A Dance at Midnight

miles to go

-

"What did you say?" There wasn't much that surprised Senar these days, but this time, she could only gawk at Henry.

He had the gall to look away. "We have to kill her," he said. 

"We can't kill a donatora," she said. There was no way in hell that she was going to become like Adrian. Besides, if they killed the donatora, Master Dane was going to find out, and he was already suspicious of her. 

"If she wakes up, you're going to have to tell her that you're sick," Henry said. "If you don't tell her that you're sick, then she's going to think that she got rejected because her blood wasn't good enough, which Master Dane will definitely find out. There's no way out of this."

He moved toward the donatora. Senar snarled at him and inserted herself between them.

Henry's jaw tightened ever so slightly. "I'll kill her," he said. 

"We are not going to kill her," she said. She understood where Henry was coming from, and appreciated his earnestness to protect her secret, but she was not going to condemn anyone else in any way so long as she still lived.

They stared at each other, neither of them moving. Senar didn't want to hurt him, but if worse came to worst...

Moments passed. Henry searched her eyes and then, eventually, stepped back. "I'm sorry," he said. "Please, forgive me." 

"Nothing to forgive," she said, though she didn't move from her position. 

Henry did; he walked over to the French doors. "We can't leave her like this."

Senar clenched her hand, the one that caught the side of the donatora's pale, smooth face. She flexed her fingers and clenched it again. Her breathing matched.

In. Out. 

There's an unconscious donatora on the floor. Because of me. 

In. Out. 

I can't tell her. I shouldn't tell her. 

In...Out...

I'll find a way. I always do.

"I'm not going to put blood on our hands," she said. 

"We're vampires," Henry said quietly. "We already have blood on our hands." 

He was right: there was so much blood on her hands alone that she wondered how she hadn't drowned in it yet. But by virtue of being a vampire, they were always going to have blood on their hands; Senar only had to make sure that that blood was warranted. 

"We don't do anything," she said. Henry opened his mouth to protest, but she continued, "Just until everyone goes to sleep." 

"Okay," he said. He didn't look convinced. 

"You go back out there, keep an eye out on things," she said. "They expect me to be here anyway, so I'm going to stay." 

At the doorway, Henry stopped. He glanced back at her over his shoulder. It was dark out, and her night vision wasn't what it used to be, but Senar could make out the slope of his nose and the angle of his jaw.