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Before Elise could go anywhere near Saber, Ansel attacked, a shuddering movement, a horrible snapping noise, and he had her lifted, his fangs pressed to her gushing throat, her neck and head hanging at a freakish, unnatural angle. Lozen sounded like she was hyperventilating, or on the verge of throwing up, but Saber just shook her headno, no, no, no. She closed her eyes tight and covered them, gasping for breath.
“What. Do. You.Want?” Ansel said again.
At the sound of Elise’s body falling in a slump to the floor, a wet thud, Saber uncovered her eyes. The scene was awful, and Ansel looked savage. His skin had that almost-living glow, his eyes were bright, his mouth was wet with blood.
“Money,” Ysidra said, smirking and licking her lips. “I’m broke again.”
“I told you—” Ansel began, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, but Ysidra cut him off.
“You told me that you wanted nothing to do with me. That was before I had somethingyouwanted.”
“You have nothing I want,” he growled.
“Not even her?” she asked, and quick as the snap of a whip she pulled Saber into her arms, holding her like a shield so that her toes barely brushed the ground.
Ysidra held her by the neck, her grip iron, and bent over Saber’s shoulder so she could hold her fangs to her throat.
“No,” Saber whimpered, and something changed in Ansel’s eyes, a softening of the ember glow.
For a moment she saw Ulrich, the young man who’d watched his mother be murdered, who’d gone mad from grief and lost everything.
“I’ll give youmoney,” Ansel spat, his voice low, like the word ‘money’ was disgusting to him.
“And one more thing.”
“Name it.”
“Tell your littleplaythingthe truth about us.”
Ansel sighed and relaxed his face. By trying not to show any emotion, he looked almost bored.
“I made Ysidra. She’s my child,” he said. “She was like you, once, Saber.”
Saber felt a sob heave in her chest.
“No.”
“An interesting girl, full of life and energy and passion.”
“No!”
“And…” Ysidra laughed, prompting him to continue.
“And I went to one of those…parties, Saber. I told you I wasn’t good.”
“No,” Saber whispered.
Lozen shot Saber a look filled with so much intense emotion that it seared her.
“That’s why I was there that night, outside of the house, when I picked you up. It was only the one time. I was hungry, Ysidra said she needed to talk, so I didn’t think it would hurt anything. I didn’t think I’d run intoyou. And I didn’t kill anyone.”
“Because you wereafraidof getting caught!”
“You were ruining everything by killing kids, Ysidra,” Ansel said.
“As opposed to the animals?” Ysidra laughed. “Ansel here humiliates himself by eating mostly the blood of animals. It’sdisgusting.”
“I don’t think I’mbetterthan you for my choices,” he said, “but I attract far less attention.”
