Three more to go.

Use your other tendencies, Riley. You don’t have to fight so hard.

Victorian’s voice echoes inside my head. For a second, it throws me off. Another newling gets close—almost too close. My reflexes are fast and I take it down, land in a crouch. I don’t wait.

I kill them all.

Their screams as their bodies break down chase me down the corridor as I start slamming open doors, searching for Valerian.

I know you’re here, Arcos! You might as well come out! I yell in my mind to Valerian. A panic grips me—a desperation to find him, to punish him, to send his ass straight to Hell. But each room I find is an empty shell, with peeling walls and broken metal furniture. It reminds me of the tuberculosis sanatoriums they used to have at the turn of the twentieth century until the forties and fifties. An unsettled sensation creeps over me as I slip through the halls. I’m alone, frustrated, frantic. Innocent people have died at this place; I can sense it. Smell it.

Taste it.

As I move, I barely notice the speed at which I’m flying through the halls. I hear the eerie echo of my feet through the emptiness, but it’s hard to register that I’m the one making the noises. I’m so goddamn fast, the walls and doors blur past me. My tendencies are many, and apparently they are as close to vampiric as a human can have.

In the next second, no fewer than a dozen newlings burst from the stairwell. They surround me, and I know then I’m beaten. No way can I concentrate long and hard enough to manipulate all of their minds; just like I can’t possibly fight them all. They descend upon me.

I let them.

One grabs me by my arm and pulls me along. We leave the third floor, down the stairwell, to the second floor. At the end of the corridor, a door stands open. I’m shoved inside, and even though I stumble, I catch myself upright.

The door slams shut. The room is dark. Not one light is turned on.

I immediately sense his presence.

“I need something from you, Riley,” Valerian’s voice speaks from the shadows. “You have something that even I don’t possess. As a matter of fact, I’m positive there isn’t a soul alive—or not—who possesses it. You are…unique that way. Highly desirable.”

I peer into the darkness until a shape, still as stone in the corner, moves. My hand palms the blade sheathed just below the waist of my cargo pants, at the back.

“All that silver won’t do you any good with me,” Valerian says.

“What do you want with me?” I ask. I still keep my fingers wrapped around the blade.

Valerian laughs lightly. “Ah, it’s so refreshing to experience a human with tendencies who is still so…naïve.”

His voice is closer to me now, although his shadow hasn’t budged. It’s almost like he’s inside my head, speaking against my eardrum. I inch slowly toward the far wall, the sheath of my knife brushing my fingertips. Confidence races through me. “Why don’t you come out of the shadows and see how naïve I am?” I say. He doesn’t scare me.

I want to kick his ass.

Or, kill his ass.

Again, his low laugh resonates through me.

“Oh, I will certainly come out of the shadows,” Valerian says. “I’ve been looking forward to this for far too long.”

The shadows shift, and by the time I blink, and my lashes lift from my face, he’s standing before me.

He looks strikingly like Victorian.

Dark, wavy hair brushes the collar of a black silk buttoned-up shirt, tucked loosely into a pair of equally dark pants. Eyes the color of espresso stare at me, weighing, calculating. Full lips and flawless skin make him appear Godlike. He grins.

I ease my blade from its sheath.

“Tsk, tsk,” he says, and wags a finger at me. “Play nice. I’m not here to kill you, and we both know how easily I could have done that, had I wanted to.”

I keep my eyes trained on him. Waiting.

“My brother has always had a severe obsession for you,” he continues. “I have always hated him for that. You understand, don’t you? Our kind should remain with…our kind. Uniting with a mortal just isn’t feasible.”

“Why not?” I ask. My guard is up, every nerve ending on alert.

He smiles a long, slow smile and holds out his hands. “You see,” he begins. “Our kind exists forever. We’re strong. Capable. We understand our affliction. But with you? Even with tendencies, it’s not feasible to risk. You’re…weak. Vulnerable.” His smile is wistful. “I’ve learned too vulnerable.”

My interest is piqued, but I say nothing.

He notices.

Valerian paces. Slowly. Predatorlike. “You are an exception, though,” he says, and rubs his finger over the flat surface of a discarded metal cabinet. “You always have been.”

My insides lurch.

He stops behind me and smells my hair, then rounds on me. “You know, Riley,” he says, dragging a knuckle across my cheek. “You look very much like your mother. Well,” he says, smiling. “Like she used to. Before.”

Frozen inside, I lock my gaze to his. “What do you know of my mother?”

Valerian shrugs, but doesn’t break his stare. His words are slow and calculating. “I know that she was fiercely protective over you, even when you rebelled.” He steps away from me, then turns. “I also know she put up an impressive fight when your boyfriend killed her.” He shakes his head. “Stupid boy.” Then, his gaze turns white, his pupils pinpoint red. “Couldn’t follow simple directions.”

Inside of my body, my oddly mixed blood turns to ice.

A slow smile lifts Valerian’s mouth. “Ah, I see you understand now. What you might not know is that I did it for you, Riley.” He sighs. “All I ever wanted was you.”

I growl and lunge at him.

I capture nothing but air.

Valerian’s low laugh comes from behind me. “Ah, Riley. Don’t exert yourself. Save your strength,” he says, then is suddenly so close to my back, our bodies touch. His whisper brushes my ear. “You’ll need it.”

Rage roils inside of me. “You killed my mother,” I say under my breath.

“Technically, yes,” Valerian admits. “Although your young boyfriend actually did all the work.” He shakes his head again. “Messy, that one. His demise was anything but a loss. He had no fucking sense.”

I lunge again, and this time I don’t find air. I find the wall.

Then he’s behind me, pressing his body against mine. With one hand securing mine, he forces the blade from my grasp and presses his lips to my ear. Be perfectly still, Riley. Don’t move. Your limbs are weak. Your muscles frozen. Listen to me closely.

Instantly, I am unable to move.

“Ah, perfect. My brother noticed you first, but I immediately wanted you,” he says in a whisper. He drags his lips over my jaw. “Rather, I wanted your blood.”

I tense. My heart slams against my ribs, but it’s a slow slam. Adrenaline rushes.

Valerian licks my throat. “Relax, Riley,” he says. “I’m not going to kill you. That was never my intention.” With one hand, he skims my back, my hip, my ass. “Your blood was enigmatic then. Now? With that of the bloodline of my brother and me? It is irreplaceable.” He nips my jaw with his teeth. “And will make an unstoppable army.”

I feel his hard cock press against my lower back. I try to summon every ounce of vampiric strength I possess, yet nothing happens. He has me. I cringe.

Reach behind you and touch me.

As if my hand has a mind of its own, I do as Valerian says. I run my hand over his hip, then grope his crotch. He groans in my ear.

Inside, I scream. Where are my goddamn tendencies?

Only then do I hear a new voice.

Riley, damn it, concentrate! You’re stronger than he is.

My mind races as Eli’s words rush through me. Stronger? Are you kidding me? I can’t move! It’s like he has me chained down. He killed my mother, Eli. He’s watched me for all these years.

You’ve got the DNA of three strigois, the Gullah, and Dupré. Trust me. You have more strength than he could ever think of having. Use your mind, Riley. Not your physical strength. Get a grip and concentrate. And whatever you do, don’t fucking kill him.

Valerian’s hands find their way beneath my shirt, my tank, and he pulls me tightly against him. “See how easy this is for us? Me, telling you what to do, and you, doing it without question? You see, once I give you the orgasm of your entire life, I’m going to take your blood.” He kisses my throat. “Some for myself, of course, and some for morphing. We’ll make powerful children, Riley.” He wraps his arms completely around my body and embraces me. “We’ll be unstoppable.”

Concentrate!

Eli’s single command jolts me. I don’t know where he is, but it sounds as if he’s right in my ear. I draw a deep breath, clear my mind, and then focus on memories. Recent. The past. They all jumble together.

I let them.

A vision of my mother, dead, naked, pale, and lifeless, crowds my mind. Her eyes stare unseeing into mine as I drag her from the bathtub and cradle her in my arms. Another vision, of Seth’s vampiric eyes staring hungrily into mine. Of the bloodbath at Bonaventure. Of more in Charleston, and of the sickening fight club in the old rectory. Of a young marine, dead. Of Estelle, roughly handled by a newling.

My mind spins out of control as horrific images assault me. All fault lies at the feet of one. Valerian Arcos.

Inside, I rage.

My inhuman powers then merge; I can feel it occur in my body. A current of energy rushes through me and abruptly halts at my feet, then shoots back up and through my fingers, my eyes. Inside my veins, the blood there feels like lava.

Then, as fast as it starts, it stops.

I look up. And everything is suddenly crystal clear. Julian’s advice rings inside my head. I remember.

Remember your mother, Valerian? What happened to her? Did you kill her? Get off me now, Valerian Arcos, and move away.