“Sebastian, how many times have I asked you not to sit in my chair?”

A hush fell over the room. The vampire stood and bowed his head in deference. I turned slowly, recognition and disbelief clawing at my chest. Chains rattled and Nikolas’s cold hand grasped mine as I came around to face my true nemesis.

“We meet at last, Sara Grey,” said the voice of the girl I had comforted from my cell only hours ago. Anna?

Straight blond hair framed a heart-shaped face, and the blue eyes that watched me were cold and alien, yet achingly familiar at the same time. She smiled, showing perfect white teeth and two dainty fangs.

“Or maybe I should say, niece.”

Chapter 25

“Elena, please,” Nikolas pleaded hoarsely. I wrapped both of my hands around his, needing his strength as much as giving him mine.

“Please what, Nikolas?” asked the vampire who used to be the girl he’d loved as a sister. She circled us to sit in the throne chair that dwarfed her delicate frame. “I’ve waited a long time to hear you beg, so make it good.”

“This is between you and me. Let her go and I’ll do whatever you want.”

“No!” I tightened my grip on his hand.

Elena scoffed. “She’s such a loyal little thing, isn’t she? How loyal do you think she’ll be when she hears how you abandoned me and left me in the hands of a monster?”

“He didn’t abandon you,” I shot back. “He and Tristan looked everywhere for you. They thought you died.”

“They didn’t look hard enough!” she snarled, her blue eyes turning dark. “For weeks I prayed you would come for me, Nikolas, but you never did. Week after week, month after month, the Master used me, tortured me, and drank from me until I was almost dry. He was a sadistic animal, and for two years he kept me chained in his chambers, two years of living hell while my loving brother and friend lived their happy little lives.”

I felt my face blanch at the images her words conjured. My stomach rolled and bile rose in my throat.

“One day the Master got bored and decided I’d be a more fun plaything if I was a vampire. Only I already had a demon inside of me.” Elena’s hands gripped the arms of her chair, and I watched her nails turn into claws. “Do you know what it feels like to have two demons fighting to the death inside your body? Do you know how agonizing it is when your Mori dies, Nikolas?”

“Elena...” Nikolas’s voice was raw with pain.

She moved faster than anything I’d ever seen. Her small hands wrapped around Nikolas’s throat as she lifted him like he weighed nothing. “You talk when I say you can talk.”

“Stop! You’re killing him.” My outburst earned me a numbing backhand to my cheek that sent me sprawling across the floor. Black spots swam before my eyes, and all I could do was lie there for precious seconds as she strangled the person I loved more than my own life.

She released him, and he fell backward, coughing. I crawled over to him and pulled his head into my lap, wishing I could shield him from Elena’s wrath. Nikolas had always been the strong one, and seeing him so vulnerable was almost more than I could bear.

Elena began walking around us in slow circles, her pale blue dress swirling around her knees. “The Master was so pleased with himself because he was able to change a Mohiri into a vampire. I was his favorite pet and his prized possession, and he showed me off every chance he got. He liked to dress me up in pretty clothes and pamper me. I was a life-sized doll he could take out and play with whenever he wanted. He loved how small and weak I was, and he told me every day that I belonged to him forever.”

She stopped and crouched in front of us so she and I were at eye level. “But he was wrong. I was a lot stronger than I let him see, and I was biding my time, waiting years for the perfect moment. That arrogant bastard was so sure of his superiority that he got complacent. One night he didn’t bother to lock me up after he’d finished playing with me, and that was the opportunity I’d been waiting for. I killed him while he slept and drank him dry. Did you know that is the only way to become a Master? His children, his wealth, and power all became mine. After years of being a slave I was free and powerful, and it felt incredible. My old family had deserted me, so I began to create a new one.”

She moved forward until she was close enough to pick up a lock of my hair and curl it around her finger. I recoiled inwardly but kept very still. Deep inside me, I felt my power react to being in such close proximity to a Master vampire as it strained against the invisible barrier holding it back.

“I spent months searching for the perfect human to become my first born. Eli was special.” She leaned in to speak softly in my ear. “You will pay for his death a thousand times over.”

Her smile when she pulled away was almost angelic, but I was close enough to see the madness in her blue eyes. I hugged Nikolas closer to me and his hand came up to cover mine.

Be brave, moy malen’kiy voin.

She’s insane, Nikolas. I’m scared.

No matter what happens, I’m here with you. A wave of calming energy flowed through our bond into me, and I could almost feel his strong arms around me. It gave me the strength to ask the questions I’d been seeking answers to my whole life.

“Why did you send Eli to kill my father? He was nothing to you.”

For a brief moment I saw fear in her eyes. “Your father was nothing to me, but he meant something to my dear niece, Madeline.”