Spicy Hot
She looks at me, eyes wild with pain and excitement, pride and horror.
"Is it over?"
"It's over. You have given. Now, receive."
I take the bowl in both hands, hold it before me. I dip a finger in her blood—warm, thick, alive. I trace a line on her forehead, between her eyes, from the top of her nose to her hairline. Then on her lips, a red bar that colors them. Then on her heart, through the dress, where it beats hard, fast, under my hand.
"By this blood, you are bound to us," I say. "By this blood, you are one of us. By this blood, you are marked forever. By this blood, you are ready for the last night."