A sound drew my attention to the kitchen doorway where a dozen warriors watched us in shocked silence. Except for Nikolas, Chris, and Jordan, no one here knew what I could do. In their eyes, I was offering comfort to a vampire. This was going to require some serious explaining. Right now though, I had more important things to take care of.

I laid a hand on the girl’s shoulder, and she cringed away from me. I kept my hand in place as I spoke to her. “My name is Sara. I know you’re scared and confused, and I swear I won’t let anything hurt you. I’m just going to sit here with you until you’re feeling a little better.”

I sat on the floor by her head with my back against the cupboard doors. She was still crying, but she didn’t try to move away from me. After a few minutes, I touched her back soothingly. It was too bad my calming ability didn’t work on humans because I really could have used it now.

“Sara?” Nikolas spoke in a low voice. He was sitting where I’d left him and looking ready to come to my rescue if he sensed a hint of danger.

“We’re good.” A breeze blew in through the broken window and I shivered. At the same time, I felt the girl tense up under my hand. “Can I get a blanket for her?”

Several minutes later, Jordan came into the kitchen carrying two thick blankets. She approached me slowly and draped one of the blankets over the girl who was crying more softly now. Jordan smiled at me and wrapped the second blanket around my shoulders.

You okay? she mouthed.

I nodded and she shook her head and said, showoff, before she backed away, leaving me alone with the girl again.

Out in the living room, people were starting to talk softly, and I heard more than one ask what was going on. I looked over at Nikolas and inclined my head toward the other room. He shook his head, and I knew he wasn’t going anywhere until he was sure the girl posed no threat to me.

The girl made a mewling sound, and I rubbed her back gently.

“Shhh. It’s going to be okay.”

In response, she scooted closer to me. Taking heart from that, I shifted until her head was on my lap. I began to smooth down her long dark hair, and she let out a shuddering breath and wrapped her arms tightly around my waist. A lump formed in my throat as I tucked the blanket around her shoulders. I was so not qualified to deal with the trauma this girl must have been going through, but I was all she had right now.

It took over an hour for the girl to cry herself to sleep. Her arms went slack around my waist, and I could hear her deep even breaths. My backside and legs ached from sitting on the hard floor, and I wanted to move, but I was afraid of disturbing her.

Nikolas took the decision from me. He gently picked up the sleeping girl, blanket and all, and placed her on the love seat, which was the only couch in the living room that hadn’t suffered damage. As soon as he released her, she curled up into a ball again, but she didn’t awaken. The poor thing had to be exhausted.

The warriors stared at the girl, which wasn’t surprising since she’d been a vampire an hour ago. They were also giving me a wide berth. I guessed making a vampire human again was right up there with raising someone from the dead. It just wasn’t done.

“Is she really human again?”

I glanced sideways at Geoffrey who had come to stand beside Nikolas and me. The warrior’s normally dark skin was ashen and he had the look of a man who had witnessed a miracle.

“Yes.”

“That’s... not possible.”

I was too tired to explain. I gave Nikolas a pleading look and he nodded.

“Geoffrey, let’s talk in the kitchen so we don’t disturb the girl.”

“We can go downstairs if you don’t want to be overheard.”

“The kitchen will do.” Nikolas’s gaze met mine as he and Geoffrey moved past me. I had a feeling he wasn’t going to let me out of his sight until we got home again. I was more than okay with that.

The other warriors resumed their work, packing up the equipment and preparing to move to another location. They kept throwing curious glances at me whenever they passed by, but I was used to being stared at.

Unsure of what to do next, I sat at the foot of the loveseat. The girl might sleep for hours, but I was afraid to leave her in case she awoke. Exhaustion washed over me, and I leaned back and closed my eyes.

“You okay, Sara?”

I opened my eyes and gave Chris a weak smile. “Pretty good, considering.”

He studied the sleeping girl. “You’ve had a busy night.”

“You could say that.”

“Why did you do it?” He crouched by the loveseat so he was at eye level. “Why this one?”

“I wasn’t going to.” I began to remember more details of my experience with the vampire. “But then I saw a memory of her family, and…” My voice cracked. “It was Eli who changed her. I actually heard his voice, Chris. I felt her pain. I couldn’t... I had to…”

He laid a hand on my arm. “It’s okay. You did the right thing.”

My gaze shifted to the girl who whimpered in her sleep.

“Did I?” She was a teenager who had suffered horrors I didn’t want to imagine. Her family and her old life were gone. There was no going back to them. She hadn’t uttered a word yet so we had no idea what her mental state was. If a Mori could drive a person insane, what was there to say that a vamhir demon couldn’t do the same?

“Maybe it would have been kinder if I’d…”