Aldron’s gaze remains on me.“Did anyone use his name?”
I close my eyes.Bad idea.
That room returns too quickly.Candle smoke.Cold hands.The woman behind the curtain.A silver-haired man saying, “Lucius won’t tolerate another dead donor.Feed from the wrist if you can’t control your teeth.”
My eyes snap open.“Lucius,” I whisper.
The temperature in the room drops dramatically.
Ari slides off the desk fully.“Oh, that’s bad.”
“Who is Lucius?”I ask.
No one answers fast enough.My fear turns to anger, because anger has always been more useful.
“Who is Lucius?”I repeat.
Aldron’s mouth flattens.“My brother.”
I stare at him.Of all the answers, that’s not the one I expect.
“Your brother,” I say.
“Yes.”
“The vampire connected to the people who chained me up and used me like a wine bottle is your brother.”
Aldron flinches.It’s tiny, nearly invisible, but it’s there.Good.I want that to hurt.
Akasha says my name softly.“Bri...”
“No.”I stand, cutting her off.The chair scrapes against the floor.“No gentle voices.Not right now.”
Knox moves one step, then stops himself.I feel the effort it takes him.He wants to come closer.Wants to do something.Fix something.Break something.
There’s nothing to fix, but there’s plenty to break.
Aldron comes around the desk slowly.“I didn’t know Lucius was involved when we found you.I suspected the ring, not him directly.If I had known...”
“What?You would have killed him sooner?”
His eyes darken.“Yes.”
The simplicity of the answer knocks some of the fire out of me, but not enough.
“Is he alive?”
“Yes.”
“Where is he?”
“We don’t know.”
I laugh, but it sounds wrong.“Convenient.”Knox’s growl scrapes through the room.
Aldron looks at him.“Careful.”
“No,” I snap before Knox can speak.“Don’tcarefulhim because of me.”
