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I’d do the same if it was Nova who was taken from me.

I’d hunt high and low and do anything – double cross anyone – if it meant getting revenge.

And I know the others would too.

Even Mack.

Especially Mack.

Despite this, we didn’t talk after they took her. He and I are not friends. He is not going to be joining our group. I might have enjoyed watching her with him, but that’s where it ends.

There’s no love between them, and I’m suddenly very thankful that he lives in England and we’ll be able to leave him behind when we finally get the hell out of here.

The room they take me to is a badly put together version of a hospital room. It’s supposed to look sterile and professional. Instead, it looks seedy as hell.

Nova is fastened to a chair, legs extended, arms tied down.

On each side, blood is being drained out of her.

Her eyes flutter as she looks at me. She won’t stop.

I turn from Nova to see Zephyra, pacing, rubbing her hands together.

“You are taking too much,” Miranda says calmly.

“I am taking what I need,” Zephyra yells. “What if something happens to her? What if she decides to risk ending her life, and everyone else’s, just to spite me? And she dies? And then there’s never another drop to be found.”

She is manic, talking quickly and in a tone that reminds me of exactly the way I used to feel when I was hungry for a fix.

“I need enough so that I can try to replicate it.” Her eyes glimmer, and she fixes her gaze on mine. Slowly, she sashays toward me and curls her fingers around my forearm. “Can you imagine? If we can replicate it, there will be no limit to what we can do.”

I inhale slowly and try to remember how I made myself look at her when I wanted her to believe I was in love with her.

My eyes soften, just a little, and immediately she notices. She tightens her grasp and presses herself against my chest. Then she draws a long, slow line down the side of my face. She uses her nail to trace the tattoos on my neck, then rests against my and sighs as she listens to my heart beating.

“I missed you,” she whispers.

I meet Nova’s gaze as I wrap my arms around Zephyra.

Nova doesn’t move or speak.

“Are you back?” Zephyra asks, staring up at me.

I force myself to smile. Not a happy smile — a knowing smile. A smile that says, yeah why the fuck not.

“I never should have left,” I whisper darkly.

I meet Zephyra’s eyes. There is nothing but blackness in them, and a hunger that reminds me too much of myself. Looking at her makes me feel sick deep in the pit of my stomach. But I need her to believe I want her. So, I think about Nova.

I picture her in that house of mirrors, how delicious she looked, how fucking incredible she was when she stood there staring at herself.

As I put my hands on Zephyra and kiss her, I imagine it is Nova’s soft beautiful body beneath my hands instead of Zephyra’s willowy frame.

I do the things I remember she likes. I scrape my nails across her back as I tuck my hands up under her dress. She arches into me and does the same, even though I hate it when she does that.

She starts to trail kisses down my neck, swirling her strangely cold tongue over the ink that decorates my skin. She tugs my beard, bringing my lips to hers.

I keep my eyes closed because I know hers are open. She is watching me.