Page 53 of Midwinter Night's Prince

"And like a good girl, you decided to do his bidding?"

Blair closed the book, abandoning her effort to concentrate. "Hell, no. I thought he'd smoked too much nightherb, which he probably had. It was only after a couple of years that I wondered if he was right. I was helping out a freshman girl who cried because she couldn't get some translations during the finals, and it felt right."

So many pieces for one little human. Seth neatly added the newest to his picture of Blair. She was a nurturer.

"Okay," Alexius said, walking back in with slides and a microscope. "I only took a few drops, so I can show you what I have so far." He glanced to Seth. "If you'd like privacy—"

Blair shrugged her shoulders. "It's fine, he can stay. He's the reason behind this anyway."

Alexius set his equipment up and encouraged Blair to take a look, patiently explaining what he'd told him the previous night. Seth didn't fail to note that Blair wasn't called an idiot when she failed to come to a conclusion.

"From what I see, your cells self-regenerate, just like most vampires, or Enlightened, for that matter. You're immortal—not eternal, of course. It's still possible to kill you, by severing or burning vital organs, for example."

Blair was completely speechless.

"Don't pop the champagne just yet. I did notice that the healing rate was slowing down. At first, I wondered if it had to do with the foreign element I added to the blood, but the decline seemed gradual…"

"So, her condition is temporary." Seth swallowed the heavy disappointment.

Alexius shook his head. "Blair's genetic makeup has been changed forever, from what I can see. It's not entirely alarming. If I took some of my blood right now, you'd see the same phenomenon, though it'd take days for the rate to slow down noticeably. Could you guess why?"

Alexius was too much of a teacher, expecting answers from his pupils. Seth shrugged. His understanding of bodily functions was sorely lacking. Perhaps he should take a course or two eventually. He hated feeling stupid, and Alexius enjoyed making him feel that way far too much.

"Blood," Blair guessed. "You need to feed, otherwise your strength declines—as does your healing rate."

"Correct."

She grimaced. "So, what, I'm a vampire now?" She brought both thumbs to her mouth and pressed against her blunt canines. "I don't feel like one."

"You're not a vampire." Seth rolled his eyes.

That didn't explain what she was though.

"Yes, I already tried. Adding blood doesn't get any form of reaction. You still need to feed onsomething." He pulled his phone and showed her the video Seth had seen the previous evening. "That's how fast your cells regenerated last night." He changed the slides on the microscope. "That's how fast it's happening now."

Seth let Blair take her time before checking the slide himself. Alexius added another drop of poison, and Seth watched it disappear much slower than it had.

He didn't like it one bit.

"It's hardly surprising. You used a lot of strength to heal from that wound."

"She ate this morning," Seth put in. "So human food doesn't do the trick."

"It'll feed her body, not her preternatural energy." He turned to Blair. "You'll need to pay attention to what your body demands in the next few days."

"Oh my god," Blair whispered. "I'm going to be sick."

Seth rushed to her side, holding on to her as she seemed unsteady and pale. He escorted her to the closest seat.

"You're all right?"

She swallowed, nodding weakly. Helpless, Seth looked up to Alexius, who was staring at her.

"What's going on?" he asked, only met by stunned silence. "Alexius?"

"Blair knows what she needs. Apparently, it's a source of shock to her."

"I don't…know. it just stands to reason." She wet her dry lips. "You guys drink blood because Ariadne was infected by Dionysus's proclivities. We know some Enlightened feed on it. In any story I can think of, it's not blood Aphrodite feeds on."

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