Page 19 of Nearly Dead

“Nothing about this is fun.”

Her smile drops in annoyance.She sets down her glass of blood.“Stop whining.You survived.We shook up the magical world, which desperately needed a transformation.”

I stare at her.

“I’m here to talk about the future,” she says.

I wait for the punchline.

“He couldn’t kill me when he had the chance,” Elizabeth continues, “just as he couldn’t let you die.That’s my brother’s greatest weakness.”

“Love?”

“Sentiment.”Elizabeth smiles and again takes the glass of blood to sniff it.“He will spend the rest of his days trying to atone for his sins.You may find it romantic now, but soon the remains of your humanity will fade, and you will grow to resent how weak he truly is.”

“Why are you here, Elizabeth?”I pull at my wrist, only managing to cut myself on the edge of the shackle.It doesn’t release me.

She downs the blood in one gulp and gives a small sigh.“He always did stock the clean stuff.”

“What do you want?”I enunciate.

“I’m going to offer you a way out of your,” she leans toward me and gives me a once over, “predicament.”

My stomach twists.I should tell her to take a flying leap into a vat of acid but can’t force the words.I want to hear what she has to say.

She sits next to my thigh, keeping just out of my reach.“I can undo what’s been done to you.Unchecked, it’s unlikely your sanity will survive what’s happening.I can purge the vampire blood from your system or neutralize the werewolf venom.I can do both and make you human again, though I have no idea why anyone would choose option number three.Humanity is so… messy.”

“Go away.”I avert my gaze from her.She’s lying.This is just another game for her to alleviate her centuries-old boredom.

“I’m serious,” she insists.“I’ve spent centuries studying blood magic.I understand the transformation process better than anyone.”

“Why would you help me?”I shouldn’t play along.She’s lying.She has to be.There is no cure.Everyone knows that.

“Perhaps I see myself in you.”Her eyes hold mine.“Another of Constantine’s mistakes.Another woman he’s failed.”

She holds up her hand and lets it hover.I feel a pull.It’s not like what I feel with Costin.It’s not sexual or romantic, but it’s ancient and it’s there.My blood recognizes her as an authority.My sire’s sire.With Costin, the bond feels different.It’s warmer and more intimate.Even now, angry as I am at him, I can sense him nearby, feel the invisible thread connecting us.It’s both comforting and infuriating, that unnatural connection that makes me want to please Costin, to obey him even as I hate the impulse.As my transformation progresses, will I start to feel obedient to Elizabeth?She’s the last person I’d want to give control.

Something shifts inside me, and I try to fight the flicker of hope.It’s so fragile I’m afraid to acknowledge it.“You expect me to believe you would do anything to help me?”

“Believe what you want.”She stands, smoothing her immaculate dress.“But remember this.The sire bond isn’t just about blood.It’s about control.It’s about ownership.He will never truly see you as his equal.To him, you’ll always be his creation, his responsibility.A pet.”

The words hit like a slap.

“So you’re looking for ways to control Costin,” I counter.“That’s all this is.”

“The council interfered with the natural order.”She waves her hand in dismissal.“It’s not the same for women.If you haven’t learned that lesson by now, I can’t help you.”

“He doesn’t see me that way,” I say, but uncertainty creeps into my voice.I remember the gentleness in his touch when he thought I was asleep, the way his voice breaks when he says my name.The monster in me wants to hurt him, but some part of me, the part that still remembers loving him, aches at the thought.

“Doesn’t he?”Elizabeth’s smile is knowing.“Ask yourself why he keeps you chained.Why he makes decisions for you.Why he couldn’t respect your wish to die rather than become this hybrid monster.Costin will always do what is best for Costin.”

The door opens before I can respond.Costin stands in the threshold, his face tight with controlled fury.

“Get out.”His voice is dangerously soft.

“I was just leaving.”She glides toward him, pausing as she passes.“She deserves to know all her options, brother.Even if you’re too selfish to tell her.”

I watch the muscles in Costin’s jaw work as he restrains himself.Even now, even after everything, he can’t bring himself to truly harm her.The woman who turned him, who bound him to her for centuries.I understand now more than ever that it might not be something he can help.She made him.Vampiric blood holds great power.

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