My brother stepped away, giving himself a straight shot to Magnus. His expression twisted with revulsion as he glared at me—it was just a touch too hot to be real. “You disgust me,” he hissed. “You’re no brother of mine.”
He’s a good actor,Eli commented.You need to get Magnus to release me. And you need to make it look real. You’re going to have to feed on me.
Magnus chuckled, eyes dancing as he met Thierry’s glare. “You can’t argue with his math, Thierry. Nor with how replaceable a single human is. I assure you, there’s plenty more where that came from.” He nodded toward the wooden stake in Thierry’s hand. “Release it. I won’t have you trying something foolish while your brother slakes his thirst.”
Thierry dropped the stake immediately. It hit the carpet at his feet.
“You too,” Magnus said, nodding to the one I held.
Do it,Eli said.Trust me.
Gritting my teeth, I let the stake fall. Fear seized me—icy and total. Because I understood, through the bond, what Eli’s plan was. There was every chance it would get him killed.
“Let go of him,” I said, taking a step closer. I met Eli’s gaze, trying to fill it with regret—it wasn’t acting. It was my fault he was here. If I’d just left him alone—
Nicolas, I love you. I’ve always loved you. I don’t regret anything.
I swallowed hard. “I need him free and compliant.”
Magnus snorted. “Very well. But don’t think me foolish—I will be the one to place him under a compulsion.”
Then he released Eli.
My mate staggered backward.
Magnus caught him by the wrist and met his gaze. “You will hold very still and do exactly what you’re told. You will not scream or make a sound, but you will feel every moment of what Nicolas does to you.” His lips curled into a vicious, mocking smile. “After all, love hurts.”
Eli went perfectly still, his expression blank. Through the bond, I felt Magnus’s power crash over him like a tidal wave—but it rolled through him harmlessly.
“No,” I gasped, injecting as much horror into my voice as I could. “That’s—you can’t make him suffer! That wasn’t what I agreed to!”
See? Immune to vampire hypnotism.Eli’s mental voice was calm, but I could feel the strain beneath it.
Magnus met my gaze, his eyes pure evil. “You’re still getting a fair trade, Nicolas. His life for the other two. Now do it—before I tear his heart from his chest. I’m growing impatient.”
I took a step closer, then another. Eli’s eyes were unfocused, his face blank. He didn’t move a muscle. His trust in me was total.
“Don’t do this!” Thierry shouted as I took Eli by the shoulders and let my fangs drop. “Nicolas, no!”
Magnus’s attention was locked on us, drinking in the scene greedily, his eyes alight with glee. He hardly seemed to notice Thierry.
You have to do it and make it look real,Eli whispered.
Steeling myself, I sank my fangs into Eli’s throat. My mate sucked in a sharp breath, as though in pain. In reality, I willed my bite to feel like nothing at all for him—this was not the time nor the place for pleasure.
When it starts, drop me to the ground. Next to the stakes.
Magnus started laughing as I swallowed the first mouthful of Eli’s blood.
Just as I’d done countless times before to leave no trace, I ran my tongue across one of my fangs, drawing a bead of blood that mixed with Eli’s. Then I lapped at the wound. Through the bond, I felt his skin begin to knit itself back together.
Unlike my past victims, I hadn’t taken nearly enough blood to harm him.
In the next moment, Thierry moved in a blur, launching into Magnus with a devastating kick to the gut.
Magnus, though distracted, was still impossibly fast. He caught my twin’s foot and threw him backward, hard enough to shatter the wall.
I dropped Eli beside the wooden stakes, just as he’d asked, and lunged for Magnus. If I could just get my hands around his head—
