“Really, really big deer,” Liz says.
Vektal makes a few cuts, the sound wet and overloud in the quiet evening. He pulls out a giant organ that must be the heart, still pulsing. It’s glowing from within, the light dappled and shining a pale blue. With one slit, he opens it, and the light spills out.
There are dozens of thin, wriggling gossamer worms in there.
Worms.
Oh God.
One of the warriors approaches Vektal, and he hands off the heart before gently pulling one of the glowing filaments from it.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Kira says faintly.
I think I am, too. But I force myself to remain in place as Vektal reverently frees the long, coiling strand of light and comes toward me with it cupped in his big hands. It’s wriggling and writhing against his palms. “They cannot live long out in the cold,” he tells me. “We must make an incision in your neck and give the khui a safe place to reside.”
His eyes are speaking volumes. In this, I must be a leader. In this, I must trust him.
I swallow hard, looking at that long, wormlike glowing thing. “What . . . what if it goes to my brain?”
“Like that’s any better than your heart?” Liz sputters.
“The khui is the essence of life,” Vektal tells me, even as he cups the snakelike thing in his hands. His gaze is on my face, and there is a mixture of emotions there. If I turn away now, I’m turning away everything he and his people are offering. I’m turning away a life here and love, all for the potential of a Hail Mary rescue.
“In the neck, huh?” I say, my voice faint. “Will it hurt?”
“I do not know.” Vektal approaches me, and I can hear the thing in his hands flicking and making a purring sort of sound.
“Fair enough,” I say. The thing is pressing against his hands, looking for a way to burrow into his skin. I feel faint at the thought of voluntarily letting it inside me . . . but what choice do I have?
I made my choice. I chose Vektal . . . and our child, who might even now be inside my womb.
“Do I need to make the cut?” I ask him. “Or will you?”
“I can,” he says and offers his cupped hands to me.
I take the khui with a small grimace. It feels like a sticky strand of spaghetti, impossibly warm despite the cold, wintry wind blowing around us. The light flickers faintly as it’s transferred to my hands, and I experience a moment of worry. What if khui can’t bond with humans? But Vektal has pulled out a new, clean blade, and his hand has gone to the back of my neck, cupping it.
And then there’s really no going back.
“Are you really going to do this, Georgie?” Kira asks, sounding ill.
“I really am.” I look into Vektal’s glowing eyes as he leans in. He presses a kiss to my forehead, and I’m struck again at how wonderful he is. “I love you,” I say softly.
“You are my heart, Georgie,” he murmurs. I feel the cool press of the knife against my throat for a quick moment and then a sting as he nicks me near my collar bone. Not deep, but enough that the blood crusts up and freezes against my skin.
Vektal takes the khui from my hands and lifts it, and as I see his hand with that weird, glowing filament approach my bared neck, I think No, no, wait, I changed my mind.
But it doesn’t matter.
The moment the khui touches my skin, it begins to burrow, seeking warmth. I suck in a horrified breath as I feel it push through my body. It’s like ice water moving through my veins, and I can feel the thing climbing toward my heart and oh shit.
Oh shit.
Everything’s going dark.
Vektal’s face is blurring in front of mine.
This is a mistake, isn’t it?
But then there’s warmth.
So much warmth.
And humming…
And then darkness.
? ? ?
My eyes snap open at some point later. It’s curious because I can feel the wind blowing and snow falling around me, but I’m not cold anymore. Warm fingers brush over my cheek, and I look into Vektal’s handsome face. I feel a little stiff and achy overall, but I don’t feel as weak as I was before. I lick my lips. “How’d it go?”
“Your eyes are a lovely shade of blue,” he tells me, voice warm with happiness.
“Oh?” I sit up with his help and look around. Not much time has passed, I think, since I took in the khui. There’s thunder in the distance, and the skies are black with night. I blink and look around. I feel . . . the same. There’s no weirdness. No oh-my-God-there’s-a-tapeworm-in-me feeling. Everything is quiet.