“Perhaps.”

“Perhaps what?”

“Perhaps that is her true form now. Perhaps the night I just shared with her was simply an illusion. But… I still remember the girl she was. The woman I loved. I’m not willing to go against her.”

I was about to lose myself in desperation when a thought occurred to me. “Do you remember the night Lilith left you?”

“Yes,” he said, his jaw twitching.

“What do you remember of your life after that night? What did you do when she left, and you thought that she was gone forever?”

He furrowed his brows again. “I don’t see what business that is of yours.”

“Did you not love anyone else since Lilith? You must have, Magnus. You can’t have just—”

“No. I have never loved a woman as I have loved Lilith.”

Oh, dear.

I was running out of things to say, and it seemed that he was running out of willingness to engage in this conversation.

Now I realized just how stupid I had been to even think that I might be able to undo a lifetime of love and attraction in just one conversation.

In one way, I couldn’t blame Magnus. He was in love with Lilith—a love that was so strong it blinded him to all else. Either that, or his heart was as black as Lilith’s and he really did not care what happened if the black witches succeeded.

Whatever the case, I’d run out of ideas as to how to get through to him.

I took a step back, staring at him. He glared back, his eyes filled with defiance.

Again, the words Xavier had spoken passed through my mind.

The darker part of me was once again tempted to just finish him off. I was more powerful than this vampire. It would not be difficult to finish him off with a curse and dump his body in the sea. But I just could not bring myself to do it.

He’d never done anything to harm us directly, and he was posing no threat to me now. Even if killing him could have saved countless others, I wasn’t the person to do it. Not any more. I’d sworn to myself that I’d given up that life when I’d arrived in The Shade. I simply wasn’t willing to drag myself back to my dark past.

Instead, another plan began to take shape in my mind. A plan I’d wished with every fiber of my being that we wouldn’t have to resort to.

But before I lost myself in worrying about our next step, first I had to take Magnus somewhere safe and out of the way. I didn’t have time to start venturing out of The Sanctuary to find some hiding place. I had to find somewhere within this realm that was safe.

“Release me now,” Magnus said.

I ignored his command and looked around at the view from the rooftop. My eyes fixed on to the distance—past the city and the suburbs.

Then I approached Magnus on the floor again. I silenced him once again with a spell so that he couldn’t shout out, then made him invisible before placing a hand on his shoulder. I vanished us both and we reappeared again at the bank of a river. There was a waterfall crashing down a few hundred feet away, and the river churned and flowed so rapidly that it was impossible to see the riverbed from the bank. Casting a third spell over Magnus to ensure that he could remain comfortably beneath the water even if I left him there for two days, I levitated him off the ground and sank him into the water, deeper and deeper until he touched the bottom. Then I dove into the water after him and swam down toward him so that I could see what I was doing. Ripping off a piece of the fabric tied to his waist, I fastened it around his ankle and knotted it around the root of a tree that grew deep in the riverbed. This would ensure he didn’t bob to the surface in his paralyzed state. There were no dangerous creatures in these waters that would bother him. So he would just remain here beneath the water until I was ready to return.

Once I was satisfied, I was forced to turn my mind again to the plan that chilled me to the bone.

God help us.

If we pull this off, it will be nothing short of a miracle.

Chapter 25: Kiev

I was relieved when Lilith turned her back on me and faced the opposite wall. At least she hadn’t noticed me replacing Magnus. Even just feeling her back leaning against my chest, her hand resting on top of mine, repulsed me.

Granted, she was not nearly as hideous as I had expected. But I still despised everything about this woman. She could be the most beautiful woman on earth and I would still find her presence repulsive.

She made no motion to do anything other than hold my hand for the next few minutes. But then she turned back around again. I looked down at her reluctantly. I was not sure how my emotions were coming across through Magnus’ face. But I did my best to conceal them.

Her dark eyes locked on mine and a small smile formed on her lips. To my horror, she reached her hands around my neck and began leaning toward me.

My hand shot up and I pressed a finger against her lips just in time. I couldn’t stand kissing her even with Magnus’s lips.

I was surprised by the strength of her grip around me. Her frame seemed thin and frail.

She frowned at me.

“What is it?” she asked softly.

I felt mad for saying it, but it was the only thing that I could think of to get out of that kiss.

“I would rather spend our time talking now,” I said, even as I recalled Mona’s warning to avoid talking at all costs.

Her smile broadened. I was relieved to see that my response had pleased her. She sat up, sliding her hand in mine and tugging on me to sit up next to her on the mattress.

“You are right,” she said. “We don’t have much longer.” She paused, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I always did wonder, what happened to you after that night we parted? Where did you go?”