Arron winced and breathed out slowly, as if he were in some kind of pain, before continuing. “When an Elder first imparts its nature into a victim, it’s the heart where the infection settles. While I won’t pretend to have come across a case quite like yours, vampire, I can say with almost complete certainty that whatever hold this Elder has over you is rooted within your heart.”

Arron’s words sent my mind into a tailspin. The hold that Elders had over vampires, or at least the hold my Elder had over me, felt like it transcended physicality. His influence was subtle and intangible, a part of my consciousness. It had never occurred to me to think about the physical side of how this worked, not to speak of pinpointing their influence to a specific organ. But now that Arron had told me, the heart made sense. It made total sense.

“So the heart is the center of it all,” I repeated, more to help the notion sink into my own brain than for any other purpose. “It’s where their influence takes root.”

“Yes,” Arron replied. “Hence, the primary way to kill a vampire—or a vessel, as we Hawks call them—is by piercing through its chest and destroying the heart. I’m sure you know plenty about this…” I thought back to the vampire I had just slaughtered in the Blue Tavern. My clothes were still stained with his blood. “Staking or tearing apart a vampire’s heart is the most common method to rob a vampire of its immortality,” the Hawk continued, “because destroying the heart also destroys the Elder’s nature and influence over the vampire.”

“That’s why you can snap a vampire’s neck and spine, or break almost any part of his body, and he will still survive,” I muttered.

“That’s right,” Arron replied.

Aisha exhaled impatiently. “Where are you going with all this, Hawk? I already told you that suicide is not an option.”

Arron slowly crossed his arm over his chest, eyeing me even as he replied to the jinni. “If you would be patient enough to listen to what I’m about to say, you will understand that I’m not suggesting suicide.”

“How could a vampire live with his heart destroyed?” Julie asked, speaking up for the first time since arriving in Arron’s presence.

“Obviously that’s not possible… The vampire would have to live with the heart of another.”

I gaped at the Hawk as his words sank in.

“What? You’re talking about like a… a heart transplant?”

The words sounded crazy to me as I said them. The idea of a supernatural being undergoing a medical procedure that was common in the human world just seemed so… out of place.

“Whose heart would Ben need?” Aisha asked.

“Logically, it would need to be the heart of another vampire,” Arron replied.

The heart of a vampire. My mind traveled back to the vampire I’d left paralyzed only hours ago—which was of course stupid. He had likely been found by now along with his companion’s corpse as the people of The Tavern scoured the island for the culprit.

“It would also need to be a fresh heart,” Arron said. “Removed not less than a few minutes before from the willing—or unwilling—donor.”

My eyes narrowed on the Hawk as I wondered if I could really trust a word that he was saying. He’d made it clear that he wanted me dead. Even if we did procure the heart of another vampire, how did I know that this wasn’t all a ruse? I’d had no idea that vampires could even survive such a procedure. And me lying there on some operating table with my chest cut open… I’d be utterly vulnerable. I would be relying fully on Aisha’s protection.

“How can I trust you?” I asked Arron.

“I don’t think you have any other choice,” the Hawk said.

“So we need a vampire heart,” Aisha muttered to herself more than anyone else. She had seemingly accepted Arron’s words.

More than seemingly.

She spun around to face Julie, who stood behind her.

“See, Benjamin,” the jinni said with a gleam in her eyes, “I told you another vampire might come in handy…”

CHAPTER 17: BEN

“A isha, no!” I yelled, leaping at the jinni as she stunned Julie’s limbs and sent her falling to the ground. To my horror, Aisha manifested a knife and moved toward the vampire as though she was planning to drive it right through Julie’s gut then and there.

I grabbed Aisha’s arms and forced her away from Julie. Twisting her around, I glared daggers at her. “What the hell are you doing? You can’t just go murdering someone like that!” Says the man who slaughtered cells of sleeping humans a few hours ago.

“You heard Arron,” Aisha said, blood rising to her cheeks. “You need a vampire heart!”

“You’re insane,” I said, staring at her in exasperation. “Even leaving aside the fact that I can’t allow you to murder Julie in front of my eyes, say you did successfully remove Julie’s heart without damaging it, and it happened to be suitable for me, what then? Do you even have the first clue as to how you would go about this procedure?”

Aisha paused, and I could tell from the look on her face that she hadn’t thought this through at all.

Perhaps Aisha’s jealousy was coming into play with Julie after all. Maybe she thought that I had taken a liking to Julie, and that was why she was so quick to want to kill her.

Stupid, impulsive girl.

Arron chuckled behind us. “You’re right, Benjamin. I doubt this jinni has knowledge of how to perform such a procedure. In fact, I wouldn’t know how to do it myself. I know of only one person who might be able to help you.”