CHRISTIAN STARED DULLY at the ringing phone. The caller ID said "private number." He stared at the flashing screen for several seconds before flipping it open.

"Hello?" a voice said, "may I speak to Christian Devereux please?"

His voice was dry and curt. "Who is this?"

"My name is Angie, I'm a friend of Tori's," she said. At the sound of Victoria's name, Christian clenched the phone so tightly that he almost crushed it.

"Do you know where she is?" he rasped.

"I can't talk long but she's in danger. She asked me to call you. Meet me at sixty-eighth and Madison tonight in New York at midnight and I'll explain. I know you have no reason to trust me but I'm begging you to. I got your number from her phone. She needs you. I'm sorry. I have to go. He'll kill me if he finds out. Please come."

The call disconnected.

Christian stared at his cell phone with unseeing eyes. He'd come back from France a day after Victoria, and ever since then, he'd been haunted by the feeling that something was wrong. He'd gone to Victoria's apartment, and when he'd seen Leto, his heart had dropped to his feet. Christian had gently brushed his mind, finding nothing but pain-filled, glazed green eyes for his efforts.

It was at that soul-destroying instant that Christian's world crumbled, because he knew that Leto's unresponsive deadness, could only mean one thing—something or someone very powerful had hurt him on the inside.

Until Christian had received the phone call from Angie, he'd even considered enlisting Lucian's help! In his momentary panic at not even being able to communicate with Victoria mentally and after seeing Leto's crippled state, he had been teetering on the brink of revealing to Lucian that Victoria was the witch from the prophecy just so that Lucian would want to find her.

Christian had never been more terrified in his life that something unimaginable had happened, and he didn't care that Angie's mysterious call could possibly be a threat. It was the only lead he had after days of waiting. He would follow it even if it cost him his undead life.

Christian arrived in the city in not much time at all, and waited a block away from where Angie had told him to meet her. He recognized her as she walked to the corner looking for him, glancing at her watch and looking around as if she were afraid of something ... or someone. Christian observed her carefully for several minutes to see if she was alone.

Angie paced and glanced at her watch again; it was ten minutes past midnight. As she turned around to leave, she found herself face to face with a leather-clad, white-faced Christian Devereux. Angie stepped back, her eyes wide and her hands automatically at her throat, but Christian ignored the instinctive response and waited for her to make the first move.

"It's not safe here," she said, starting to walk down Madison Avenue.

"Where is she?"

"Gabriel," she said. Christian stiffened immediately. "He's holding her captive." Christian felt the rage in him boil just from hearing the name.

"Can't she get out? Use her magic?" he asked, earning a swift look from Angie.

"No," she said.

She stopped walking and pulled Christian into the shadow of a building. "Did Tori ever tell you anything about me?"

"No. Why?"

"I was the one who told Gabriel about her, about what she was," she said. "I'm not a witch like Tori or a warlock like Gabriel, but I can see what people are."

Christian grasped her arm roughly as he whirled her to face him. Angie winced as if the movement were painful. His face was harsh in the darkened shadows.

"Hang on a second. First of all, Gabriel is a warlock?" Angie nodded reluctantly. "And you can see what people are? What does that mean? Can you see what I am?"

"Yes," she said. Christian wanted to hear her to say it.

"What am I?"

"Undead."

In an uncanny silence, they stared at each other under the black sky. Christian's expression was unfathomable. His mind raced at the power this girl would hold in the supernatural world. In the wrong hands, her gifts could be catastrophic. Angie remained nervous, as if she expected Gabriel to come racing around the corner at any moment. She kept shifting, her movements restless and agitated.

"Does Gabriel know about me? What I am?"

"No!" she said. "You only came into the picture when he saw the two of you together. He was in such a terrible rage. It lasted for days and days. You d ... don't understand how he feels about her. He thinks she belongs to him. You took something from him that he thought was his. He asked me what you looked like and whether you were a threat to him."

"And what did you say?"

"I lied." For a minute her dark, mousy face looked almost proud that she had bested her warlock brother by successfully concealing her mind from him.

"Why?"

"It was my fault that she got into all of this. He saw her do an invisibility spell in the library, and he forced me to tell him what she was. He was attracted to her before that, but the fact that she was a witch made him ecstatic. Gabriel thought they were meant to be." She took a deep breath. "And then you came into the picture. He was so angry after that night at the bar that he went up to her aunt's place looking for her when she didn't show up to class." She trailed off, staring into her palms. Christian realized that she was crying. "That's how he got her to come to New York. He kidnapped her aunt."

"He kidnapped Holly? What does he want, Angie?" Christian knew the answer even before Angie gave it but he had to know.

"How much do you know about Tori? About her power?"

"I know enough." Angie raised tear-filled eyes to his.

"Gabriel knows who she is. He wants her. He wants her power for himself." Angie was sobbing now, the words running into each other. "I told him. I'm so sorry. I didn't have a choice. He was going to kill Leto and I knew he would. You don't know what he's capable of. He killed our parents. I think I knew it all along but when he said it to Tori, I knew I couldn't protect him or lie anymore."

"Did Tori know that you knew about me?" he asked.

"Yes, I told her. We were friends, sort of," Angie said softly. "She asked me to get you. She said 'find Christian,' and so I did." Angie was unprepared for the brilliance that illuminated Christian's eyes.

"Where are they?" he said, his voice choked.

"She's being held in a cell underground. I can take you to her," she said. "Don't worry, he won't hurt her. He wants what she has too badly. It blinds him to everything else." Angie noticed his indecision. "I'm not lying, please, you have to trust me."

Christian knew that he had no choice but to trust her. If she deceived him, there would be hell and more to pay. He brushed her mind quickly with his feather-light vampire senses, and apart from her anxiety at being discovered, he could detect no deception. He did see something else though. Without speaking, his eyes softened, and he pulled her toward him gently. She winced. Christian caught the scent before he saw the crimson streaks seeping through her light-colored sweater, and he stared at her, his question obvious.

"Gabriel," she said hollowly. "I tried to protect the cat." His jaw clenched into a hard line. It was all he could do not to break something right then and there. "It's okay. It's not the first time. I've endured worse from him over the years. Everything heals ... eventually." Her eyes were downcast. "And it's no more than I deserve."

"Angie, no one deserves to be treated as you've been. You give yourself too little credit for the courage you've shown tonight. I am indebted to you."

Color rose in her face at the unexpected praise. "It's this way," she murmured, flustered by his startling kindness.

Christian followed Angie down Madison Avenue keeping to the shadows. It was clear that she was terrified of Gabriel, given his anger and what he had done to her, repeatedly it seemed. His fury surging to dangerous levels, Christian kept himself under tight control. If Victoria had been hurt, he wouldn't be accountable for his actions.

They reached 47th Street and Christian saw the entrance to Grand Central, but it was dark and the doors appeared to be locked. He looked at Angie, eyebrows raised.

"Not here. The entrance is around the block," she said, walking past the doors. They walked across 47th Street toward the East Side and then Angie made a sharp right turn onto Lexington Avenue. Slatted between two buildings was a small, dark alleyway with greasy black steps disappearing down into the darkness. Angie glanced around and then climbed down the steps. Christian followed.

The air was rank with the smell of decay combined with the hot stench of the sewers and the subway trenches. Angie pulled out a small flashlight that cast a thin light down the gloomy tunnel, and Christian's vampire eyesight adjusted naturally to the darkness. About halfway down the tunnel, Angie, who'd been counting quietly under her breath, stopped and pushed against a nearly invisible metal door. It swung open, creaking loudly in the silence and she jumped nervously, looking over her shoulder at Christian's wary, white face.

"It's just down here," she said, her voice harsh in the quiet. "This is another entrance, not the one that Gabriel knows. I found it looking at the rats one day."

Christian stared down the hallway and noticed the glow of lights toward the end. He walked on silent feet toward it. "What is this place?"

"I think it used to be some kind of secret meeting room in the nineteen thirties. The floor in the main room is marble, and there are paintings on the ceilings," she whispered back.

Christian wasn't surprised. New York City was full of secret meeting rooms and buildings located in unlikely places, and he himself had been in several of them over the decades. This one, however, was new to him. He stepped past Angie and walked stealthily down the corridor, noticing that at the first light-bulb there was a large wooden door. Angie remained in the darkness, her part finished for now, and he could hear her moving slowly back the way they had come.

He pushed open the unlocked door. The room was dark and empty but was just as Angie had described with its murals and marble floors. He sensed no movement and peered into the gloom. He crept silently into the room, keeping his back to the edge of the wall and letting his vampire instincts take over to get the scent of her blood. He was rewarded with the barest hint of it toward the back of the room. Relief flooded him like a river, and Christian rapped gently on the door to the room where the scent was most potent.

"Tori," he said, louder than he'd intended. He heard sounds on the other side of the door but still couldn't detect her presence other than the faint smell.

"Christian?" she said in disbelief, as if expecting a trick of some sort. The wards were so powerful that he could barely hear her even with his heightened senses.

"It's me. Angie found me like you asked her to," he said. Christian couldn't hear anything on the other side and he wasn't sure if she had responded or not. "I'm going to try to open the door."

The minute Christian put his hand on the handle, the shock sent him flying ten feet across the room, his hand burned black from the lightning bolt hex on the door. He watched as it repaired itself almost immediately and bounded back unhurt to the door. "There's some kind of spell on it," he said, forgetting to whisper.

"Well, of course there's a spell on it, Devereux" said a mocking voice. "Isn't that sweet, coming to rescue your love?"

Christian whirled around, furious with himself that he had been caught off guard. He straightened his spine and shook it off. He had no qualms about fighting this warlock. He had fought worse battles over the years and some whip of a boy wasn't going to get the better of him, no matter how powerful he thought he was.

"Gabriel," he said.

Gabriel walked toward the middle of the room watching Christian as if he were trying to work out how he'd gotten in there. Christian stayed still but ready, a tactic honed by countless decades and numerous duels.

"Don't you know by now that she's out of your league, Devereux?" Gabriel said, his tone deliberately insolent. Christian didn't answer. "Cat got your tongue?"

Christian remained unfazed, watching him carefully. Realizing that his strategy wasn't working, Gabriel tried something else. "Tori, your boyfriend's here," he shouted.

With a wave of his hand, the solid door became transparent, and Christian could see Victoria's worried face as she stood in the doorway, her hands up against the now invisible door. Their eyes connected for a split second just as Gabriel started laughing horribly, drawing their stares. He wiped mock tears from his eyes.

"You're no Romeo, Devereux," he said. "And she's definitely not your Juliet. Not by the time I've finished with her anyway." Despite his control, a muscle began to tick in Christian's jaw. "Enjoy the show, Tori. I'm certainly going to," Gabriel said to Victoria, just as he did the hot knife trick in her belly. She leaned against the door gasping. Her eyes were glued to Christian's, and Gabriel's rage erupted at their shared look. He twisted his hand again viciously and she fell, clutching her stomach but still not making a sound, defiant to the end. Christian restrained his fury.

"Do you know what I am, Devereux?" Gabriel said, making conversation as they slowly circled each other. "Do you have any idea what you're up against? No, of course you don't. You can't win, you know. She belongs to me now. So I ask you, is she worth it? Is she worth losing everything? Is she worth your life?"

Christian ignored his taunts and his unruffled silence irritated Gabriel more than anything. Gabriel's face contorted.

"Malus cremo!" A ball of black fire flew from Gabriel's outstretched hand. Christian who had been expecting it, dodged with unexpected speed to the right as it exploded into the side of the wall. Gabriel raised an eyebrow, his face registering surprise at Christian's lucky guess.

"Know what that is, Devereux? That's magic. Like I said, you can't win. She's a witch too, did you know? Or did she lie to you just like she lies to everyone else?"

Christian forced himself not to look at Victoria. He'd wanted to tear Gabriel apart with his bare hands when he saw what he had so viciously done to her. He did not want to show any weakness for her because he knew that Gabriel would use that against him without hesitation.

She, for her part, had not even made a sound watching them circle each other like two lions as if she'd come to the same realization. Christian spared her a glance. Her eyes widened, alerting him to the danger just as Gabriel teleported, appearing behind him and lunging for him with a long curving knife. Christian swung out of the way just before the blade sliced through where his chest had been. Gabriel teleported again, and once more, Christian eluded his attack.

Gabriel was breathing heavily. "You're either born under a lucky star, Devereux, or tonight's just your night." Christian stayed silent. "So much for this physical stuff!" Gabriel cried and parried with a stunning spell that blasted a hole in the wall as Christian leapt out of the way. Gabriel screamed in thwarted fury.

"Corpus discidium!" he shouted. But like its counterparts before, the death spell missed its intended target as Christian vaulted out of the way, moving so quickly that he was a blur. Christian watched as the powerful spell pulverized an armchair, and his gaze moved to Gabriel, who was panting heavily.

Christian smiled with provoking mockery as if to say "bad luck mate," and Gabriel gnashed his teeth in frustration. For the first time, Gabriel looked confused and furious as if he couldn't fathom how his opponent kept getting the best of him. In aggravated rage, his gaze locked on Victoria and something ugly kindled in his eyes.

He teleported again, but this time it was into Victoria's cell. He grasped her by her hair and kissed her wetly on the mouth. She fought him, clumps of hair coming loose in his hand and scratching at his face with her nails. His mouth curled. He backhanded her across the face, and she stumbled back, her head colliding with the wall. Victoria slid to the floor, barely conscious. Gabriel regarded Christian through the transparent door and smirked before teleporting back into the main room.

Game on.

Christian was livid. The fury drove through his muscles but despite its intensity, he knew that he had to be careful. Gabriel was a warlock, a powerful warlock if his offensive magic was any indication. Christian waited, his fury simmering.

"I'm going to have to teach her how to do that correctly," Gabriel said, wiping his lips with the back of his hand.

"What? Have her scratch your face off properly you mean?" Christian said, unable to resist the jibe. Gabriel's fingers went automatically to his face where he felt the slight sting where she had scratched him. Little hellcat. He lunged toward Christian with the knife and at the same time summoned his energy, blasting a ball of energy exactly to where Christian leapt.

"Noceo!"

The force of the physical attack spell threw Christian off his feet and slammed him against the wall. The sharp crack of bone echoed. Christian's body slumped to the ground and he pulled himself to his knees just as Gabriel appeared, brandishing the knife like a conquering hero. Christian let Gabriel haul him up, pretending to be insensible from the blow and waited for it. Sure enough, Gabriel's next action was predictable and he sliced him from shoulder to waist with the knife. Christian heard Victoria's muffled scream and saw Gabriel's eyes grow giddy with success.

"Your luck just ran out," Gabriel hissed triumphantly. Blood darkened the light blue shirt in an unerring line, the material billowing open. He was so busy waiting for the sounds of agony that his eyes barely registered that the sheared skin was rapidly knitting itself together until the white expanse of skin was smooth and unmarred as if it had never been slashed. He raised incredulous eyes to Christian's silvery, feral gaze that was not at all insensible as his lips pulled back over glistening white long, sharp incisors in a ferocious snarl.

Vampire!

"My turn," whispered Christian. He swung his arm with inhuman speed, smashing Gabriel's head so hard that it snapped to the side and his body tumbled back into a faded club chair. Christian whirled and pounced on him before he could even get up. He grabbed the fallen knife and carved Gabriel's face from hairline to lip.

Gabriel screamed in agony, kicking savagely to lessen Christian's hold and screaming a fire curse at the same time. Moving with incredible speed, Christian dodged the spell with some effort and spun around to land just to Gabriel's left, the curse exploding like a Molotov cocktail against the wall behind him.

The blood leaking down the side of Gabriel's face drove Christian mad—he could feel the hunger and rage obliterating all conscious thought as he twisted Gabriel's arm up behind his back and sank his teeth into Gabriel's neck. His blood was so unexpectedly sweet, forbidden as it was to vampires that the shocking taste if it befuddled Christian's senses briefly, and the blow to his head caught him off-guard, sending him spinning.

Christian sprang to the side in a low crouch wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. No wonder it was forbidden for vampires to bite them, their blood was like a rich elixir infused by magic. Gabriel glared at him, sneering as he said a spell that healed the oozing tear on his face and the wound on his neck.

"Touch me again, you filth, and it will be the last thing you do," he seethed.

"Surprised, warlock?" Christian said. Gabriel scowled, the stunned shock on his face evident. His eyes flickered to Victoria's. Hers, however, showed no surprise. Gabriel's face turned black with rage as the realization hit him.

"You knew? You knew about him?" he spat at Victoria. "You knew what he was all along and you still chose that animal over me? You would defile yourself and who you are with him? You disgust me. When I'm through with him, you're going to pay for your disloyalty to your own kind ... and to me."

He flicked his hand and a slight murmur of his lips made her skin blister fiercely as if it had been doused with lye, and a second flick of his wrist made the door became opaque. Her scream echoed through the door. Gabriel's lip curled in a sneer as momentary rage cracked Christian's composure.

"Don't worry, that was just a teaser of what awaits her when I'm done with you." He smiled. "I like the sound of her screaming, don't you? Shall we hear it again?" he said, starting to wave his hand to inflict more pain on Victoria. Christian moved so quickly that Gabriel had barely registered the movement until he was right in front of him.

"Do that again and I promise it will be the last thing you do," Christian said, echoing Gabriel's threat. In one swift motion, his fist crunched into Gabriel's face, the force of his blow shattering the bones beneath it as Gabriel's body flew backward across the room. Gabriel gurgled something in mid-air, buffeting himself magically as he landed safely on the ground. He spat a mouthful of blood to the floor.

"Curo!" The spell reformed Gabriel's battered face in seconds. "Try again, vampire!" he snarled. He launched a table from across the room at Christian who leapt over it like a cat, his supernatural reflexes blinding as he soared toward the wall and grabbed one of the plaques as he flew by, fireballs bursting into the ground behind him. Grasping one of the swords from the plaque, Christian rolled toward Gabriel, deflecting the energy bolts flying his way with the blade of the weapon.

Gabriel lunged and teleported as the sword swung in a low arc, its tip drawing blue sparks as it crashed into the floor right where Gabriel had been. In that instant Gabriel reappeared behind him with the second sword from the plaque moving toward Christian's neck. Christian's senses tingled. With an unearthly impulse born from generations of vampires before him, he tilted his sword backward, grasping the hilt with both hands, and thrust it in violent precision behind him. The blade slid into something thick and heavy.

Gabriel stumbled backwards, the trajectory of his own sword shifting as his blade sliced wetly through shoulder bone and tissue, tearing a fiery path down Christian's back, just missing his vulnerable neck. Christian rolled to the side, the pain all-consuming as his body fought to repair the wound.

He could feel his strength waning but he would never give up, not while he had an ounce of fight left in him and not while Victoria was still locked defenseless in that room. With effort, he stood, watching as Gabriel weaved unsteadily on his feet. The gash on his own back struggled to close, his healing impeded by his hunger and the lack of blood to repair his injuries.

Gabriel's face contorted into a grimace as he inched the sword out of his stomach. Like Christian's strength, his magic was also becoming weaker. He had already tapped into the reserves of the sapphire ring on his finger.

"Curo," he gasped, trying to heal himself.

Everything would have been so different if Victoria had only seen reason. Her limitless power would have been his, and he could have ended this in an instant. Her stupid infatuation with this animal had been the sole reason that they weren't together. Gabriel's eyes glittered as if struck by a moment of genius. He knew exactly how to bring the vampire down.

"You'll never be good enough for her, you know," he said. He was unprepared for the soft response. "I know."

"You know?" Gabriel repeated. "If you know, why don't you leave? You don't belong in her world, just like she doesn't belong in yours. What you're doing is a disgrace to her."

"That's her choice," Christian said.

"So what do you intend to give her, vampire? Death? Exile? No family, no children?" he said. Christian didn't answer, but Gabriel saw the hesitation in his eyes.

"Is that what you want her for?" Christian asked. Gabriel smiled a cold, evil smile.

"Of course I want her for other things as well, like her delectable body for one," he said, watching Christian's increasing rigidity. "But when I'm done with her, there will be others."

"You will destroy everything that she is just to punish me?" Christian asked. Gabriel's eyes were black and icy. Hearing the unbridled emotion in the vampire's voice made him shake with rage.

"Not just you," he said, "her too."

Gabriel flicked his wrist, and in the space of a second Victoria magically appeared next to Gabriel, her arms bound at her side. Christian lurched painfully to his feet.

"Try anything and she dies," Gabriel said, as he hauled her roughly against his side, his fingers pressed against her throat. Victoria gasped at his rough stranglehold and Christian started visibly.

"Is this what you want, vampire?" Gabriel asked, kissing her temple and running his face along her cheek. "Or how about this?" He tilted her neck to the side and kissed it roughly.

Ignoring Gabriel's taunts, Christian stared at Victoria, searching for any signs that she'd been hurt. She seemed fine although there was something about her eyes that didn't seem right, almost like she was confused. Had Gabriel put some sort of control spell on her? Her smell was off too, but that could also be because of the wards. He'd barely been able to smell her blood earlier.

Gabriel drew his attention again as he turned Victoria in his arms and kissed her passionately on the mouth. Christian expected her to at least try to fight him like the last time, but when he saw that she was actually kissing the warlock back, it almost drove him to his knees. She had to be under some sort of spell, she had to be!

He watched as Gabriel murmured something to her, caressing the side of her face, and she lifted her luminous green eyes to Christian's. They were filled with naked pleading.

"Christian, if you truly love me, you'll let me go. I don't belong with you," she said. "Please, just let me go. I want you to let me go." She stared at him head on. "I don't love you. I could never love you."

"You've bewitched her, Gabriel. I know that that's not her talking," Christian whispered. "She would never want that. She would never say that!"

Something about the eyes ...

"Well, then you leave me little choice, because I'll never let her go to you," Gabriel said.

In horrifying slow motion, before Christian could even guess at Gabriel's intent, Gabriel's fingers pressed against Victoria's soft smooth throat. Her eyes widened as she stared at Gabriel in betrayed shock followed by sorrowful understanding, a slight smile curving her perfect lips. Brief remorse etched his face but there was nothing she could do, captive as she was to him, as his fingers tightened and the life slowly drained from her body.

It happened in seconds but was enough for Christian's howl of agony to resonate against the cavern walls as he hurled himself through the air in blind rage toward Gabriel.

Whether it had been ill-timed or he had been too overwrought to think clearly, Gabriel's stunning spell caught Christian squarely in the chest and he fell to the floor, his body wracked with violent spasms.

He could hear Gabriel's footfalls as he walked toward him, but all he could see was Victoria's lifeless body across the room. He didn't even care that Gabriel was moving purposefully toward him, he would welcome death. It didn't seem possible, but he had seen it with his own eyes. His chest felt like it was splintering into tiny, unrecognizable shards, suffocating him with each gasp of breath. It wasn't possible ...

Victoria was dead!

Gabriel kicked him with a booted foot hearing the satisfying crunch as its steel tip met ribs and broke them.

"Arrogant, filthy vampire," he said. He bent down and looked into the glazed gray eyes, and swinging the silver knife he had found on the floor in a low arc. "Minuo," he said, methodically slicing Christian's face, arms, and chest, watching the dark blood flow out of the body and the cuts futilely trying to heal themselves. The wounds would continue to bleed from the parasitic bleeding spell he'd cast until there was nothing left. "It won't be long," he said to himself, as he watched the blood pooling beneath the body.

Now it was her turn.

Gabriel said a word, waving his hand as the door to her cell became transparent, and watched as Victoria's face froze in horror, taking in the impossible sight of her own body lying on the ground and watching as it transformed before her eyes into Charla's motionless shape. A glamour! Charla was dead, Victoria could see that clearly. Why had Charla been in her body? Had Gabriel used the glamour as a trick?

Her breath caught, and she desperately searched the room for Christian, her eyes falling on his limp form and the terrible blood that soaked his clothes. He was motionless. A soundless scream parted her lips as she clutched at her amulet. Was he dead?! Gabriel moved to stand in front of her and Victoria glared at him with such a noxious hatred she could taste it in her throat. He read her expression easily.

"He's not dead yet," he said. "But whether he dies a quick and painless, or slow and agonizing death is your decision." Gabriel watched her expectantly. "You know what I want."

The door went solid.

Victoria sank to the floor, the pain suffocating her. She would give Gabriel what he wanted if it would spare Christian's life. That was no decision. She would give her life in a heartbeat for him.

But she didn't know whether Christian was alive or not. All she had was Gabriel's word and he was a scheming, calculating liar. There was no way she could trust him. The piercing fear that he had in fact been lying and that Christian was possibly already dead, gripped her in its jaws. Victoria rocked back and forth her arms around her knees, nails digging into the soft flesh of her palms until she felt the skin break. Her own blood smeared on her hands.

Time wound back onto itself.

Renewed clarity filled her. Strength saturated her. Power overwhelmed her. Blood magic.

As before, whenever her blood was spilled or a sacrifice received, the blood magic came alive. It mushroomed inside her like an atomic explosion. Without hesitation, she channeled its power through the wards between her and Christian, moving through the maze until she could feel his faint consciousness. He was so terribly weak that he didn't even know she was there. She read his mind quickly and saw in horror that he thought she was dead. Her heart ached.

Christian ?

Nothing in his mind even registered her presence; it was like he was already dead inside. He needed blood, and lots of it ... just like the last time Anton had saved him when the blood magic had almost killed him. Victoria shivered at the memory. As much as she wanted to go to him, she understood that trying to save him on her own could be disastrous.

Gabriel was still out there, she could feel it. He wouldn't leave Christian's side, he was far too careful for that. Although her power over the blood magic had grown, there was no guarantee that she could control it, face Gabriel, and save Christian and Holly at the same time. Her arrogance had cost her dearly the last time and she wouldn't make that mistake again, not with Christian and Holly's lives hanging in the balance.

Victoria didn't know whether Gabriel would indeed keep Christian alive as he had said, but she was banking on the fact that as long as Gabriel knew that she would never give herself to him without Christian's life as an exchange, then she had a little time and something to bargain with. She needed to get to the one person who could help her, the one person who cared for Christian as much as she did.

Enhard.

He was the only one powerful enough to protect Christian if she failed. If she invoked her blood's deadly power and lost control, then Christian too would be at risk. Enhard could get Christian to safety should anything go wrong.

The blood magic swirled, cognitive. Every shred of her wanted to teleport into the main room where Christian lay so weakly on the marble floor and whisk him away, but she didn't trust herself to control her blood. And she could never leave Holly.

Gabriel was powerful, and cunning, if the last few days had taught her anything. Underestimating him would be her downfall. The only solution was to go for help.

She wrapped her consciousness around Christian, willing him to hear her.

Don't give up, Christian.

The slight flutter could have been her imagination but she grasped it as hope. She would do whatever it took, she vowed fiercely, whatever it took.