Silence fell. The guards lay unconscious. Clémence slept in her cage.
Lucien knelt beside Élise. "You did it."
Then he coughed. Blood stained his lips. Élise saw the wound. A guard's blade in his side. Deep.
"You're dying," she whispered.
"Vampire poison," Lucien gasped. "I'll turn soon. Or die. Kill me. Like I asked my sister."
Élise touched his face. "There's another way."
She pressed her bleeding palm to his lips. "Drink."
He fought. "No. It will kill you."
"Do it," Élise ordered.
Lucien drank. Her blood flowed into him. His wound glowed. Closed. Color returned to his face.
Élise collapsed. Cold spread through her. Her vision darkened.