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“No.” She says it fast. Then, slower. “Not this. I knew something. He’s been sending Angelo on errands at all hours. Taking more of an interest in Dominic’s social life… I thought he was bored.”

We keep going until the passage ends in a windowless, circular room. A giant chandelier hangs from the ceiling, crafted from cast iron bent into thorns and fitted with fat yellow candles. Mounted hunting trophies hang from the stone walls alongside antique weapons. Pikes, a pair of sabers, a long-handled axe with a tarnished blade.

A cage big enough for a person stands in the middle. Jessica Stephens inside it. Tears streak the dried mud caked on her face. Constantin has a fist in her hair, holding her against the bars, fangs out. Her body is loose, and her eyes are half-closed.

Dominic’s in the corner, almost as scared as the woman. “Please.” He has both hands up, palms out. “Don’t hurt her.”

“Care to explain, Father?”

Constantin turns. Dominic jumps.

“You brought that Valzera filth into our home?”

His hate for my family runs deeper than I knew.

“Nice little production line you have here, turning humans into vampires,” I say.

The stench of dried blood, animal and human, is thick. Discarded blood bags are piled in the corner. None of them carry the Kodiak label. He’s got his own source. For someone who abhors feeding from the blood bank, it’s a surprise, but maybe he couldn’t hunt enough to feed them all. That spot I found on the trail behind Ravenscrest months ago. Splattered blood, cleaned away like it was never there. Constantin’s people getting sloppy finding food.

“The only question is why.”

“Why?” He barks out a merciless laugh. “For two hundred and thirty-six years, Nikolas, we have paid three of our own so a town could feel safe. Your father, your grandmother, her father. You.” He almost looks sympathetic. “The daylight is a gift, but the price is too high.”

“So you created a basement full of feral children.”

“I created leverage. A little pressure to get the council and the coven to reconsider the terms.” He straightens, looking at me down the length of his nose. “You might enjoy wearing a leash, but I’m tired of it. We’re predators, and we’ve spent two centuries protecting the people who ought to be feeding us.”

“You’d rather be like those lawless clans in the Yukon, hiding in the woods? Or invisible in a city, feeding on drunks in dive bars, venturing out only at night?”

“You’re lecturing me!” He scoffs and waves an elegant hand around the room. “You, a Guardian, broke the rules and dragged an outsider into our business. Come January, when the council finds you both lacking, you and she will be gone. I think your young brother will take to the role quite nicely.” His smile sharpens. “For the short time that he’s in it. Briarwood will come to terms once she sees what I’ll let loose on this town if she doesn’t. Then there will be no grove and no Guardians and no one bound to this valley.”

My fists clench. The second I’m out of his way, he’s going to kill Luca and take Ellery’s memory, or worse. Except he tried before and it didn’t quite stick.

“What’s Ellery got to do with any of this?”

“You’ve been all over that girl since September, and you’ve never asked why she smells wrong.” I’ve never seen him enjoy anything this much. “Ask her about her parents, what her family legacy is, then I’ll answer all your questions about Miss Ashford.”

Constantin releases Jessica, and she slumps to the floor of the cage. He stalks toward me, and every muscle activates, preparing for a fight. Anna steps between us.

“You’ve gone insane, old man.” Her hand moves carefully to the gun strapped to her side. “This isn’t right.”

He draws himself up taller, looming over her, his lip curled in contempt. “You were never going to be good enough to lead this clan. Not after you promised yourself to that boy.”

At the mention of Sebastian, Anna stiffens, tension building in the air. Bringing Dominic before the council was one thing. Accusing a Guardian, her own father, is another. Whatever she’s deciding, I can see that it’s costing her. Constantin will never admit fault. He’d sooner incinerate the entire town than defend himself to the council.

Out of the corner of my eye, Dominic’s focus swivels from Jessica to us and back again. I need him on the right side of this fight. Constantin is old and powerful. Facing off against both Anna and me, he still might win.

“Dominic?” I say.

He’s on the brink of spiraling but he turns toward me.

“Help make this right.”

“Don’t listen to that human lapdog, Nephew. He only wants to defang us all.”

Dominic nods once and comes to a decision.

“You’re in violation of the Pact, Father.” Anna’s voice doesn’t waver, but there’s a goodbye buried in her words. “Come peacefully to answer for your crimes.”