Chapter 4

Adara woke with the girl pressed tightly against her. The unnatural warmth had faded during the night, and now she was almost cool to the touch, and showed no sign of waking. She nudged her. "Time to wake up, Rhi."

"Mmm?" Rhishandri blinked heavy lidded eyes and shivered. "Already?" Her eyes closed, and she cuddled back up against Adara's warmth.

"Yup," Adara nodded, then watched as the girl suddenly stiffened, then froze, going very very still like a snake about to strike. "Are you hungry?" she asked softly.

Rhishandri looked up, slowly, and the gold flecks swimming in her eyes were glowing. She licked her lips and inhaled deeply, her eyes going unfocused. "Rhi?" Adara asked, feeling as if the girl weren't entirely there to answer.

She shivered, leaning in closer. "Cold," she whispered, and her lips remained parted, little fangs gleaming in the dim light.

Adara stroked her cheek, moving slowly and carefully. "I'll build the fire up," she said, then slid cautiously out of the bed. Rhishandri rolled over onto her hands and knees and crawled across the bed gracefully, following her, but stopped at the edge of the bed, head straining outwards. She looked decidedly inhuman.

"Come back," she said.

Adara knelt in front of the fire, opening the grate to add another log. "Hmm?"

"Come back," the girl repeated.

"Do you need something?" Adara asked, with a hint of a smile, and Rhishandri nodded slowly. "What?"

Rhi whimpered, and it turned into a low growl. "Tell me what you want," Adara said.

The girl shivered, closing her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, the gold had completely overwhelmed the green. "Warmth," she breathed.

Adara stared into her glowing gold eyes for a few seconds, then said, "Let me get the fire going good."

Rhi started to whimper again, then jumped at a sudden knock on the door.

Stiffening, Adara called, "Who is it?"

"The maid, miss, with your wash-water and breakfast."

The girl's eyes were fixed hungrily on the door. Adara frowned. "Can you give us a few minutes, please?"

"Ah ... yes'm, I guess."

Rhishandri flowed from the bed, gliding towards the door, licking her lips, and Adara moved to intercept her. She snarled, rising up to her knees, and Adara put her hands on her shoulders, holding her in place. "Calm down. Stay in control. Let's get back in the bed," she said quietly.

With a longing look at the door, Rhi let herself be led back to the bed. Adara lay down beside her, holding out an arm invitingly. "Here. Come get warm."

The girl trembled violently and started to reach for Adara. Then she snatched her hands back, and a bit of green seeped back into the glowing gold eyes. "Don't," she said, between clenched teeth. "Get back, go out."

"What's wrong?"

Rhi shivered again, moaning. "I want ... I need ... I don't want to hurt you!"

"What do you need?"

She moaned again, closing her eyes. "Heat. Life." Her whole body was tense with the effort to remain still, as she whispered, "Blood."

"How much blood?" Adara asked calmly.

"I don't know!" she snapped, then whispered pitifully, "so cold..."

Adara smiled. "Don't kill me, and don't weaken me too much, okay?"

"I ... please, I can't! I'm afraid. Don't let me!"

Adara took Rhi's cold cheeks gently between her hands and bent, giving her a soft kiss. "It's okay," she said, and drew the girl's head down to her throat.

Rhi groaned, her body shuddering spasmodically. She opened her mouth against Adara's throat, nuzzling into the pulse, still fighting herself.

"Go on," Adara said, stroking her hair.

Rhishandri gave a little scream against her throat, then wrapped her arms around Adara's head, pulling her close as the little fangs pierced the skin, sharp and cold. At the taste of the blood, she seemed to lose all control, and plastered herself to the woman's body, fangs digging deeply. Adara winced just a bit, then closed her eyes and began devoting her energy reserves to healing herself as the girl fed.

She took a massive amount of blood; a normal human would have been dead well before she finished. A couple of times, she seemed to be trying to pull back, to stop herself, but she couldn't manage it. Her body slowly warmed as she drank. After about ten minutes, she was still feeding hungrily and shivering. Another ten minutes, and her body was up to normal temperature and her hungry suckling gradually slowed until, at last, she was just licking at the wound as the flow of blood decreased to a trickle.

Adara lay still with her eyes closed as she burned the necessary energy to heal the blood loss and start on the wound. The girl was soft and warm against her, relaxed, almost limp. She nuzzled the wound one last time, then drew back as Adara opened her eyes and looked down at her.

Rhi's eyes were sleepy and content, back to their normal gold-flecked green and no longer glowing. She licked her lips, then looked up at Adara in sudden alarm. She fully expected to find her dead, and that expectation was clearly written on her horror stricken face.

Adara smiled at her, then cupped her head and pulled it up for a slow, tender kiss. "See? I'm fine."

The girl stared up at her, her eyes wide and astonished, as startled by the kiss as by Adara's survival. She touched the still torn but no longer bleeding flesh at Adara's throat hesitantly, softly, her eyes guilty. "How? I couldn't stop ... I ... I was sure-- How are you alive?"

"Well," Adara said with a grin, "for one, I'm not totally human, and for another, I can heal myself."

Rhishandri sighed in relief. "Thank the gods for that. I ... I'm so sorry. Gods, I didn't mean to ... I tried, but I couldn't stop!"

She put a finger on the girl's lips to quiet her, and smiled. "That's why I offered. It's okay," she said, stroking a bit of hair back from Rhi's face.

She rubbed her cheek against Adara's hand for a moment, not even realizing she was doing so, then her eyes widened. "That girl, the maid ... I would have killed her, wouldn't I?" she asked.

"Probably. That's why I told her to wait."

The girl was horrified. She swallowed hard. "Oh gods. Thank you for stopping me."

Adara shrugged, a slight grin on her face. "I've been there. Don't worry about it. Are you ready to wash up?"