“Peace doesn’t come from leashing those stronger than you,” I said. “You don’t elevate anything. You drain it.”
His gaze faltered, and something I recognized as shame flickered in his eyes, but he covered it with a shrug. “You couldhave had peace, Cristian. Power. Legacy. Instead, you cling to scraps of conscience and mortal attachments. Andpets.”
I didn’t respond. He didn’t deserve the truth. He didn’t deserve to know that I had once believed in all of it. That I had once believed in him.
They’d wanted my strength because it frightened them. They wanted to control it, use it for themselves. No one had beaten me in battle. No one had contained me—until they tricked me. Bound me. Froze me in a void.
Once, I had been their greatest fear. I intended to be again.
I took one step forward. “If she dies because of you, there won’t be a second warning.”
Hammond’s smile cracked. “Always the martyr.”
I tilted my head. “You mistake restraint for martyrdom.”
He studied me for a moment, then turned his attention back to Nadia, who stirred faintly. “You’ll burn for her,” he said.
“Get out,” I said quietly.
He hesitated, perhaps expecting me to lash out, to lose control. But I’d already learned what that cost. He finally stepped back toward the door.
I called after him. “If you see my asshole brother, tell him I want my gold.”
That earned me a genuine laugh. “Picking up the language of this new world, are you?”
I almost smiled. “I’m a fast learner.”
He vanished into the early light, leaving behind the stench of rot and arrogance. The court had always used my attachments as leverage. I wouldn’t let that happen again.
I locked the door and stood still, listening. Silence. No heartbeat but Nadia’s.
Hammond had left.
I turned back to Nadia. She was sprawled on the floor, her breathing shallow. The sight clawed at me. Carefully, I pickedher up, mindful of the weight of her head against my arm. She was warm. Always warm. The bond eased as I carried her to the couch. Every step pulled me tighter into her orbit.
I fetched a damp cloth from the bathroom and returned to her. I sat, lowering myself until her head rested on my thigh. I pressed the cloth to her forehead, brushing away the sheen of sweat. Her pulse thudded weakly against her throat, but it was there.
Holding her was a mistake. I knew it the moment I breathed her in. The yearning started small, but it spread to my chest and refused to leave. It wasn’t hunger. It wasn’t lust. This was something far more dangerous.
Hammond’s voice played in my mind.Nothing like attachments to remind oneself of one’s weaknesses.
He wasn’t wrong.
But as I looked down into Nadia’s face, I couldn’t bring myself to care.
Hammond had looked older. I couldn’t stop thinking about that. Vampires did not age. Yet his skin had thinned, and his aura had dimmed.
Nadia stirred, a faint sound escaping her throat. Her lashes fluttered open. She tried to sit up, but I pressed my hand gently to her shoulder.
“Take it slow,” I said.
Her voice rasped. “What happened?”
“You were the victim of an energy vampire.”
Her brow furrowed. “A what?”
“They feed on what they don’t have—your vitality, your will. They drain the living without breaking skin.”
