It was the talks that got her through the next few days. Every night she would curl up on her bed, place her hand against the glass and talk with Julian. She told him stories of her childhood, stories he probably already knew, but patiently listened to anyway. They would talk until the drugs kicked in and she drifted into a nightmare filled sleep that was nearly impossible to wake from. They would talk until her throat was raw, and she was sure he was sick of listening to her. The more she talked, and the more he listened, the closer she began to feel to him. The closer they became to each other.

The men came for her every day, and although she didn't have to endure more electrical jolts, they came up with other forms of torture. At one point she was locked into a windowless room with a set of strobe lights. It had been a torment that had been brutal against her sensitive eyes. She'd left the room with a massive headache, and had been unable to see for a good hour afterward.

She tried to remain mute through the tortures, tried to hold Devon's image close to her in order to get through each new thing they came up with for her. But most of the time they broke her. She would end up screaming, and in the room with the lights, they had brought her to tears. It was a fact she was ashamed of, and one she didn't share with Julian. She couldn't bring herself to admit to him she was weaker than she’d ever thought she was.

They gave her three more of the same shots; each one had the same effect on her. The strange discoloration would take hold, but by morning it would be gone. She didn't have another freak out, but she wasn't sure she could take much more of it. She held out hope Devon would rescue her, but it was getting tougher to keep her spirits up.

Julian didn't give up hope. His spirits didn't diminish. He kept her sane when it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep her sanity. He was determined they would escape, determined she would be the one to get them out. The only problem was he couldn't think of how she was going to do it. He only knew she would.

"Cassie."

"Hmm?" Every muscle in her body screamed in protest as she met Julian's inquisitive gaze.

"Are you ok?"

She nodded as she rubbed the bridge of her nose tiredly. Today they had locked her within a dark room with no windows. She'd spent hours curled up in a corner, wondering if they would come back for her, or if this was where they were going to leave her until she died. She'd tried to picture Devon as she huddled in the corner, frightened and alone, trying not to shatter, but it was becoming more difficult to draw upon his image, to remember all of the details in this hideous place.

They had come back for her though. They had given her another shot, and they had deposited her in her room once more, where Julian had been waiting for her. She had no idea what they were looking for with all of these tests and tortures, no idea what they were trying to do to her, or what they aimed to prove. She only knew it couldn't be good.

She also wondered how much longer they were going to keep them both alive. Once they were done with their tests, and knew whatever it was they were trying to know, she would be of no use to them, and neither would Julian. Cassie shuddered to think they might destroy him before her and leaving her completely alone.

She knew she would break completely if she was left alone. Her sanity would shred, leaving her a shell of the person she had once been. She was beginning to think that was what they truly wanted from her after all. If they were just trying to turn her into a huddled mess, unable to think or act coherently anymore.

"I'm fine," she whispered.

"Why don't you tell me about when you used to ride," he suggested.

Cassie thought back to her early years, when she'd been obsessed with horses, and riding. She'd taken lessons nearly every day, preferring to be on a horse than solid ground. They were the happiest times of her life, but she'd given up riding when Luther had arrived and informed her of her Hunter legacy.

She hadn't thought about riding in years, had almost completely forgotten about it. It seemed like a life time ago now. She had been a completely different person then. That Cassie had been hopeful and bright and full of life. This Cassie was beaten, nearly broken, and barely clinging to her sanity.

She didn't like to recall that time of her life, or that Cassie. It wasn't comforting to her right now.

"No, I don't want to talk about that, not tonight. Let's talk about you tonight."

Julian looked at her in surprise, but he seemed to sense her morose thoughts. "What would you like to know?"

There was a lot she would like to know about him and his life. But she didn't want to hear about Devon. She didn't think she'd be able to tolerate thoughts of Devon right now, not after today anyway. "How did you become a vampire?" she inquired.

His eyes were shadowed and sunken as they met hers. "I fell in love with the wrong woman," he admitted.

Cassie couldn't believe it, Julian, in love? It seemed impossible, and yet...

She had gotten to know him well since they'd been locked in here. Yes, he was a murderer and he could be vicious and cruel at times, but there was a good man underneath it all. One she'd never expected to find. One she'd never imagined could exist, and one she'd actually come to care for and trust.

"Who was she?" Cassie prompted, afraid he wasn't going to continue.

"She was everything," he whispered. "Smart, sophisticated, and so very beautiful." There was a keen appreciation in his gaze that rattled her. "Almost as beautiful as you."

Cassie's mouth dropped. Julian thought she was beautiful? She found herself discomfited by his words, but she was more discomfited that the knowledge caused a strange thrill to run through her. Cassie turned away from him as she tried to ignore the strange turning in her stomach. What was the matter with her? Was this some sort of strange dream world her shattered mind had created?

"What was her name?" she asked as she tried to divert herself from her troubling thoughts and feelings.

"Victoria. Her name was Victoria and there wasn't anything I wouldn't do for her, including give up my life, my humanity."

"You can get your humanity back."

He snorted softly. "It's a little too late for that."

She shook her head and swallowed heavily as she met his intense stare once more. "No it's not, Devon changed."

"And you would like it if I was more like Devon?"

There was a taut tone to his voice that told her he wasn't pleased by the notion. "No," she told him. "I like you just the way you are, but you have the choice to take your humanity back if you want it."

His nostrils flared as his eyes perused her. "I suppose you're right," he said tersely. "I could make that choice if I wanted to."

"But you don't?"

He shrugged. "I never had a reason to, before."

Cassie itched to relieve the anguish and tension she felt radiating from him. Before what? She wondered, but decided against pursuing that line of questioning. She wasn't sure she would like the answer. Or, if she was truly honest with herself, she was frightened she may like the answer too much. "What happened with Victoria?" she inquired to change the topic.

He shrugged negligently. "I fell in love, she changed me, and I became a monster. I think she did so mainly so she could have a puppet to play with and use. She never loved me, and though she enjoyed toying with my emotions, she quickly became bored with me. I woke up one day and she was gone."

Cassie's heart ached for the melancholy and loss she sensed beneath his cavalier tone. "I'm sorry."

He shrugged again. "It's all good; I got over that bitch years ago. Truth be told, I didn't think our kind was capable of love, until you and Devon. When I touched him and felt the vast amount of love he has for you, it fascinated me."

Cassie guiltily glanced away. Devon did love her, whole heartedly. He was probably nearly crazed with his desperation to find her, and she was sitting here, experiencing odd feelings for one of Devon's greatest enemies, one of her greatest enemies.

Except he wasn't her enemy anymore, and at one time he'd been Devon's best friend. Julian had become her only sense of comfort, the only thing keeping her alive. In a strange way he had become one of her closest friends. They shared a common bond no one else would understand. They were linked together by this awful experience, and they were the only reason the other was still alive. She’d come closer to losing her mind than he had, but she knew he was just barely clinging to his sanity and composure also.

"I planned to destroy that love."

She looked back at him. "Why?" she demanded.

He shrugged. "Why should Devon get the happy ending I'd been denied?"

Cassie's mouth parted. "And how do you feel now?"

Amusement curved his full mouth making him appear younger and more approachable. "Now I don't."

"Why not?"

He shrugged absently as he dropped his head to the glass. "Because it would upset you if I destroyed him."

The breath froze in her lungs, her heart pumped loudly in her chest. Confusion swirled through her as she tried to puzzle out his words, and how she felt about them. "Julian..."

Her words faded away as he turned back to her, and those ice eyes burned into hers. "I know how you feel about him, Princess. I've touched you, and I know the depth of your love for him, the purity of it. I expect nothing from you, and I won't hurt you. Ever."

Tears filled her eyes and slipped down her cheeks. She was confused by her strange new feelings for him, but she knew he was not confused. It was apparent he cared for her deeply, that he may be in love with her. She ached for him, ached for the feelings he had; feelings she couldn't return. Not in the way he desired her to at least. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Don't be. This is not a bad thing. I think it's a good thing. You've made me different and I thank you for it. Please don't cry, Princess."

Cassie wiped the tears from her eyes and bit on her bottom lip as she tried to stifle the flow. She couldn't bring herself to look at him again, couldn't stop the swirling confusion rolling through her. He was right, what she felt for Devon was true and so unbelievably good and real. She didn't want Julian to be hurt because of it though. "What happened to Victoria?" she asked.

"She was killed during what you call The Slaughter." Cassie looked at him in surprise. "What, you thought it was only your kind who was killed?"

"Yes," Cassie admitted.

He shook his head. "Nope, your kind did put up a fight against us; they took a few of us with them. One of which was Victoria."

She'd never thought about it, hadn't realized it had happened. "I'm sorry for your loss," she told him.

"Don't be, I hadn't seen her in over a hundred years by that point."

Cassie stifled a yawn as whatever they were pumping into her room started to take hold. "We have to get out of here."

"Yes, we do."

Instinctively, she rested her hand against the glass. She sighed in relief as he pressed his large palm against hers. She'd feared he would shut her out, that her inability to return his feelings would turn him against her. "We will get out."

"Not counting on Devon to rescue you anymore?"

She had no doubt Devon was tearing the earth apart in search of her, but it was unreasonable of her to expect him to find her. She'd been here for so long, if he was able to find her, he would have by now. "He won't stop until he finds me, but it may not be in time."

"My thoughts exactly, Princess."

She rolled her eyes as she shot him a cross look. "Stop calling me Princess," she grumbled. He grinned back at her. "Didn't you believe in Annabelle and Liam's love?"

He frowned before shaking his head. "I didn't know much about Annabelle and Liam. Devon kept me away from her, she was his own private project, and I let him have her because I thought it would be fun to watch the show. I never thought what happened between them would happen and that Devon could change. At the time I would have interfered if I’d known what was coming."

"But not now?"

His amazing eyes darkened to an almost sea shade of blue. "No. No matter how much I resent Devon for turning against his own kind, his very nature, and me, I am glad he brought you into our lives."

Cassie's fatigue was forgotten in the face of his words. Her heart thumped loudly, her breath was labored as she tried to think of some way to comfort him, some way to sort through the tumult of emotions tearing through her. The vulnerable expression on his face caused tears to bloom in her eyes once more.

"Julian..."

His blond hair fell across his forehead as he offered a tremulous smile. "It’s ok Princess, I understand."

She was glad he understood, because she didn't anymore. She dropped her head to the window and found comfort when he rested his head against hers once more. She loved Devon, she knew that, but the idea of causing Julian pain was tearing her to shreds inside. He was her savior, her friend, and she was growing to love and rely on him more and more with every passing moment.