"For me?" I backed away from the window. "Why would hunters come after me? I'm not even a full vampire!"

Elias moved with supernatural speed, grabbing a sword from a display on the wall. "Your hybrid nature makes you valuable. Or dangerous. Possibly both."


The mansion trembled as something exploded on the lower floor. Shouts and the unmistakable sound of combat echoed through the halls.

"We need to move," Elias said, tossing me a smaller blade. "Can you use this?"

I caught it reflexively, the weight feeling oddly familiar in my hand. "I took fencing in college?"


"Your muscle memory will serve you better than your conscious mind." He strode to a bookshelf and pulled a specific volume, revealing a hidden passage. "This way."

"Seriously? Secret passages?" I followed him into the dark corridor. "Could you be any more cliché?"


"Would you prefer to stay and explain your existence to people who've dedicated their lives to eradicating my kind?" He closed the passage behind us, plunging us into darkness.

I could see perfectly, another perk of my weird hybrid status. "Fair point. Lead on, Count Dramatic."

We moved swiftly through the narrow passage, the sounds of fighting growing distant. My heart pounded, but strangely, I wasn't afraid—more like exhilarated. Like part of me had been waiting for this.

"Who exactly are these hunters?" I asked, keeping pace with him.

"The Order of the Silver Dawn. Religious zealots who believe all vampires are demonic abominations." His voice was tight with controlled anger. "They've hunted us for centuries."

"And they somehow know about me?"

Elias paused at a junction in the passage. "Someone must have informed them. The question is who."

The redhead's face flashed in my mind. "Your charming second-in-command seemed pretty unhappy about my existence."

"Vivienne wouldn't betray me, regardless of her feelings about you." He sounded certain, but I noticed his hesitation.

We emerged into what appeared to be an underground garage filled with luxury vehicles. Elias headed straight for a matte black Aston Martin.

"Get in," he commanded, sliding into the driver's seat.

I complied, admiring the leather interior. "Nice ride. Immortality must pay well."

"Compound interest is a vampire's best friend." He started the engine, which purred like a predator. "We need to reach my safe house. It's about an hour north."

As we accelerated through a hidden tunnel, I felt a strange sensation in my chest—a pulling, like something was trying to surface from deep within me.

"I've been here before," I murmured, pressing my hand against my sternum. "In this car, escaping with you."

Elias's knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. "Yes. The night before you died."

The tunnel opened onto a deserted road, and Elias floored it, the powerful engine launching us forward into the night.

"How did I die, exactly?" I asked, needing to know. "You said hunters killed me, but there's more to it, isn't there?"

His jaw tightened. "This isn't the time."

"When is the time? After more hunters try to kill us?" I turned in my seat to face him. "I deserve to know my own history."

The speedometer crept past 120 mph as we raced along empty country roads. Finally, Elias spoke, his voice barely audible even to my enhanced hearing.

"You sacrificed yourself. For me."

A flash of memory hit me—standing between Elias and a silver-tipped crossbow bolt, the searing pain as it pierced my chest, the look of horror on his face as I fell.

I gasped, doubling over as the phantom pain echoed through my body.

Elias's hand was instantly on my shoulder. "What did you see?"

"The crossbow," I managed, breathing heavily. "I jumped in front of you."

His hand tightened on my shoulder, then withdrew. "Yes."

"Why would I do that?" I straightened, genuinely confused. "Was I really that devoted a servant?"

Something flashed across his face—pain, frustration, something deeper. "You were never just a servant, Ethan."

Before I could ask what he meant, headlights appeared in our rearview mirror, approaching fast.

"They found us," Elias said grimly, accelerating even more. "Hold on."

The pursuing vehicle—a black SUV—rammed us from behind, sending us fishtailing. Elias controlled the skid masterfully, but our pursuers were closing in.

"Can you shoot?" he asked, pulling a handgun from under his seat and offering it to me.

I took the weapon, another wave of déjà vu washing over me. "Apparently I'm about to find out."

As I rolled down the window, prepared to defend us against unknown assailants, I couldn't help but wonder: Was I fighting alongside the right side this time? Or was I repeating the mistake that had gotten me killed once before?