Does that mean no more date invitations? What a relief.
“You’re going to work for the Order. You’re going to use yourboyfriend, and you’re going to—” He paused, a deeper scowl cutting across his face. “Wait. Are yousleepingwith him? Are youfuckingthe vampires?”
Why did it always come down to that? Just because I’m a woman, I’m automatically sleeping with him? Well, I am, but…
He stepped forward, fist clenched and raised, and Cally braced herself. But Darian turned away at the last moment, exhaling sharply.
When at last he’d regained some semblance of control, he faced her again, arms folded across his chest. “You will turn Anthony Du Pont—Antoine—into a weapon for the Order. You will use him to kill every other vampire in Boston.” He smiled coldly. “I’ll give you a list.”
She swallowed some blood and tried not to gag on it. “What makes you think Antoine would work for you?”
“You’ll make him.”
“How, exactly? He’s a vampire, I can’t make him do anything.”And I wouldn’t, even if I could.
“You’re awitch.” He said the word like it was a curse. “Just bond him.” He laughed cruelly. “What am I saying? You’re hischattel. You’ve bound him already.”
“What do you mean?” Cally asked, genuine fear settling within her for the first time since she’d entered the room.
“Don’t you know?” he taunted. “Witches bind vampires. As soon as he drank of your blood, you had power over him.”
“No.” Cally shook her head. This was Order lies, nothing more. “You’re wrong.”
“You think so, do you?” He crouched before her, bringing his eyes down to hers. “Don’t you know how vampires were created?”
She did. Belle had once told her. It was a curse that had—
“A witch once tried to control a man,” Darian continued, his tone bitter. “The spell worked—oh it worked, all right. But the result?” His lip curled. “I thought you would be different. But you’re just the same as the rest, aren’t you?”
Cally felt a sudden chill, far deeper than merely the cold of the room. “What are you saying?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” He straightened, crossed his arms and sneered down at her. “In woman’s attempt to control man, witches gave birth to vampires. Your kind is responsible for this plague on all of us.” His hand lashed out, catching her bruised cheek with his knuckles, a blow of pure malice, as if he were punishing all witches through her. “I had intended to use your blood on Nico to the same end, but you already have a vampire bound to you, don’t you?”
She squeezed her eyes shut, her head turned to the side, the pain making it hard to think.
It didn’t work like that.If it did, Antoine would already be smashing down their front door. She was grateful he wasn’t; there were too many Order soldiers here, even for Antoine. But she had no power over him. Darian was wrong, and she exhaled slowly in relief. For a moment, she’d believed him. She’d thought—
“It’ll take time for the bond to develop, of course.” The certainty in his voice turned her stomach. “I don’t know how long. But it will have already started,witch.Once your power over him grows and he’s your slave, we will have a weapon.” The zeal had returned to his eyes. “Boston first, then the rest of the cursed vampires in this country. All will fall to the Order.”
He means it. Does the bond really work like that? Why didn’t Belle tell me?
But of course. She wouldn’t want me to know.
And Antoine. What would this do to him, if he were to find out?
It would destroy him. First Belle, treating him like a pet. Then her, holding a bond over him that would enslave him.
But the solution was simple. She’d never tell him, and she’d never use the bond to force him to do anything.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, leaning into the half-truth for her conviction. “I can’t make him do anything.”
Darian leaned forward until his face was over hers. “Thenlearn,” he hissed. “I’ll give you a month to show me results. If you don’t, I’ll kill your dad. I’ll kill Eve. Not quickly, either. I’ll send you pieces of them.”
She stared at him. “Listen to yourself. You call vampires monsters, but you’re just as bad as any of them.”
His hand cracked into her face, and she didn’t roll with it quickly enough. Pain lanced through her cheek, a flare of agony that made her certain something had broken. It took all her willpower not to glare at him, and she spat another mouthful of blood onto the floor.
Darian stepped back to keep his shoes clean. “I thought I would struggle to do what needs to be done,” he said, half to himself. “But you make it easy for me, you vampire’sharlot.” He nodded, as if convincing himself. “Sacrifice is the only language worth speaking when survival is on the line. One or two innocents to save hundreds—assuming your friend Eveisan innocent. Is she a witch too? Is she the whore of a vampire like you?”
