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Antoinette regained consciousness slowly For a long ti her, and then she sain, an expression of such love and devotion it would have broken his heart, if he&039;d still had one

She lifted one hand to his ruined cheek "What happened?"

"A burn It&039;s nothing"

"Does it hurt very ain, then frowned "Grigori, I had the most horrible dream"

"Did you, cara "

He didn&039;t deny it, only held her closer, as if he would never let her go

"What&039;s wrong?" She glanced around "Where am I? Where are the" Her voice trailed away Her eyes filled with confusion, and then she screaled in his eo! I&039;ll kill him! I&039;ll kill him!"

"Antoinette, stop it"

At the sound of his voice, she stilled immediately She was his creature now She would do whatever he coazed deep into her eyes, the power of hishers

"Listen to ain, or anything else that happened that night Do you understand?"

"Yes"

"You will do whatever I ask, tell me whatever I wish to knoon&039;t you?"

"Yes"

"Where have you been staying?"

"I live in a small house off Hartdale Avenue"

"Does Alexi live there also?"

"No I stay there alone, waiting for his bidding"

"Where does Alexi spend the daylight hours?"

"He told me never to tell anyone"

"But I am your master now You must tell me"

"He sleeps in the wine cellar at our house"

"Our house?" Grigori frowned The only house they had ever shared had been in Italy He had gone back to his old hometown about thirty years before All the houses in the vicinity, including his own and his Uncle Pietro&039;s, had been torn down and replaced by a winery and acres of vineyards "That&039;s not possible"

She nodded "He owns it now"

"Alexi owns the winery?"

She looked at hiori"

"What is it like now, our house?"

"It is the same as it hen first you tookto ht a o"

"What month was it?"

"November"

"And the year, do you reht Alexi woketo find you" A faint soing through tiht, but I did not believe hilanced around the rooaze troubled as she saw the TV set, the stereo, the laori sat back, stunned Alexi had traveled through ti Alexi where Antoinette was, and Alexi&039;s reply: Where you cannot find her

No wonder they couldn&039;t find Kristov&039;s resting place! He wasn&039;t sleeping in the sa in the same century!

"Where is he now?"

She stared past hiht, her expression blank "He&039;s gone back"

"Alone?"

"No He has the wo to come back for you?"

"No After I destroyed you, I was to destroy , as if they ori swore under his breath, and then he stood up, drawing her with him "How do you feel?"

"I don&039;t know" She looked up at him, her eyes filled with confusion "Am I dead?"

"No" He wasn&039;t sure what she was now In taking her blood and giving her his, he had broken Alexi&039;s hold over her She was bound to hiht her across and ht, was the only real answer, the only way she would ever be in control of her own destiny again But not now not when he needed her help "Sit down, Antoinette Relax"

"What are we going to do?" she asked

"Do you knohere Raht ato kill hih, he went to theand stared out into the night He stood there, un, still as only one who is Va Alexi had Marisa Antoinette was still alive Ra Alexi had Marisa

Marisa When had she become so important to him? She was a mortal woman, cut off from him by centuries of blood and death And yet she had cradled his he had not felt in two hundred years

He heard the rustle of Antoinette&039;s skirts as she shifted on the sofa and felt a sudden stab of guilt She was his wife, but she was no longer the woain And he was no longer the er a man at all

But she was still his wife, and he was responsible for her

He stood there for an hour, staring into the night, his thoughts turned inward Antoinette was safe for now, but Marisa

He turned slowly as the front door opened and Edward Ramsey burst inside

"Is she here?" Ramsey asked breathlessly "Tell ori replied quietly, and it took all his self-control to keep fro him to shreds "What happened?"

Ramsey sneezed and blew his nose "I fell asleep When I woke up, I got the car and started don Alexi was in the backseat That&039;s all I reori took a step forward and Edward scra the cross He yelped as Antoinette ca his arled to free hiori approached Edward Holding Raer, he turned thehis neck for bite marks

"I already looked," Edward said

Eyes narrowed, Grigori stared at Ra to the thunderous beat of his heart There were no bite marks on the

Raer

"Go on, bloodsucker, do it!" Edward taunted "You&039;re no better than he is"