Pushing through that endorphin cloud that still hung around me, I summoned up as much willpower as I could. I dug deep, remembering my years of training and all the lessons Dimitri had given me. It was hard to access those memories, and I only touched a few. Still, enough came to spur me to action. I lunged forward and punched Nathan.

And accomplished nothing.

He didn’t budge. Hell, I don’t even know if he felt it. The surprise on his face promptly turned to mirth, and he laughed in that horrible way Strigoi did-cruelly and without any real joy. Then, with the greatest of ease, he slapped me and knocked me across the room. Dimitri had done nearly the same thing when I’d arrived and attacked him. Only I hadn’t flown quite as far or had so miniscule an effect on him.

I slammed into the back of the couch, and good God, did it hurt. A wave of dizziness washed over me, and I realized the idiocy of fighting someone vastly stronger than me when I’d been losing blood all week. I managed to straighten up and desperately sought my next course of action. Nathan, for his part, seemed in no hurry to respond to my attack. In fact, he was still laughing.

Glancing around, I latched onto a truly pitiful course of action. Inna stood near me. Moving with a speed that was painfully slow-but better than I expected myself to manage-I reached for her and wrapped my arm around her neck. She yelped in surprise, and I jerked her harder against me.

“Get out of here,” I said to Nathan. “Get out of here, or I’ll kill her.”

He stopped laughing, stared at me for a moment, and then laughed even harder. “Are you serious? Do you honestly think I couldn’t stop you if I wanted? And do you honestly think I care? Go ahead. Kill her. There are dozens more just like her.”

Yeah, that really shouldn’t have been a surprise either, but even I was a bit taken aback by how easily he could throw away a faithful servant’s life.

Okay. Time to go to Plan B. Or maybe it was Plan J? Frankly, I was losing track, and none of them were very good anyway “Ow!”

Inna suddenly elbowed me in the stomach. I released her in my surprise. She spun around with a strangled scream and socked me in the face. The blow wasn’t as hard as Nathan’s had been, but it still knocked me over. I tried to catch a hold of something-anything-as I fell but failed. I hit the floor, my back slamming against the door. I expected her to come right back at me, but instead, she darted across the room and-God help us all threw herself into a defensive posture in front of Nathan.

Before I could fully process the weirdness of her trying to protect someone who was willing to let her die, the door suddenly opened. “Ow!” I said again, as it hit me and pushed me aside.

Dimitri swiftly entered. He looked from face to face, and I had no doubt mine showed signs of both Nathan’s and Inna’s attacks. Dimitri’s fists clenched, and he turned toward Nathan. It reminded me of their scuffle in the hallway, all rage and malice and bloodlust. I cringed, bracing myself for another horrible confrontation.

“Don’t,” warned Nathan, face smug. “You know what Galina said. Touch me and you’re out of here.”

Dimitri strode across the room and came to stand in front of Nathan, knocking Inna aside like a rag doll. “It’ll be worth facing her wrath, particularly when I tell her you attacked first. Rose certainly bears the marks of it.”

“You wouldn’t.” He pointed at Inna, who was sitting dazed on the floor from where Dimitri had knocked her over. Despite my own injuries, I began crawling over to her. I had to know if she was all right. “She’ll tell the truth.”

Now Dimitri looked smug. “You really think Galina will believe a human? No. When I tell her how you attacked me and Rose out of jealousy, she’ll let me off. The fact that you’ll be so easily defeated will be proof of your weakness. I’ll slice your head off and get Rose’s stake from the vault. With your last breath, you can watch her drive it through your heart.”

Holy crap. That was a little worse than Nathan threatening to burn me-wait.

My stake?

Nathan’s face still bore haughty arrogance-at least to me. But I think Dimitri must have seen something that satisfied him, something that made him think he’d gotten the upper hand. He visibly relaxed, his smirk growing larger. “Twice,” Dimitri said softly. “Twice I’ve let you go. Next time… next time, you’re gone.”

I reached Inna and gently held out my hand. “Are you okay?” I murmured.

With a look of hate, she recoiled and scooted away. Nathan’s eyes fell on me, and he began backing toward the door.

“No,” he said. “Twice I’ve let her live. Next time she’s gone. I’m the one in control here, not you.”

Nathan opened the door and Inna stood up, stumbling after him. I stared, mouth agape at the events that had just taken place. I didn’t know which of them I found more disturbing. Looking up at Dimitri, I grappled with what to ask him first. What were we going to do? Why had Inna defended Nathan? Why had Dimitri let him go? None of those defiant questions came to my lips, though.

Instead, I burst into tears.

CHAPTER 22

I didn’t cry very often. And I hated it when I did. The last time I’d done it around Dimitri, his arms had immediately encircled me. This time, all I got was a look of coldness and anger.

“This is your fault!” he yelled, fists clenched.

I cringed backward, eyes wide. “But he… he attacked me…”

“Yes. And Inna. A human! You let a human attack you.” He couldn’t keep the sneer from his voice. “You are weak. You are incapable of defending yourself-all because you refuse to be awakened!”

His voice was terrifying, and the look he gave me… well, it scared me almost more than Nathan had. Reaching forward, he jerked me up to my feet.

“If you had just been killed, it would have been your own fault,” he said. His fingers dug into my wrist as he shook me. “You have the chance for immortality, for incredible strength! And you’re too blind and stubborn to see it.”

I swallowed back more tears and rubbed my eyes with the back of my free hand. No doubt I was ruining the makeup I’d so painstakingly put on.

My heart was ready to explode out of my chest, I was so afraid. I expected rage and threats from Nathan-but not Dimitri.

You’ve forgotten he’s a Strigoi, something whispered in my mind.

I’d gone long enough without a bite and had enough adrenaline kicking me to alertness that my nagging voice was speaking more loudly than it had in a very long time. Dimitri said I was weak because I wasn’t Strigoi, but there was more to it than that. I was weak and had been subdued by Nathan and Inna because I was an addict, because I was living a life of blissful ignorance that was taking a toll on my body and my mind. The thought was startling, and I could barely hold onto it. My yearning for vampire endorphins flared up, and the two factions warred in my mind.

I had enough sense not to voice any of those thoughts. I tried for something that would pacify Dimitri instead. “I don’t think I’d be stronger than Nathan, even if I was turn-awakened.”

He ran a hand over my hair, his cold voice thoughtful. He seemed to be calming down, but his eyes were still angry and impatient. “Perhaps not initially, but your strength of body and will carries over with the change. He’s not that much older than either of us-not enough to make a noticeable difference, which is why he keeps backing down when we fight.”

“Why do you keep backing down?”

I felt his body go rigid, and I realized my question might be read as a slam against his prowess. I swallowed, my fear returning. He hadn’t let go of my wrist, and it was starting to hurt.

“Because he’s right about one thing,” Dimitri said stiffly. “Killing him would bring Galina’s wrath down on us. And that’s not something I can afford.