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Broderick bowed his head. “As far as I was concerned…” He lifted his gaze and locked eyes with Evangeline. “She was dead tae me.”

“I understand.” Evangeline regarded Davina. “The marriage was annulled,” she said, a flicker of discomfort darkening her gaze before she turned it back to Broderick.

Broderick inclined his head in a stiff nod, a muscle ticking in his jaw. He had thought the passage of years had rendered their union void, but it seemed the Church had formalized what time had only begun to erode.

Davina suddenly doubled over, a cry tearing from her lips as pain racked her body. Broderick dropped to his knees before her, seizing her trembling hands in his own. “Breathe, lass,” he urged, voice low and fierce with worry. “I’m here. Ye’ll get through this.”

She fought for air, her features twisted in agony. Broderickheld her fast, his thumbs stroking her knuckles as he murmured every comfort he could find in his battered heart. When the spasms eased, and her breathing steadied, she slumped against the chair, glassy-eyed but defiant.

Turning her gaze to Evangeline, Davina drew a ragged breath. “I understand you’re to explain to me the other side of my choice,” she rasped. “Please…do so.”

Broderick rose slowly, placing himself at Davina’s side and laying a comforting hand on her shoulder. His expression hardened, resolute. “This is but a formality,” he said, his jaw tight as iron. “Davina chooses the cure. She will not become a Vamsyrian.”

Evangeline’s brow arched, her gaze slipping to Davina as though weighing her soul. “Is that true?” she asked softly, the question more than a simple inquiry—it felt like a test of resolve.

Davina, though pale and trembling, managed a faint nod. Yet Evangeline’s troubled eyes flicked back to Broderick. “Do you care for her?” she asked bluntly.

Broderick’s jaw tightened, his muscles working. “Of course I do.”

Evangeline stepped forward, her gaze probing for answers. “Does she realize,” she pressed, “that if she chooses the cure, she will never see you again?”

Davina’s head snapped up, her eyes wide and stricken, locking onto Broderick’s. “What?” she whispered, her voice trembling at the edges. “You knew this?”

His mouth parted, but no words came. His silence spoke louder than any confession.

Davina’s face crumpled as fresh tears welled in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. “Why did you not tell me?”

Broderick knelt beside her, his hands grasping hers tightly. “Because I feared ye wouldnae come here with me,” he rasped, his voice raw and fraying at the edges. “I didnae want ye tae transform, but I couldnae bear tae watch ye suffer the death that awaited ye. If I must sacrifice my heart so that ye may live and remain with yer daughter…then so be it.”

Evangeline gasped softly, her hand flying to her mouth, her eyes rounding in startled realization.

“And if I choose to become a Vamsyrian?” Davina asked, her voice wavering but her gaze holding steady on Evangeline. “What will it mean, beyond immortality and this life in the shadows Broderick lives?”

“You will be turning your back on God, child,” Evangeline replied, her tone grave. “Vamsyrians rarely speak of this truth outside of these walls, but they are creatures of Satan—”

“What?” Broderick’s voice lashed out like a whip. He surged to his feet, eyes blazing. “Vamsyrians are no such thing!”

“Broderick!” Evangeline placed a hand against her chest. “I thought at least you would have told her the truth!”

“Ye never said this, not on the night I faced this choice!” Broderick fired back, his voice rough with remembered fury. “Ye only said I would be turning my back on God.”

“What did you think that meant?” Evangeline demanded, her gaze fierce. “What I tell you now is true, Broderick, and I am astonished those monsters never explained it to you in all these years. Besides, even if I had finished my warning, you would not have listened. You had already made your choice.”

Broderick’s glare faltered, his fierce denial softening into grim resignation. He exhaled a heavy sigh. “Aye, ye’re right, Evangeline. Continue.”

“Davina,” she said gently, “Vamsyrians are Satan’s vengeance upon God. In his eternal spite for mankind—God’s cherishedcreation, gifted with free will—Satan forged a bargain that traps the soul for eternity. His new creations thirst for blood, forced to spill innocent life to sustain their immortality, damning their trapped souls with a growing burden of sin that can never be cleansed.”

Evangeline hesitated at the horror on Davina’s face, but she pressed on, her voice low and steady. “They are a mockery of Christ’s salvation, my child. They gain immortality through the shedding of innocent blood. Humanity gained eternal life through the shedding of Jesus’ innocent blood. What theTzava Ha’or—the Army of Light—offers is a chance at a new life, and protection from the Vamsyrians. They are forbidden from harming us or any we shelter, lest they provoke the wrath of God Himself. That means those who choose the Army of Light rarely, if ever, remain among Vamsyrians. Choose to come with me, and you will be healed.” She drew back, folding her hands in her lap, her eyes steady on Davina. “This is the choice before you.”

Davina’s gaze wavered between Broderick and Evangeline, her eyes brimming with tears. Another wave of pain tore through her, forcing a shudder from her lips. She clung to the arms of the chair, teeth gritted, as Broderick brushed a trembling kiss against her fevered brow, his touch a silent plea.

Davina inhaled a ragged breath and, with tears streaking her cheeks, she found her voice. “I choose to become a Vamsyrian.”

“Davina, nay!” Broderick’s protest tore from his chest as he gripped her shoulders to shake some sense into her. “Ye must choose tae go with Evangeline!”

“I cannot choose her path if it means I’ll never see you again.” Davina’s voice broke on a sob, her bottom lip trembling as fresh tears gathered. “How can you ask that of me?”

“I dinnae want ye tae live this kind of life, Blossom.”