Going to see him had been heartbreaking for Sevilla. She had told herself not to do it. Told herself that no good could come of it. But she had gone anyway.

Yes, she had only caused herself pain. She merely wanted to see him one last time before Medeia broke his spirit completely. Because when Gabriel watched his sister die tomorrow, she knew there wouldn’t be much left of him inside. Already he was becoming a shell of his former self, and it hurt to see him reduced as he was. Medeia barely kept him alive: draining him until his breath was labored and his heart struggled, and then waiting for him to heal, only to feed all over again. It was definitely taking a toll on him. Also, having to personally betray his sister like that by speaking Medeia’s dark words couldn’t have helped.

But what hurt even more than seeing him almost broken was his seduction attempt. It had been so transparently obvious. Though she still harbored a secret crush on him, she refused to give herself to him like that. Refused to be used by a dragon king who was desperate enough to feign love for freedom.

When she had been his slave so long ago, she had often dreamed of being with him. He had been the brother of the king after all, a man who could have commuted her sentence with the wave of a pen. Not to mention he had been one of the hottest men she had ever seen. Still was. So handsome. So debonair. But after he had purchased her at the auction, she had rarely seen him again, save from afar. She had yearned for him to notice her again, but he never did.

It was the infantile dream of a vampire newly turned. At the dawn of the 19th century, she had been an Orion witch, one of those who hunted vampires and shifters, until she had been captured by a coven in New York. The vampires had turned her immediately and began her training in the Death affinity. The Great Dragon War had been in full swing then and she had been recruited into the ranks, even though she was hardly ready for combat. She had been taken prisoner by dragons shortly after her first raid, conveyed to Midnight on a slave wagon, and then purchased by Gabriel.

Ah, Gabriel.

She remembered what he had told her only a short while ago.

One of the most beautiful vampires I had ever seen stepped onto the stage. I decided right then and there I had to have her.

If that was true, then why had he kept her locked away from him for most of her service term? But she already knew the answer to that. He had already admitted he was afraid of breaking that precious First Rule of his. Dragons considered themselves superior to all other shifters. They were arrogant, greedy sorts. The Rule was typical of the thinking of the majority of their kind. She thought most of them believed themselves superior to not just shifters, but other dragons as well, narcissistic as they were. She was surprised the dragons were able to band together and form shared dens at all.

To hell with Gabriel and his lies. He didn’t want her, never did. She didn’t need him. He would soon be out of her life forever, anyway.

But if it was true that she didn’t need him, why did the thought of losing him hurt so much?

The door to her quarters barged open. Sevilla had left it unlocked and unprotected by Weave traps, as per Medeia’s orders.

She turned around to find herself facing the lead vampire herself.

Sevilla bowed her head. “Medeia.”

Medeia smiled sweetly. Whenever she did that, Sevilla knew she was up to no good.

“I know you like him,” Medeia said. “My guards told me you visited.”

“I did,” Sevilla admitted.

“Aww, did you console him, sweet thing?” Medeia said. “You feel sorry for him?”

Sevilla straightened her back. “I did. But no longer.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” Sevilla said. “He doesn’t understand that we’re liberating the dragons from themselves. Their society is flawed. They believe themselves superior to all other shifters, and treat them accordingly. The shifters of North America will experience a new era of freedom and civil liberties under our rule. Plus, we’ll liberate the last of our bothers and sisters yet enslaved on this continent in the process.”

Medeia nodded, her eyes sparkling knowingly. “Are you certain you’re not simply telling me what I want to hear?”

“I’ve sworn allegiance to you,” Sevilla said. “I don’t take the oath lightly.”

“Nor should you,” Medeia said. “Given what will happen to you should you break it. I’ve hunted rogue vampires before. When they’re captured, their deaths aren’t pretty.”

“No...” Sevilla said. She had seen a rogue die at the hands of another vampire before. The screams had lasted for days, and what was left of the body had been unrecognizable. And that was before the body was burned and the bones ground to dust.

“I want you to seduce him,” Medeia said.

“What?” Sevilla stared at Medeia in surprise. “Who?”

“You know who,” Medeia said.

Sevilla swallowed. “Why?”

Medeia shrugged. “We’ll capture him breaking the First Rule on video. That way we have an excuse to execute him tomorrow morning with Gwendoline. We eliminate the royal family in one fell swoop.”

Sevilla was speechless. Execute him with Gwendoline?

No.

Sevilla knew eventually Medeia would tire of Gabriel and do away with him, but she hadn’t expected it to be so soon.

Tomorrow. He’s gone tomorrow.

The thought wrenched at her heart.

She could only imagine how much worse she would feel if she was the one who had to entrap him like that. The guilt would be overwhelming. Plus after feeling his touch, the thrill of him inside her, roaming her fingers across his beautiful body...

“I… I don’t know if I can do it,” Sevilla said.

“You’ve sworn allegiance to me. You know this?”

Sevilla lowered her gaze. “Yes.”

So that was what this was. Some sick test of her loyalty.

“Then you will do this,” Medeia pressed.

“Why don’t you do it?” Sevilla asked, knowing that she defied Medeia at her peril.

The vampire witch smiled, though her eyes were cold. Medeia ran a long nail across Sevilla’s jawline. “Why, sweet thing, I wouldn’t want to deprive you of a man you fancy. Besides, I plan to show your face in the video. So make sure your fangs are visible. We don’t want there to be any doubt you’re not a dragon.”

“My face... you’re going to blur it out, yes?” Sevilla asked suspiciously.

“No,” Medeia said. “But don’t worry, we’ll edit the video so it looks like Gabriel is the one seducing you. You won’t be culpable. When I assign an interim government to replace him, I’ll have them rule in your favor. You’ll just be a poor vampire slave Gabriel abused. I’ll have the government promise the people you’ll be punished privately, but no punishment of any kind will ever take place.”

“I don’t like it...” Sevilla said.

“Well it’s necessary,” Medeia snapped. “Especially for the later stages of my plan, when I reveal you as the mastermind behind everything.”

“Me?” Sevilla said. “The mastermind?” What twisted game was she playing?

“Yes, I intend to set you up as the ruler of Midnight,” Medeia said.

Sevilla merely gaped at her.

“You will be my puppet, of course,” Medeia continued. “While I pull the strings from the shadows.”

“Ah,” Sevilla said. “So that any assassination attempts are directed at me and not the true ruler of Midnight.”

“Very clever, dear girl,” Medeia said. “Also, it will appease Aldam. The vampire king of the Middle East wants to put one of his own puppets on the throne. He’ll think that marionette is you.”

Sevilla frowned. “So I’ll have to deal with being controlled in two directions...” Just who was this woman? She must have grown up in a royal court before being turned. It was the only way to explain her apparent mastery of political intrigue. Or maybe she was simply very good at faking it.

“I never said serving me was going to be easy,” Medeia told her. She clapped her hands. “So! I’ve had the vampires move our dragon king to a specially prepared bedroom. Hidden cameras are installed throughout. Now go do your duty for me.”