I had never loved a woman in all my years as a Vampire.
Not really. I had pleasure-filled nights but nothing else.
And I refused to turn a mortal; it was one of the things I had promised myself I would never do after Nox and Thorne. I didn’t want to damn anyone else to eternity.
I had refused to let the wicked emotion ofloveget in the way of my duty to Victor, but then all that changed when he told me of his plans last year.
He wanted to destroy the balance, possibly even destroy other monsters once Vampires had taken over the humans. First, he wanted to take out the hunters, and then move forward with all his other plans.
He had truly lost his mind to power.
The door creaked open on its hinges, and I looked up through the darkness of my cell.
A single flickering white light came from down the hall, the only thing letting me see the shadow of Victor’s face, and then I spotted Thorne walking in behind him.
I immediately jostled against my chains.
“No!” I tried to shout, but it came out as a rasp. The lingering vervain still stung my esophagus with every harsh swallow as I attempted to breathe.
“Oh, calm down, Bastian. I’m not going to torment him… At least, not the same way I’ve been tormenting you,” he drawled, and Thorne looked him over, his eyes narrowing.
“What do you want, Victor? What is the meaning of all of this? I understand you wanted to be sure we were on your side, but we haven’t given you any reason to doubt us. We’ve been on your team, and this is how you treat us?” Thorne questioned, waving a hand in my direction with his jaw clenched.
“Have you now?” Victor crooned with a huff as he looked down and then back up at Thorne.
“I want my brother back. What more do you want us to do to prove our loyalty?” Thorne demanded.
Victor arched a brow but then grinned.
“Prove it. Torture him for me,” he said, cocking his head toward me.
“Don’t you think he’s been through enough?” Thorne argued, but Victor tsked.
“It’s enough when I say it’s enough. Besides, I wonder how it’ll be in that little head of yours while you spill your brother’s blood at your feet because you were following orders… Now, let’s see how good you are at following them. Beat. Him.”
Victor shoved Thorne forward, moving him directly in front of me.
I nodded my head, letting him know it was okay, that I could take it.
This was all a game for Victor. Any way he could physically and mentally torment you, he would. He tried the mental and the physical, so now he was going to try using both, making Thorne be the one to dish out my punishment all because he still didn’t have the answers he craved.
Good. He wouldn’t get them.
Thorne’s fist connected with my face, sending my head jerking to the side, and the taste of iron flooded my mouth.
“Don’t stop until I tell you to,” Victor commanded, and Thorne’s fist landed a blow again, and again, and again until the pain shifted to a numb embrace, and I was no longer sitting up on my knees but was on the ground instead.
My breaths were wet, ragged, and Thorne was nothing but a dark silhouette now as he went from punching me to kicking me. His grunts almost sounded like whimpers, but his hits were only getting more forceful as darkness invaded my vision.
“Is that fucking enough for you?!” Thorne roared at Victor.
He made a contemplativehmm, as if he were satisfied, before I heard the creak of the door and then the darkness claimed me.
24
Serina
Iwokewithalooseness to me that I didn’t think I was capable of feeling. I quickly jumped in the shower to get cleaned up for the day when the smell of coffee wafted from downstairs. I dried off and got dressed.
