Page 123 of Blood Mosaic

“Your amnis is new and developing,” he continued. “Your body is burning through what is left of its human energy stores and food will no longer sustain you, though you will need to eat light meals so your stomach does not ache.”

Tatyana reached for the second carafe and opened it; this time her hands didn’t tremble. She was still kneeling on the floor, and Oleg walked over and grabbed a cushion from an armchair, setting it next to her.

“Relax. You’ll process what you’re drinking better if you relax.”

Silently, she sat on the cushion, pulling the sheet around her body and crossing her legs as she started to drink the second carafe of blood. It was hotter than the first and tasted better.

“You will drink two liters of blood when you wake in the evening. You will need to pace yourself.” He continued speaking as he sat back on the sofa. “Another liter halfway through the night or whenever you feel a craving again. Another two liters before you go to rest at dawn.”

She took it all in, his calm recitation that almost sounded like a doctor prescribing a course of treatment.

“You should not be around humans for several months. At least. All the human staff of this house have been sent away. Only vampires I trust are on the property.”

She looked at him, her eyes darting around the room, but she didn’t stop drinking.

“You’re at an old home of mine.” Oleg answered her unspoken question. “It’s some distance outside Sochi, in the middle of a forest. There are no houses around for five kilometers at least. That should be enough of a buffer to keep you contained.”

Five kilometers in every direction? Not even a hound could smell blood from that distance.

Oleg leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I am assuming that this was not done as a willing choice.”

She pulled the carafe from her lips and wiped her bloody mouth with the back of her hand. “Do you think I would ever want this?” Her voice was hoarse, nearly unrecognizable to her own ears.

Oleg silently handed her a linen kerchief from his pocket. “Ever? Perhaps. But not as it was done. It should never be done in anger.”

“Didyouchoose to become a vampire?”

“No.” Oleg shook his head. “But my sire never asked permission for such things. When I woke, I was enraged. And I was a fire vampire, so I killed a half dozen of my brothers on waking.”

“Was your sire angry?” A thread of something feral and sad and angry shot through her.

“No, he didn’t care about their loss. He was thrilled,” Oleg said. “He’d never sired a fire vampire before. He was pleased because I was dangerous.”

Was Tatyana enraged?

No. She didn’t know how she felt.

“You’re staring.” She looked at the floor. “Do I look so different now?”

“You look the same. Your eye color didn’t change.”

“Should it?”

“It’s not a rule. It only happens sometimes. I’m glad yours remained the same.”

So did Tatyana. She didn’t want a stranger’s eyes looking at her from the mirror.

She wiped her mouth, did what she could to clean up the blood that had dripped down her neck and onto her breasts, but there was too much. She was going to need a shower. “I didn’t want any of this, but…”

Oleg waited.

Tatyana met his steady gaze. “I didn’t want to die either.”

“Good.” Oleg’s voice was low and steady. “You’re wise for your age. I could see that the moment I met you. You’re a survivor. You will survive this. And if it is up to me, you will thrive.”

She took another long drink from the carafe, then rested it on the pillow she was sitting on, but she didn’t let go of it.

She was confused and angry, but she could think again. Her throat wasn’t on fire. “Why am I here?”

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