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overlaid each other. How friggin’ cute.
    I ignored them both. “Then I found out his mother is still
alive.” I glanced at Dante to gauge his reaction. If he knew, I was going to go
ballistic in a creatively violent way that involved my favorite Brimstone
blade.
    His pulse sped. The second my gaze met his, he looked away.
He so knew. Micah had trusted him, and not me.
    I shoved up to my feet, winced at the pain in my side and
pointed at him. Lucky for him I was unarmed. “You knew!”
    He rose and pulled Hannah up with him. When he spoke to me,
his voice was soft and soothing—two things that might have worked if they
hadn’t made me want to castrate him.
    “Nothing was set in stone, Ella. He was going to tell you,
he felt bad—”
    I shifted my death-ray glare to Hannah and cut Dante off. “Did
you know too?” I ignored her surprise, fury boiling through me at how naïve I’d
been. “Why didn’t the asshole just send out coffee mugs like the ‘I’m a walking
STD’ one he made for Eli? They could announce, ‘My mom’s alive, don’t tell Ella’.”
    My sister lifted both hands as if to say “I’m innocent” and
took a step back. Dante wrapped his arm around her and pulled her against him
as if to protect her from me.
    “This is all news to me, including the mug—which is funny,
but highly disgusting,” she said.
    “Ella!” Uncle Roy’s voice carried through the halls,
originating from somewhere on one of the lower levels of the sprawling house.
    Wonderful. Just fan-fucking-tastic. Family dinner.
    And because I was me and the fates had it out for me… “Ella,
come out, come out wherever you are,” Julian sang, his accented voice coming
seconds after my uncle’s.
    The universe hated me. I closed my eyes and leaned the side
of my face against the chilled wall.
    Hannah pressed her lips to my cheek. In my ear, she
whispered, “Micah’s a jerk. I’ll stall them.”
    Eyes still closed, I listened as Hannah and Dante’s
footsteps faded away and left me alone. My solitude was temporary. I felt
Julian, the slight shifting in the air, the pulse of static, before my sire
appeared at my side—phazing to me.
    Min askling. His rich, sexy voice tickled the inside
of my head through our sire-fledgling connection. Even though I’d gotten very
good at shielding him, my methods weren’t perfect. Especially when he was in
the same room. Hearing his voice had my fangs pulsing, a reminder I hadn’t had
blood in weeks.
    I was officially back on the wagon.
    “Don’t call me that,” I snapped, settling on anger.
    Somehow this was his fault. I blamed the vampire for
seducing me. For making me fall in love. For ruining me. For creating this
darkness inside me that craved violence.
    Waves of comfort surrounded me like a soft, fluffy cloud on
a warm sunny day. Sunshine was something I’d never again experience thanks to
the threat of fried retinas. For a second, a really stupid one, I was tempted
to turn into the warmth my sire offered.
    I snapped the hell to my senses.
    Clouds were made of water. They were wet and cold—Julian was
a manipulative fuck.
    “Ugh.” I shoved Julian away from me and frowned up at him. “Get
out of my head, ass!”
    He grinned as if I’d said something cute. Luckily, him
tearing out my heart and stomping on it had given me immunity to his stunning
looks. His blond hair was tied back, leaving his handsome, angled face bare. He
was beautiful, I couldn’t deny that, but he wasn’t rugged. Not like my Micah.
    If Micah was still even mine.
    Julian leaned against the wall and his white silk shirt gapped
slightly where the first few buttons were undone. “You’re upset.”
    “Now isn’t a good time. Go away.”
    Julian pressed his hands into the pockets of his black
slacks. “I came by to make sure you have everything you need for the coronation
ceremony. Did the dress I bought you fit? Shall I send someone over to tailor
it? You’ve lost weight.”
    I glared.
    In two days I was