, many times.

He was perfectly aware when Grym and Medina approached, but even so, Medina cleared her throat when they drew near. As he opened his eyes again, they both sucked in a breath. Medina looked frightened, while Grym looked … well, grim.

“We need to collect vials of your blood,” Medina told him. She carried two bags, a medical bag and another white one with a biohazard sign on the side, which she set on the ground in front of her. “None of the Light Fae want to come close enough to do it.”

“Bastards,” he said without heat. His bandaged arm itched, and he rubbed at it.

Wait. His attention snapped to high alert.

His bandaged arm itched. It had gone numb before.

He wore off the bandage to stare at the wound. The dark streaks were still present, and so was the bite mark itself, but … he compared the dark streaks to the size of the bandage.

The streaks were smaller. They were definitely smaller.

He raised his voice. “Pia!”

From the verandah, her head snapped up and she bounded toward him, moving across the lawn like a bright shooting star, with Eva in fast pursuit.

Pia skidded to a halt beside the others, followed a scant moment later by Eva. Pia’s gaze had gone wide with dread. “What happened?”

“My arm itched,” he told her. “Look—the wound is still there, but the streaks have shrunk.”

Fierce joy flashed across her face, and eagerly she reached out to hug him.

Eva grabbed Pia’s arm, and he jerked back. He said, “No, not yet. The punctures haven’t closed over. It’s still an open wound.”

“Sorry,” Pia muttered, looking crestfallen. “I forgot again.”

“Hold still,” Dr. Medina told him, as she opened up the medical bag at her feet, snapped on a pair of surgical gloves and prepared a needle along with several empty vials. She drew six vials of blood, stacking them carefully in the biohazard bag. “Okay, we’re done.”

“Don’t let those vials out of your sight,” he told Medina and Grym. They both nodded and hurried back toward the waiting Light Fae.

As he started to smooth the bandage back into place, Pia told him, “Keep that arm out. We’re not quite done. Another hour’s gone by, or near enough to it that it doesn’t matter.”

He watched her dig out the pocketknife, glance around and nick her finger quickly. He muttered, “You’re getting a little too blasé about doing that while we’re under such high scrutiny.”

“Not blasé,” she whispered. “I’ve made my choice about the risk, and now it’s time to live with it.”

In some ways, she could be as ruthless as any predator. Eva shadowed her actions, keeping a wary eye on the others as Pia let a few drops of her blood fall on the bite mark. As they waited, nothing appeared to happen.

Finally, Pia whispered, “We just don’t know if it’s working or not. It could be working very slowly, or you might be fighting off the contagion all on your own.”

He smoothed the bandage back into place. “Let’s agree on something right now. As long as I’m doing better, you’re going to take the protocol this evening.”

She scowled at him. “Dragos, we don’t know why you’re doing better. What if you appear to be healing, but you’re not, and you get worse again? If I take that injection, my system will be suppressed for another two weeks. There’s no way around that. Meanwhile, you could worsen and turn, and there wouldn’t be a damn thing I could do to stop it.”

She was right, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. Frowning fiercely, he snapped, “Pia, we’re going to have to take some steps on our best information at the time.”

“I know we are!” She hunched her shoulders. “I’m just not ready to roll those dice yet. Anyway, it’s not yet evening—”

“What on earth are you two arguing about?” Tatiana asked.

Dragos’s head came up. Pia snapped the knife shut and jammed it into the pocket of her dress, while chagrin flared on Eva’s face as she whipped around. The three of them had been so engrossed in what they were doing, they forgot to watch for anyone approaching.