I lay in bed well into the morning, with Tori snuggled into my side. Last night had been terrible, for more reasons than one. She was up all night moaning, and a cold sweat still covered her. I shifted her head to my chest, feeling her forehead. Cold. She was ice cold, and yet she’d sweated through her clothes. I’d taken them off, worrying that the damp clothes would only make her colder. I brushed her hair back from her face, and bright green eyes stared up intently.

“How are you feeling?” I murmured.

“Thirsty,” she rasped, trying to sit up.

I eased her off me and into a sitting position against the headboard. She cringed when I opened the mini-fridge next to the bed and light flooded the basement. I quickly shut the fridge door and handed her a bottle of water. Tori fumbled with the cap until I mentally loosened it for her then watched as she drained the bottle.

“More,” she urged. Her voice was slightly stronger.

I gave her another, and then another, before I held up a hand. “That’s not what you’re thirsty for, and we both know it. If you keep drinking, you’re going to throw up, and I don’t think you want to deal with that on top of fighting the transition.” I covered her with the comforter.

The transition was the only way to become one of the Made, one of the two breeds of Vampire that plagued this world. The Vampires we’d run into were the Born, with eyes tinted black like the demons I’d slain. It was only fitting, really, since they hailed from the same beasts that haunted my nightmares. What I didn’t know was why Vampires, or said demons, had hunted me in the first place. I glanced at Tori, her eyes wide as a child’s and dilated.

“You saved me.”

“Yes. Did you think I wouldn’t?” I asked, my lips twitching as I bit down on my grin.

She cracked a smile. “Not really, but…I was worried you’d be too late.”

I nodded, looking away. What I didn’t tell her was that I’d thought I would be too. The Born weren’t something to mess with. Luckily for us, there were only two, and it was daylight. They could walk in the sun, but it wasn’t kind to their senses. That was the only reason we’d gotten away so easily, relatively speaking.

“You’re going to be okay. Just don’t die in the next twenty-four hours.” I couldn’t imagine what I would’ve done if she’d died, especially in the transition. That would’ve… The only message I would’ve sent to whoever was hunting me was their messenger’s heads on a pike. The thought was more appealing every time it crossed my mind.

Tori’s shaking started again, and I moved to grab her a blanket, but she shot her hand out, grabbing mine with a surprising strength.

“I know you’re keepin’ secrets again. Someone sent them after you. I was just the collateral damage.” I opened my mouth to refute it, but she didn’t give me the chance. “You saved my life, though, so we’re even. I’ll keep your secret.”

I loosed a shaky breath and pulled her into a tight embrace. “I’m sorry about what happened to you. I’m going to find whoever’s doing this and put an end to it. I promise,” I whispered.

She winced, and I instantly released her. “I didn’t know ‘sorry’ was in your vocabulary,” she teased with a weary smile and tired eyes.

I appreciated her attempt to lighten the conversation but seeing the bite mark on her only fueled my anger. “I mean it, Tori. Someone’s going to pay for what they did to you.”

She took my hand and traced the scars. “Make them pay, but not for me. Make them pay for what they did to you.” She looked up with startling intensity.

I gripped her hand in mine, and nodded once. It wasn’t enough for all this girl had done for me, but it would have to do. For now.

Quiet footsteps came from the stairs that I recognized as Lucas’s. “Help my sister get dressed and go upstairs. Alec is here,” he said from the bottom of the stairs. His voice sounded strained, but I didn’t ask.

Tori squeaked and tried to climb around me.

“Wait,” I ordered, forcing her to sit. I walked over to the long dresser and pulled drawers open. All the clothes were way too big for her, but I grabbed a pair of sweats with an elastic waistband and a baggy shirt. After rolling the sweats a few times, I gave up on getting them tight. At least she was covered.

“Thanks,” she mumbled when I put an arm around her waist and leaned down to pick her up.

“I got it,” Lucas said, coming around the corner.

“It’s really no—”

“I got it,” he repeated. Meeting my eyes, he scooped her up and cradled her to his chest. “After you,” he insisted, and waited for me to go first.

Why’s he acting so bizarre this morning? I waited, staring at him suspiciously. What’s he playing at?

He smiled smugly with that stupid half-grin on his face, while Tori hurried me along. “Selena, I want to see my brother. Hurry up!”

I gave him a distrustful glare as I turned to the stairs. Light was coming from the top, and I could make out his parents’ voices.

“I don’t know what’s taking so—”

“Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Hunter.” I smiled brightly, and turned to the blond-haired stranger. “You must be Alec. I’m Selena,” I said, but made no move to extend my hand.

“I’ve heard so much about you. Speaking of which, where’s my darling sister?” His golden eyes assessed my closed posture and fake smile.

There were footsteps behind me, and I moved out of the doorway to give them room. Alec’s expression lit up with actual joy when he saw Tori, but it was short-lived. When Lucas set her down, she stumbled two steps before Alec caught her.

“I haven’t seen you since Christmas. What have you been doing?” Tori asked, sighing in contentment when he picked her up.

“I’ve been busy, little sister. My mistress has had a lot on her plate these past few months, and so I’ve been sent to deal with the other Councils in the meantime.” His answer was both vague and intriguing.

“But—”

“Please, Victoria. I’ll be here for a few days, so we can catch up soon. I promise. Right now, I need to find out what happened yesterday. The Council sent me here to gather information, and we need to know how you survived.”

She went still in his arms, as if it had only just occurred to her that he was here on Council business. “Of course,” she said sourly, pursing her lips.

He sighed. “Why don’t we take a seat and get this figured out, and then I’m yours for the rest of my time here.” He made it sound like an offer, like she had a choice as he carried her into the living room. She huffed softly when he laid her down on the couch.

“I’m not any happier about this than you, but the Council has forced my mistress’s hand, and I must obey.” His words were so formal for a brother reuniting with his sister. If this was the sibling who liked him, I could only imagine how strained it must be between him and Lucas. Something in what he said bothered me, though. I turned it over in my mind and picked up on the word obey. It was a word used for dogs and slaves. What the hell did he do for the Council?

“Who exactly is your mistress?”

“Anastasia Fortescue, Heir to the Fortescue name and Member of Court.”

I’d known he served the Fortescues, but it didn’t stop the pen on the end table from rattling as I took a tight breath. “You serve Anastasia?”

His gaze flicked to the pen. “Yes. Is that going to be a problem?”

“Of course not,” I lied through gritted teeth.

Mrs. Hunter smiled like a predator closing in on her prey. Alec took the chair next to me, and Lucas sat with his father on the loveseat, back straight as a board. Only when Mrs. Hunter took a seat at Tori’s feet did Alec begin.

“Can you please tell me what happened yesterday afternoon?”

I stared at him for a moment, knowing the part I had to play, the part I’d rehearsed when I’d sifted through it all late last night, and then I gave him the lie. I wove a beautiful, fast-paced story, complete with descriptions. I told him what they’d looked like, what they’d done, how I’d punished them. I offered every gory detail, down to the word “break.” I told him how their bones snapped, and that they’d been in too much pain to explain why they were sent, or by whom. I ended with realizing Tori had been bitten, and that her safety was the priority, not my revenge.

Alec seemed bored, and he definitely didn’t revel in the gory details like I’d hoped he would when I chose how to spin this tale. What could he possibly do for the Fortescues that made torture boring? I had a feeling I didn’t want to find out.

“Well, you have quite a spectacular memory for details. Very impressive. Most victims have difficulty recounting what happened and what their attackers looked like. My mistress will be very pleased, but…” He sighed.

I knew what was coming, and braced myself.

“I need to see everything that happened, and make sure your memory is as good as it seems to be.” He looked at his mother expectantly, and she leaped to her feet.

“No.”

“Excuse me?” Mrs. Hunter hissed.

“Pardon me if that answer was too quick for you to catch. No. You may not enter my mind or touch me under any pretext.” Sarcasm dripped from my voice, but the venom was clear. They would not touch me.

“Selena—”

“It’s Ms. Foster to you. I don’t give a damn who your mistress is,” I spat. The lamp next to me shattered. My breath hissed through my teeth.

Calm…calm yourself. My internal dialogue did nothing for me, as the shadows started to whisper amongst themselves.

“Let me help you,” Alec said soothingly. There was a pressure against my shield, but nothing I couldn’t block. His intrusion only pissed me off more.

“You all think you’re so clever. So powerful,” I said. My voice wasn’t entirely my own, though—something cold and unyielding had slipped in there. Or someone.

“Selena, why don’t you—”

“Why don’t I what, Lucas? Why don’t I show them real power?” I twisted a lock of my hair, smiling coldly into Alec’s gold eyes. “Now there’s an idea,” I mused. Whatever was inside me, it was both something of me and something entirely different. The room shifted, and the lights flickered. I was losing my shit, but in the most controlled way I ever had. The only problem was that it wasn’t me controlling it.

“Selena.” The voice entered my mind without invitation. I whipped my head around to glare at Lucas, and the door to my mind slammed shut. He flinched, but didn’t back down.

“I need to get her out of here.” The words registered, but I was so close to the edge, and power was welling up to greet me.

Release. It wants release.

Mrs. Hunter’s harpy screech brought my attention back to her. “This is an interrogation! You will not—” Her mouth snapped shut with a glance.

She was abhorrent. She didn’t deserve to be a mother.

“What the—” Mr. Hunter started, but Lucas silenced him.

I stood, and cocked my head as I examined her. My gaze flicked to the ground, expectantly. Her knees hit the floor so hard it sent a crack through the air.

Tori gasped, staring at me wide-eyed. None of them knew the darkness that lived among them like a friend. It was good at hiding, until it snapped.

“Selena,” Lucas said again, with new urgency. He stood slowly, carefully. Like he knew just how far to push me before I either fled or killed someone. “She can’t hurt you, Selena. Let it go.” He took a step toward me, but I only watched, like a hunter examining its prey.

“Selena, your eyes…” Tori whispered.

My eyes? The shaking in her voice was enough to pull me forward. My body was my own again, but my mind was still trapped in some space in between. I numbly bent and picked up a piece of glass. Violet eyes stared back at me.

The glass shattered.