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“That’s … deranged.” My voice was so quiet. I was truly frightened now.
He came forward and stroked my cheek. It was all I could do not to shudder. “You’re young. In years to come, you’ll understand my actions better.”
“You can’t just go around killing people. I will never understand that. And if you so much as lay a finger on my parents, I’ll dedicate the rest of my life to hunting you down,” I seethed.
His smile was sharp. “Wouldn’t that be an intriguing game of cat and mouse?”
I felt his magic thicken the air in the room as if he was trying to show me just how powerful he was. It was nothing like Peter’s magic. It felt heavy and dark, unpredictable. Panic set in. I needed to stop antagonising him and get on his good side. For whatever reason, my parents were taking forever to get here, and I might have to fight my way out on my own. I racked my brains, trying to search for an angle. Then, it finally hit me. If Theodore was Vasilios’ father, then that meant Rita was his half-sister. He had family here, something to connect with.
“You have a sister, you know,” I said, my voice soft.
Vasilios scoffed. “I know all about my half-sister. I plan on killing her last. She will die a truly painful death for decapitating my father.”
I winced, remembering how Rebecca didn’t wish to detail the manner in which Theodore had been killed. Now I understood why.
“She killed him because she realised he was a monster. If he’d lived long enough for you to get to know him, you might’ve come to the same conclusion.”
He frowned and walked to the other side of the room. I had no idea if I’d given him food for thought or merely pissed him off. My anxiety was through the roof at this point, which was probably why Peter’s voice entered my mind.
What’s wrong? Where are you? I can feel your fear.
Peter! I need you to come to Nic’s house right away.
Why? What’s happening?
Oh, hell, how did I explain this in the fastest, most efficient manner possible?
Okay, I need you to listen carefully. Nic isn’t Nic Baumann. Nic is Vasilios. He’s been using a glamour to trick everyone into thinking they were seeing Nic when in reality we were looking at a complete stranger. He came from Oreylia to exact revenge for his father’s death. He wants to kill my parents and—
Hold on a second. Who is his father?
I drew in a breath, knowing this information would shock him. The sorcerer Theodore.
There was a split-second pause on his end, and then, I’ll be there as quick as I can.
Thank you. I said in relief. Bring back up. My parents—
Darya, I can’t teleport into the house. He sounded panicked.
What?
I’m outside. Your parents and a bunch of other people are here, too. There’s some sort of forcefield surrounding the house, and no one can get in.
I glanced at Vasilios. He was standing on the other side of the room, silently watching me.
“Chatting with your boyfriend, are you?” he asked, arching a single eyebrow.
“You’ve cast a spell on the house?”
“I could hardly just let people come barrelling in and ruining our time together.”
I scoffed, unable to censor my disdain. “You really are deranged.”
He walked towards me. I backed away, my shoulders meeting the wall behind me. I wanted to fight him, use my physical strength to break out of this trap, but I couldn’t compete with his magic. If he was powerful enough to block my mother from teleporting in here, then who knew what he was capable of. Vasilios studied me closely, barely an inch between us. He tilted his head. “He might be your first love, but I will be your last.”
His statement made my stomach flip. “As I said, you’re deranged.”
“And you’re intrigued,” he countered quietly.
“I am far from intrigued,” I shot back.
“You don’t have to pretend with me, Darya. Besides, if you behave, I’ll let Peter live. You can have your little love story. Hell, get married and have a bunch of screaming babies. Eighty years from now, Peter Girard will be dead, but you and I, Darya Cristescu, we’ll barely be getting started.”
His words cut through me because I loved Peter, and I couldn’t stand the thought of losing him, even after a lifetime together. “You’re cruel.”
“The truth often is.”
“Where’s the real Nic Baumann?” I demanded. “Where are his parents? Did you kill them, too?”
“Hard as it might be to believe, I try not to hurt the innocent.”
“You had Sven try to kill Angela,” I pointed out. “Not to mention you were creepily spying on her.”
“If I wanted Angela dead, she would be. I merely needed to incapacitate her for a while, make her forget what she’d discovered about me. And the only reason I was watching her was because I wanted to learn everything I could about you.”
