Schuyler knelt down and took his pulse. "There's no pulse."
"Oh my God, they are going to kill me! No human has ever been killed in a Caerimonia! Ever!"
"Shhh...Let me think....Jack. We need to get Jack," Schuyler decided.
"Jack? Why?"
"Because he's done this before. Morgan might not be dead. Maybe this is what happens to Red Bloods after the ritual. Maybe Jack will know something we don't."
Jack was at the door, fully dressed and wide awake before Bliss had even finished knocking. Schuyler marveled at his speed. She bet he would be a natural for the Velox test. She hadn't thought to use the vampire speed in such a fashion--she was still wearing her pajamas. Jack listened to Bliss's story and was at the boy's side in seconds.
He knelt on the sand and took Morgan's pulse by pressing two fingers against his neck. "It's there...You can sense it, very faint, but it's there."
"Oh thank God," Bliss said, sinking to the ground in relief.
"So he'll be okay?" Schuyler asked.
"He'll be okay." Jack said. "He might not remember what happened, but when he awakes, he'll be looking for you. He'll be drawn to the one who marked him as her own."
"Why?"
"The Sacred Kiss creates a bond. It means he's yours. No other vampire can take him. When you took him, your blood mixed with his, and it will be poison to any other Blue Blood."
Bliss and Schuyler absorbed this new information.
"So he's like my boyfriend?" Bliss asked, not sure if she really wanted that.
"If you want," Jack allowed. "It's not a casual thing, you know. It means something. For both parties."
Bliss blushed. "I..."
"It's okay," Jack said. He lifted the boy up. "Let's just take him back to his room. He'll probably just think he has a really bad hangover in the morning."
"Thanks, Jack," Schuyler said, when both Morgan and Bliss were safely stowed in their rooms. She put a light hand on his forearm to show how much his actions that evening had meant to her. Jack smiled, his green eyes shining in the dim light. Schuyler thought she had never seen anyone so calm under pressure. He had been such a stabilizing influence, a natural leader, assuaging Bliss's anxiety and taking such respectful care of Morgan. He put his left hand on top of Schuyler's. "Any time. And tell Bliss not to worry. We all make mistakes."
His skin felt warm and smooth to her touch, and Schuyler thought they could stand like that forever, framed in the doorway to her room. But Jack released his hand first, and she reluctantly took hers back as well.
"Well...good night," Jack mumbled, nodding to the sunrise that was slowly breaking through the clouds. He began to walk away, his footsteps soft on the wood floor. "'Night," Schuyler whispered. "Sweet dreams?"
"You bet," Jack replied.
Schuyler laughed softly to herself as she unlocked the door to her room. She hadn't meant for Jack to hear her last words, but there were no secrets from a vampire with extrasensitive hearing.
Later that morning, Schuyler and Bliss shared a taxi to the airport. Their flight was scheduled at eight, and both of them had had only two hours' sleep after all the ruckus.
"You okay?" Schuyler asked.
"God, I need a cigarette," Bliss said, fumbling for her purse. She brought one out and lit it, while rolling down the window at the same time. "Want one?"
Schuyler shook her head.
"I'm not sure," Bliss admitted. "I kind of wish I had waited. I don't know, I just felt like doing it. You know? Because Mimi talks about it all the time--and all those other girls, they always brag about their familiars. And I felt like such a stupid, I don't know, virgin or something."
"So what was it like?" Schuyler asked.
"Honestly?"
"Yeah."