There was something different.
His blood was different.
At first, Liora thought it was simply because he was a vampire. She was used to human blood—warm, familiar, predictable. This was thicker, heavier, almost humming as it slid down her throat. She forced herself to keep drinking, aware that his blood was the only thing that could heal her body back to a state where she didn't feel seconds away from collapsing.
I just need enough, she told herself. Enough to stand.
But she had barely taken half when something went wrong.
Her mouth began to feel numb.
It started at her tongue, a dull buzzing sensation that spread quickly to her lips and jaw. The taste shifted—what had once been rich became bitter-sweet, metallic in a way that made her instincts scream. Her body recoiled even as her mind hesitated.
Stop. Something's wrong—
Her entire body seized.
