Everafter Series 1 - Everafter by Nell Stark, Trinity Tam

that point, you will need to feed much more frequently than you do now. Six pints a week, at minimum.”
    I was shell-shocked. My blood was being…replaced? By that thing? I tightened my hold on Alexa as this afternoon’s panic returned full force. “I’m dying,” I whispered. Alexa reached back to curl one arm around my waist and hook her thumb into a belt loop, trying to get even closer than she already was. She was shaking again.
    Helen shrugged delicately. “Not exactly. The process is an echo of both death and resurrection. At a certain point, you will fall into a coma for several days while the parasite undergoes its final metamorphosis. Upon waking from the coma, you will be thirstier than you have ever been. Many of us have also noticed psychological changes. Increased aggressiveness. Less remorse over the feeding process.” She cocked her head slightly, watching as Darren’s strong jaws splintered the bones of the rabbit as he sought out every bit of meat on the body. “Those of us who are religiously inclined have argued that when the parasite claims your bloodstream, you lose your soul. But such a thing cannot be proven.”
    Alexa’s breaths were quick and shallow. Was she hyperventilating? I was making a concerted effort not to succumb to the terror that was threatening to swallow me whole—to keep my brain focused and sharp in order to understand everything. So long as I regarded this as a medical conundrum and not as my personal problem, I would be able to keep the fear at bay.
    One thing in particular wasn’t adding up. “Why drink blood at all beforehand, then, if it does no good—if the parasite is only going to supplant my own supply anyway?”
    “The thirst is an automatic impulse,” Helen explained. “In a sense, the parasite is preparing you for when you have no blood left to give it. You can abstain, but the craving will only grow stronger and stronger, until the urge trumps your will to resist.” She glanced wryly at Alexa. “I’m sure that you think it very cruel of me to tell Valentine to leave you, but it was the only way to ensure your safety. She would have hurt you, eventually.”
    Alexa’s trembling stopped as though someone had thrown a switch, and she stepped out of the protective circle of my arms, leaning toward Helen. “You’re wrong. She would never—”
    “Yes, I would have,” I interrupted quietly, arms hanging limply at my sides. “I had already dreamt about it.”
    When she looked back to meet my gaze, her shoulders slumped. I could see her flashing back to the first night we had spent in our apartment after the accident. To my nightmare. “Don’t you see?” I whispered, my heart breaking all over again. “I can’t be with you. Not if I’m going to hurt you.”
    “Bullshit,” Alexa breathed. And then, louder, “Bullshit! This is ridiculous, Val. We’re in love. We’re supposed to work together when things get hard. You walking away solves nothing. There has to be a way to fix this—or at the very least, something that I can do.” She turned back to Helen. “Show me how to help her. Please.”
    Helen flashed her teeth. “You may be the only one who can.”
    “How?” Alexa sounded as fed up with Helen’s cryptic, roundabout way of telling a story as I was.
    “There is a slight chance that you may be able to keep Valentine’s parasite in check, by offering it another source.”
    “What?” My voice cracked under the stress as I realized what she was suggesting. “No!” I was absolutely not going to risk Alexa’s life by taking her blood. Especially since I wanted to drink from her more than almost anything. I would destroy her. I knew it.
    Alexa was frowning. “I don’t understand. You just said that Val drinking from other people doesn’t stop the parasite from multiplying. What would make it turn to my blood when it’s already feeding from hers?”
    “It doesn’t fucking matter,” I said loudly, even though I couldn’t help but be