“Guys, hurry the fuck up,” Gray’s voice sounded strained in my ears and his mic picked up a whistling wind. “I can’t keep them off you much longer.”
“Got it. We’re at the target,” Malcolm responded.
“Hurry,” Gray repeated, grunting as he strained to do something.
I tuned him out, because the outside world didn’t matter just yet. Not until I got to do this one final thing.
My stomach churned with fear, pity, and the tiniest flecks of hope as I looked over at my brother, the ravenous magical mistake eating away at his mind.
Callum squeezed my hand and gave me a nod, indicating that he would take things from here. He and two of the others grabbed Matthew’s arms and held him still. Callum even put a hand on Matthew’s cheek, restraining him so that I could step forward.
I dug into my pocket, disbelief coating my mind, making it hazy. It was hard to believe that I’d gotten to this moment.
“Matthew,” I called softly, as my brother fought futilely against the vampires who pinned him to the wall. “It’s me. I’m here to help you. You’re going to be okay.” A tear tracked down my cheek, warm and wet. I pulled out the tiny vial and unscrewed the lid, looking at Callum once for confirmation that he had a tight hold. Then I stepped forward. I pressed my hand against my chest wound, gathering up a bit of blood, tempting Matthew into opening his mouth.
He snarled and tried to get to me.
I dumped the green magical liquid into his mouth.
“What the hell was that?” Callum released Matthew and shoved me across the room at vampire speed. My back slammed into the wall and I saw stars. To our right, from the visitor’s viewing area, my guys started to yell and Callum’s vamps unsheathed their claws.
“What?” I asked, trying to blink away the pain. “The vampire serum?”
“That wasn’t serum,” Callum growled. “Serum is red.”
My eyes widened and I shook my head. “No. This is what we got from the vault.” I held up the tiny vial, half a drop of green still stuck at the bottom. “This is what we got from the Pinnacle—”
Callum snatched the vial out of my hand and lifted it to his nose. “This smells like goddamned Calm!” He turned to look at Matthew, who wasn’t fighting against the others, just crouching in their hold, a glazed look in his eyes.
Dread deeper than any I’d ever felt before filled me. I snatched the vial back from Callum and poured the single droplet onto my finger. I licked it.
Horror rocked me from my head to my toes. It was Calm in that vial.
All this time, I’d thought I’d had a cure for Matthew. All this time, everything I’d done … my jaw went slack and I turned to stare at my guys.
Everything they’d done … Everything they’d sacrificed … it was for nothing.
I didn’t have the cure for my brother.
I’d failed.
I felt hollow. Like some great bronze statue that had nothing but air inside. Nothing but stale air.
For a moment, I regretted that Claude and Muller hadn’t killed me.
Malcolm took a step forward, his blue eyes calculating in the dim room. “Your stepfather was there. He was in the vault. He must have switched the vial out.”
Yes. Yes. That made sense. My brain latched onto that theory and tried to pry my body out of its numb state of shock. Claude would have had plenty of Calm on him at any given time, to supply my addicted mother. It would have been an easy swap to make.
That meant the serum still existed.
Wait, I know it exists. Idiot! I scolded myself as I turned a pleading look to Callum. “I know you have serum. I’ll find the one Claude took. I’ll replace it. I swear to you, I won’t make you give up your share of the serum. I’ll replicate it. Please. Please. Just anything. I’ll do anything.” My eyes flickered desperately back to Matthew, who looked more and more human as the Calm took effect. His claws were half as long as they’d been. His fangs just barely overlapped his lips. What would he look like if he was fully in control of himself again?
Hope and desperation urged me to throw myself at Callum’s feet.
The blond vampire shook his head as he stared at me. “I don’t have any serum.”
Blood red rage made me blind for a second. “But—” He just fucking changed that Asian woman! Liar! Betrayer!
“I don’t have serum,” Callum held up a hand. “I can change your brother another way. But I don’t know if you’ll like it.”
“Anything. Please.” My eyes clutched at his and my gaze begged.
Callum nodded. “Fine. But you go stand with them. And watch my back. The Pinheads are getting closer.”
As if Callum’s words had summoned him, Gray’s voice sounded in my earpiece. “The vampire woman’s scared them off so far, but the police are trying to set up a perimeter. You really need to get the hell out of there.”
“Roger that,” Evan said dully, touching his ear, but his eyes, like the rest of ours, were glued to Callum.
Evan’s hand found mine and squeezed.
I couldn’t control my trembling as Callum made his way back over to Matthew. For some unknown reason, when Callum approached, Matthews growls grew quieter and his eyes grew wide. He froze, almost like a rabbit who tries to hide from a predator, hoping that the lack of motion would make the hunter move on to other prey.
But Callum didn’t move on.
Goosebumps rose on my arms as I watched the tall blond man bend down and caress my brother’s cheek, like he was petting him.
Fuck.
Had I made the wrong choice?
What was he about to do?
Both my hands squeezed Evan’s as hard as I possibly could. Tiny rays of light escaped my palms, evidence of my anxiety.
Callum reached down and let his fangs extend. Then he gently bit into his own wrist. As soon as the blood started to flow, slavering Matthew was back, all effects of Calm receded. Callum’s vamps released their hold on Matthew and my brother’s claws grew back to full size. His fangs latched onto Callum’s arm and he wrenched the man down toward him.
Callum’s head knocked into the wall as Matthew yanked on him, but the sane vampire didn’t retaliate against my brother, my step forward to protect Matthew was unnecessary.
The British vamp was gentle with my brother, lowering his wrist so that Matthew could more easily lap up the blood. He flinched when Matthew’s fangs lifted and pierced his arm in a second spot, but he still stood there, letting my brother take in his changed blood.
His cured blood.
Malcolm and I exchanged a look as we both realized what was happening at the same moment.
The cure could be shared via blood.
Vampires could still be cured.
Fuck, I didn’t think my heart had ever beat so quickly.
Not in the vault, not the fight to get to this room. No moment had ever felt as precarious as this one. Maybe because only my life had been at stake. But now … it was his.
And not just Matthew’s—I realized every vampire’s sane existence hinged on Callum.
The pale vampire’s eyes met mine as my brother’s wild noises slowed. His deep gaze seemed to drag me in, and I took a step forward without meaning to—luckily, Andros’ thick hand clasped my forearm and pulled me into him so that I didn’t cross the room while my brother was unrestrained.