“Just try to keep as still as possible,” I said, my mouth dry.

She nodded, and then, after dipping down to taste her lips once more, I moved toward her neck and pressed my mouth against her soft skin. I bared my fangs, feeling her tender flesh beneath them. My mouth salivated. I could practically taste her blood already. I pressed down harder. Rose gasped, her fingers digging into my back as I broke skin.

A hot rush of blood flowed into my mouth, setting my tastebuds alight. Her taste overwhelmed my senses. It was more exquisite than I had imagined. As the blood glided down my throat, my gut clenched. My instinct was to lose myself in her and take draught after draught until I had sucked her dry.

I couldn’t stop myself from swallowing three mouthfuls, but after that, I managed to regain control of myself. Forcing myself to focus, I released my venom.

Rose moaned and squirmed.

Lowering a hand to her right thigh, I repositioned her beneath me as I finished infecting her. And then I withdrew, my mouth dripping with her blood as I raised my head above her. I stared down at my beautiful wife. Her eyes were shut tight, her forehead now covered with a sheen of sweat. Her head rolled from side to side as her convulsions grew stronger and stronger.

And then came the vomiting of blood.

I never would get used to witnessing a turning. The horror of my own was still fresh in my mind, even though it had taken place many decades ago. I would never forget the pain. The fear…

I might not be able to do anything about the pain for Rose, but at least I could help to alleviate her fear.

Moving to the side of the bed, I placed a palm over her forehead and stroked it. I reached for her hand and clasped it tight.

“You’re doing fine, Rose,” I said calmly. “I’m here with you, and I’m not leaving.”

I wasn’t sure whether my words registered with her, or whether the pain was all-consuming. But I hoped that the steady sound of my voice would help reassure her.

The waiting that followed was torturous. As promised, I didn’t once leave her side. I lost all track of time as I remained in that bedroom with her. My only relief came from seeing that she did not seem to be vomiting more blood than was usual. I had not been there to witness Ben’s turning personally, but I had heard from his parents that he had been expelling huge amounts of blood.

When Rose finally began to show signs of consciousness, and she stopped coughing up blood, I wiped her down with a wet towel and placed it over her forehead.

Then she became still.

I removed the pillows from beneath the blood-soaked tarpaulin and piled them up against the headboard. I helped her sit up and leaned her against them.

I kissed her cheek. Her cold, pale cheek.

“Rose,” I said gently.

When her eyes flickered open and met mine, I witnessed their vibrancy as a vampire for the first time. They were a vivid emerald green. Rose’s eyes had taken my breath away when she was a human, but now they were all the more stunning. Her dark hair contrasted starkly with her pale skin.

I snapped myself out of admiring her beauty and reminded myself of our next concern.

Had she or had she not woken up like her brother?

I placed my hands on her shoulders. “How are you feeling?” I asked.

She still looked in a daze. Her eyes were slightly unfocused even as they looked up at me. Her lips opened as if she wanted to say something, but then they closed again.

“Rose?” I pressed.

She motioned to sit forward and I let her. Crouching down on all fours on the mattress, she breathed heavily for the next three minutes. Then she looked up and, without warning, leapt off the bed.

Her eyes were wide as she gripped her throat, her expression desperate.

“Caleb,” she wheezed. “I need blood.”

Grabbing hold of her arm, I pulled her out of the bedroom and led her into the storage room. There I picked up a large sack of blood and, sitting her down in one corner, opened it and helped her to drink it.

I watched with bated breath as she swallowed mouthful after mouthful in quick succession until she had downed the entire sack of animal blood.

“More,” she breathed.

I reached for another sack, and fed that to her too. And then another. And then another. Although she wrinkled her nose in disgust at the taste, she kept drinking more.

I kept expecting her to throw it all up any second now.

But half an hour passed, and nothing happened.

Once she felt that she had consumed enough blood, I took her out of the storage room and led her into the bathroom. Removing her blood-stained underwear, I guided her beneath the shower and soaped her down, removing all traces of blood from her soft, milky skin. She still looked like it hadn’t quite sunk in, as though she was in a world of her own. I kept asking her how she was feeling, and whether she was sure that she’d drunk enough blood. She kept replying that she was okay.

After showering her, I dried her and helped her into clean clothes. Then, avoiding the upstairs deck where it was now sunny, I led her into the living area and sat down on the couch with her. I gathered her in my arms and held her close against me.

We passed the next two hours in that way, me talking gently with her and her recovering from the shock and adjusting to her new body.

After five hours had passed and she became thirsty for more animal blood, one truth became apparent to both of us:

There was something seriously wrong with Benjamin.

Chapter 20: River

After passing the Philippines and finally entering the Pacific Ocean, I was relieved when Ben said we’d reached the final leg of the journey.