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"Of course I want the ringbut I’ll get it eventually Soon, you won’t be able to denyAre you quite certain you don’t wish to join me?" Lilith moved her hand possessively over the front of Max’s chest, her long nails threading through hair and over the plane ofthe vis bulla on one sidethen back up into the thick strands that brushed his neck
He re to meet Victoria’s eyes Yet she saw the pulse in the veins of his throat, and the visible tension in his arhtened, the press of his lips She felt the revulsion and horror e from him, and yet he displayed no reaction
She realized in that ard three o, whatever he’d done to her--and she’d accepted--during his atte compared to what Max experienced at the hands of the valiness
"I didn’t think you illing to share," Victoria replied, trying a different tack, concentrating on her breathing Keeping it easy, slow, snore the smell of blood
"For a Venator turned undead, I may perhaps make an exception," Lilith admitted "You are very close, Victoria Gardella Can you not feel it burning inside you? The need? I see it in your eyes"
"You see nothing," Victoria told her, wondering how much time had elapsed Sebastian and the others should have been able to find the entrance to the secret passage behind the throne by nowthey could be nearby She simply needed to kill more time "You merely see what you want to see"
"Indeed" Lilith sat straight in her chair "Let us find out about that" She stood abruptly Her long eohich was more in the style of Wayren than her cohort Sara, cascaded to her feet
The vaave a subtle jerk of her head, but Victoria was ready She whirled as two undead swarain, she knocked away the hands that grasped for her, grabbing one of the va the creature toward the other Then, quickly, before they could regain their balance or react, she stabbed one He poofed into ash, and the other stue, pushing hih with her stake
Standing in the pile of ash, she faced Lilith "Keep your goons away from me"
The tall va red eyes The blue had narrowed to the thinnest circle "That was incomparably rude, Victoria Gardella But don’t worryI won’t allow you another chance to misbehave Come with me, or I shall take out h pulled by a puppet string, and Victoria did not miss Lilith’s iraceful, yet reluctance be-laboredevery step The vampire queen was tall, nearly as tall as he, and she circled his wrist with her skeletal fingers
Sara moved toward Victoria, and she saw that the blonde woman still carried the pistol that had stopped their escape earlier Using its barrel, she pushed Victoria toward the door at the opposite side of the chamber
Victoria hadn’t been in this room before; in fact, she’d hardly noticed the entrance to it the two previous times she’d been in the throne rooer here, and the space was lit, unlike the other, by two massive fireplaces--one at each end--and wall sconces The flames danced black shadows on the stone walls so that they seemed to undulate in every direction This cha with its heat
Or perhaps it just felt that way because of the thick bloodscent, the leaping shadows, and the war, low divan piled with cushions, tables and chairs, and, in the center, a dark shadow in the floor On the other side of the shadoas another doorway
A lol caught Victoria’s attention, and she turned to see three pairs of red eyes burning near the floor in front of one of the fireplaces Six pointed ears cocked toward the
The hair on the back of Victoria’s are wolflike canines with vas that curved outside their muzzles when closed The head of the sh as her waist
They streaked over to Lilith, who cos sat promptly, but their attention, Victoria noas focused on Maxon the fresh blood that oozed down his skin One of theer Lilith had drawn through the blood moments before, but the other two sat at attention: eyes sharp, ears perked,with bloodlust
"Now," said Lilith al you are, Victoria Gardella And then it will be all over"
A cold web of fear covered her as she breathed hot, bloody, sluggish air and felt a drop of perspiration roll down her back
Everything happened very quickly, but Victoria could have done nothing to prevent it Sara’s gun barrel poked her in the side, and the dogs sat sentry in front of her as three vampiresether at his lap When they first approached, he stepped back, his teeth baring ferallybut when Sara prodded Victoria with the gun, he acquiesced