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“No?” he taunted, tightening his grip until I choked. He hauled me against him, and I recoiled at the feel of his hard, cold armor pressing against my bare skin. He turned us so Midian and Given were in full view. “Looks plenty real to me.”

Midian thrust Given away from him, then slapped her across the face hard. She staggered but stayed on her feet. When she tossed her hair from her eyes, her blue eyes were defiant.

Midian’s were solid black. “You think you’re clever, child, hiding in your pretty little head when I told you to fuck.” He glanced at me. “What were you two discussing?”

“Nothing,” she spat, her eyes locked on him. Her chest heaved, and her pink nipples were tight with obvious fear, but she didn’t cower. “We just wanted to get away from you.”

He splayed a hand over his chest. His handsome features shifted to mock offense. “It pains me to hear you say that. We are, after all, family here.”

Given’s voice trembled. “No part of you lives in me.” She threw her shoulders back, every inch a queen despite her nudity and unkempt state. Her voice went low, and her eyes blazed with challenge. “You’ll never be inside me, in any way.”

Midian’s black eyes narrowed.

“You can’t eat,” she said, “and you can’t make love. You can’t make anything. Because you’re not alive.”

No. No, no, no. Too late, I realized what she was doing. The arm around my neck disappeared, the illusion of my father vanishing as Midian focused fully on Given. It took every ounce of willpower I possessed to stand there and keep my mouth shut. But I had to. If she pulled this off, I needed to be available to help her in any way I could.

“But I am,” she said. Slowly, she swept her hair off her shoulder. She turned her head, exposing the pulse in her neck. “All you can do is watch. So watch, Midian. Look at what you can never have.”

Pressure filled the room. Swift and overpowering, it knocked me backward until my shoulders scraped stone and dust swirled around me. A high-pitched whine filled my ears. Midian shot to Given and gripped her throat. He hoisted her off the floor and brought her head level with his. Immediately, her eyes bulged. She grabbed at his hand.

I surged forward. Vines sprang out of nowhere and flung me back. I hit the wall, and they rushed around me, wrapping my limbs. Not real. Not real, not real. Frantically, I tried to make myself believe it.

The vines disappeared.

I shot off the wall.

The bedchamber turned into a beach.

I stumbled and landed on my knees in the sand. Ice-cold wind whipped around me. Waves crashed at my back. Male laughter rang in my ears. A cold sweat broke out over my body. Not real. But it was. It was as real as the memories I’d never been able to exorcise from my mind.

Footsteps, and then Midian threw Given to the sand in front of me. She gagged on her hands and knees, dry-heaving as she sucked air into her lungs. Midian knelt behind her and forced her head up. He looked me in the eye as he put his lips to her ear.

“You’re wrong, child. I can be inside you.”

The laughter swelled. Torchlight bounced across the sand, and a shadow fell over me. Given’s eyes went wide. The blood drained from her face, and I knew she saw the vampires and the sea. A belt buckle clinked. Rough hands shoved me, sending me sprawling. I scrambled up, and the males swarmed me, pinning me on my stomach. Hot breath seared my cheek. Someone groped my ass.

Bile burned my throat. I vomited in the sand.

“Varick!” Given cried.

“Varick!” the vampire behind me mocked. “Oh, Varick!” The others joined him, mimicking her higher-pitched voice.

Midian spoke again. “They raped him here, after he tried to kill his own father. Did you know?” He looked at Given, who sobbed as she clutched handfuls of sand. Midian shrugged and turned back to me. “I guess not.”

A booted foot kicked my feet apart, and a heavy male body landed on my back. Not real. I vomited again, bile and sand smearing my mouth. Given’s sobs drowned out the taunts of the males behind me. Dimly, I heard Midian speak.

“I can be inside you. Drink from me.”

I reared up with a wild howl, throwing off the males who restrained me. “No! Given, don’t—” A hand on the back of my head shoved my nose and mouth into the sand. I sucked it in, gagging and struggling. More hands pinned me. Touched me. Oh gods, they were touching me everywhere. My mind slipped, my grasp on sanity unraveling.

“I’ll do it!” Given screamed. “I’ll do it, just leave him alone. Please, I’ll do it!”

“No!” I shouted, my cry muffled by the sand.

And then the beach was gone. The weight on my back disappeared. I scrambled up, gasping, but it was too late.

Midian stood several paces away, a triumphant look on his face as Given fed from his neck. She gagged and shuddered, black blood spilling down her breasts. He cupped the back of her head, holding her mouth to his throat.