He snarled furiously and clutched at his head, yanked my door open, and threw himself out the room. As it swung shut behind him, he turned back and glared at me. "You'll pay for this," he growled just as the door slammed.

I slumped back against the wall, trembling. I couldn't believe he was actually gone, and I was unhurt. Then, guilt racked me. If only I had realized it sooner, I could have uninvited him the moment he came in. I had just sat there like an idiot while he strangled Dani, and all along, I could have done something. I felt like throwing up. I could have saved Dani... Even as I thought it, I heard a sound. A cough. Hardly daring to hope, I flung myself off of my bed and dropped to my knees next to him.

"Dani?"

He was breathing! It was shallow and raspy, but he was breathing. He coughed again, and I gave his shoulder a gentle shake.

"Dani? Wake up, come on!"

He was still bleeding, and I couldn't tell how big the gash in his forehead was. He needed a doctor. But I couldn't get him there alone. I could call Thomas and TS, but if the vampire was outside my door, he'd attack them, and he'd probably kill them this time. Mariana would come, but she'd be as defenseless as I was. I doubted Charlie would be strong enough, even if he was awake. And if we did get him to the ship's doctor, would he be able to help? Dani looked human, but what if he was too different? What if the doctor couldn't treat a water elemental? I gasped. Dani was a water elemental! On the island he put water on a cut, and it healed! Would it work for more serious wounds? I had to try.

I managed to drag him to the bathroom. He was pretty heavy, and I had never been so thankful that the cabins were small. I heaved him into the shower and turned on the water. Cold water hadn't seemed to bother him, and Charlie had said something about water being too hot for Dani, so I left it cold. There was nothing more I could do. I sat back and studied him, wondering how fast the water would work. His wrist was badly swollen and probably broken. There were horrible, dark bruises all over his neck and around the wound on his forehead. Tears slid down my cheeks again. He'd been hurt because of me. Everything that had happened tonight was my fault. I had been blissfully ignorant; learning things like night vision spells instead of worrying about the vampire. I should have asked about how inviting a vampire in worked. I should have practiced the fire spell as soon as I found out that fire could kill vampires.

How could I have considered them my friends, when I knew so little about them? Charlie and I had just been talking about him not going into cold water, yet I hadn't given it a second thought. I had been swimming around the Galapagos with Dani, thinking of him almost like an older brother, and I hadn't even known his blood was blue. I never once asked him about the physical differences between humans and elementals. What if the water wasn't good enough? What if it had to be salt water? They were simple questions I could have asked, and the answers I didn't have might save his life. I wiped at my tears and looked at Dani. The blood had washed away, and the gash by his temple didn't look nearly as bad as I had thought. I leaned closer and sucked in a hopeful breath; the edges were scarred over. It was healing. His wrist didn't look as swollen, and I was sure the bruises on his neck had faded. His breathing was still weak, but it sounded more even and less raspy. The minutes ticked by like hours, and I waited nervously for Dani to heal. All of a sudden his eyes flew open, and he jerked upright. He looked around, confused, and then looked at me and relaxed.

"Are you okay?" His voice was weak and hoarse.

I sagged in relief. "I'm fine. Are you okay?"

He gingerly touched his neck, then the mostly healed cut on his forehead. "Yeah..." He looked pretty shaken. "Yeah." He slowly flexed his broken wrist and winced. Then he closed his eyes, sighed heavily, and leaned back against the shower wall.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

We sat in silence for a moment. I noticed that he held his wrist right under the water and was glad that I had thought to put him in the shower. But if it hadn't been for me we wouldn't have been in this situation.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "It's my fault."

"No, it's not."

"It is! Everything that happened tonight was my fault! I went down to Deck Three alone and I didn't have my wand. I didn't even realize the vampire had my ID, and the only reason we're here in my room was to get my stuff. And I..." My eyes started to sting. "I never thought to ask if vampires could be uninvited. You almost died, and it was all my fault."

"No, don't blame yourself." His voice already sounded stronger. He sat up and put a hand on my knee. "First of all, the ship had been cleared. You had no reason to be cautious tonight. If the vampire hadn't gotten your ID, he would have found you another way, and there might not have been somebody around to protect you. Not that I did a good job of it. And we're here because I wanted to get your wand and your things. It wasn't your idea."

"But if I had my wand before—"

"You've had your wand for a week," he said. "You can't blame yourself for not being in the habit of carrying it around. Besides, what could you have done? Your magic isn't nearly strong enough to hurt a vampire."

"But—"

"And more importantly," he gave my knee a squeeze, "I didn't die. You just saved my life, Jen. Don't worry about what could have happened."

"If I had uninvited him sooner, you wouldn't have been hurt," I protested.

"How is that your fault? You didn't know. This is my job. Our job. We all know better, and we made some really stupid, rookie mistakes, tonight. We knew there could be a vampire on board. We could have explained things to you. We weren't cautious enough, and it almost got all of us killed." Dani sighed and patted my knee. "This is not your fault, Jen, not by any stretch. You shouldn't even be involved, and I'm sorry you got towed into this."

"What do we do now?" I asked.

"I..." He hesitated and hung his head like he couldn't meet my eyes. "I want to get back to my room."

That wasn't what I had expected to hear. "What if the vampire is still out there?"

"It's possible. I know that I was just saying we made a lot of stupid mistakes tonight and leaving a safe room is going to top that list, but... I can't sit here while Char is over there in his condition. It's stupid, but I need to be with him."

"It's not stupid." Dani was probably worried sick about Charlie. Plus, he still looked freaked out about what had just happened. I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted to be with Charlie for his own comfort.

He smiled weakly at me and rested his head against the wall. "Thank you. Not just for understanding, but for saving my life, too." He rubbed his neck and sighed. "Get your stuff. We're going soon."

I went into the main room and retrieved my wand and Dani's knife, then threw some spare clothes into a bag. My ID card was lying on the floor, and I felt another stab of guilt as I picked it up. The vampire probably wouldn't have known where my room was if he hadn't gotten it. I grabbed my pillow and caught sight of Laurie as I turned away from my bed. The fight hadn't woken her up. She didn't even look like she had moved. She was breathing, but had to be unconscious.

"Dani!"

He was at the bathroom door in a second. He looked slightly unsteady on his feet, but obviously ready to defend me, anyway.

"What's wrong?"

"Laurie never woke up."

"She's probably fine." Nonetheless, Dani came over to see her. He felt her pulse for a moment and then nodded. "Yeah, she's okay. Vampires can inject a sedative through their fangs. She'll wake up in a few hours, maybe even in time for class, although I doubt she'll feel well enough to go. But, she should be up and around in time for dinner. We'll check on her later."

Even if he hadn't looked slightly pale, I could tell from his voice that he was still recovering, and I felt guilty for panicking and making him get out of the water.

"Thanks," I said.

"Got all your stuff?"

"Almost." I hurried into the bathroom and grabbed my toiletries bag, glad it was still packed from the trip. "I'm ready. Do you need more time?"

Dani leaned against the doorframe of the bathroom and shook his head. "I'll be okay."

He lobbed a ball of blue blood, I assumed from the carpet, into the shower. I let it rinse down the drain, then shut off the shower and squeezed into the hallway with him. I handed him his knife, and he smiled weakly in thanks. Then, he pulled out his room key, readied his knife, and opened the door. He pushed me back as he did, but the hallway was empty. Dani inched forward and looked up and down the long hallway.

"Do you see him?" I whispered.

"No. Ready to run?"

I nodded and Dani grabbed my hand, gave it a reassuring squeeze, and we dashed out of the door. It slammed shut behind us as we sprinted down the hallway.