Anna answered first. “I-I think they drugged me. I don’t remember.”

“Me too,” said Grace. “Sara, do you really think we’ll get out of here?”

“Yes.” It was better to give them hope than to admit how dire our circumstances were. Hope could be the difference between life and death in this place.

The sound of the door opening sent my heart pounding, and I stood in the middle of my cell to face whatever was coming. Instead of a vampire, a short humanoid demon with pale skin, a long furred face, and orange eyes appeared carrying a tray of food. Both girls made frightened sounds as the quellar demon slid a plate beneath the doors of their cells. I had met a lot scarier looking creatures, but he must have appeared so alien to Grace and Anna. All I saw was a quiet demon with scared eyes that flicked back and forth as if he expected someone to jump him.

The demon stood outside my cell, and we stared at each other for a long moment. He was probably curious about the new addition, or the fact that I didn’t shrink from him like the others. The sound of Anna pulling her plate across the stone floor startled him, and he hurried away like a large frightened mouse.

I looked down suspiciously at the sandwich and small bottle of water. Why would the vampires feed us if they planned to kill us? Maybe killing someone who was half-starved was no fun for them. I thought about not eating it, but all I’d had in the last twenty-four hours was some tuna and crackers. If I was going to get out of here, I had to keep up my strength.

While we ate, I asked Grace and Anna questions about their families, their friends, and school – anything to take their minds off our situation. Grace was seventeen and Anna was fifteen, and they both had two siblings. Grace was in the band at school and Anna was a science geek. They’d had such normal, happy lives before they were ripped away from everything they knew. At least I had known what was out there before I was taken. Not that it helped me much now.

After our meal, Anna said she was tired and I heard her lie down. Grace whispered that they got sleepy after they came back from upstairs. I asked her about the Master, and she said she had seen a red-haired female and a dark-haired male. She closed off when I tried to ask what had happened to her upstairs, and I didn’t push. Soon she went to sleep as well, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

All I could think about was Nikolas. Where was he? What were they doing to him? A thought came unbidden to my mind of Ava Bryant touching him, drinking from him, and my vision clouded as blood roared in my ears. My body trembled and I gripped the iron bars so hard they creaked. Solmi, my Mori growled.

We’ll find him, I promised my agitated demon. And if that bitch lays a finger on him I’ll rip it off her. Ava Bryant was already going to die for what she’d done to Nate. If she hurt Nikolas in any way, I’d make sure her death was not a quick one.

I lost track of time. I lay down on the hard slab that was supposed to be a bed, but I couldn’t sleep not knowing what was happening to Nikolas. I paced the small cell and thought about last night. No matter what the vampires did to us, they could never take that away. If I died tomorrow, I would die knowing what it was to love and be loved completely.

When the door opened again, I fought to keep my breathing under control. This was it. I was finally going to meet the vampire who had terrorized my family for so long. I thought about my Dad and Nate. Be strong.

The vampire who had brought Anna in earlier appeared. He flashed his fangs at me as he went to Grace’s cell and unlocked it.

“No,” she whimpered when he pulled her from the cell.

He dragged her past my cell, and I got a glimpse of a girl with short dark hair in jeans and a T-shirt. When he opened Anna’s door, she began sobbing. “Please.”

The door closed behind them, and I clenched the bars of my cell as fear and rage and helplessness assailed me. A few minutes later, the unmistakable sound of a girl’s scream reached me. I clamped my hands over my ears and tears scorched my face as I dropped to my knees with the scream echoing in my head.

Why was he torturing them when he finally had me? He’d gone through so much trouble to get his hands on me. What was he waiting for?

The sound of my cell opening woke me from where I’d fallen asleep on the floor. I scurried backward as Ava Bryant appeared behind the quellar demon that had brought us our meal. My eyes went to the syringe in the demon’s furry hand, and I shook my head.

The vampire smiled coldly. “Time for your medicine, little hunter, and Grigor has a special batch he cooked up just for you. Don’t you, Grigor?”

The demon gave a jerky nod and held up the syringe that contained a murky yellowish liquid. He was trembling, and he fumbled, almost dropping the syringe.

Ava snatched it away from him. “You clumsy idiot. Do you know how hard it is to make this stuff?” She threw back her head and laughed. “Of course, you do.”

She looked at me as I got to my feet. “In case you didn’t know it, Grigor here is a quellar demon, and his kind are very talented at chemistry. With the right motivation they can be very inventive.” She rolled the syringe between her long fingers. “Did you know quellar demons are the only ones in existence that are immune to Fae magic? No? Neither did we until recently. It seems they figured out years ago how to block the effects of Fae magic, and they immunize their young from an early age. Quite brilliant, really. Unfortunately, their drug doesn’t work on other demon races yet, but I’m confident Grigor will work it out.”

I swallowed dryly. “What does that have to do with me?”