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He glances down at my hip and his face seems to pale. Which, I must say, is a very strange look on a vampire’s face. “What the fuck, Andrei?”

Andrei’s face blanks, as if he’s hiding his emotions. “It could be shock. Do you feel anything, Alena?”

I feel Chloe squeezing my hands tighter and everyone’s eyes boring into me like laser beams.

Squirming, I wish Chloe would let go of my hands so I could rub at my chest. “Yes, there’s a throbbing sensation near my heart. Perhaps I’m hurt there, too.”

Andrei and Caden frown deeper at my answer, but Chloe’s eyes widen.

“A throbbing sensation?” she asks. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” I answer, figuring there’s no reason to hide it from them if they’re willing to give me medical attention.

I tug on my hands again and she finally gets the hint. Once she releases me, I yank on the collar of my shirt and peer down.

Fortunately, there are no shards of wood in my chest. There’s no cut or other injury. Not even a scratch.

My skin is completely intact.

But there is a red stain between my breasts that wasn’t ever there before. A stain in the shape of a figure eight.

“What is it?” Caden asks, as I stare at the mark in horror.

“It’s the mark,” Chloe answers for me.

It shouldn’t be a surprise. It shouldn’t scare the crap out of me. I mean, given everything that just happened, it makes sense.

But seeing it with my own eyes for the first time, the thing I’ve always feared and dreaded would happen, makes me feel sick.

There is truly no going back now…

I am forever damned.

“Is it throbbing right now?” Chloe asks.

Looking back up at her, unable to speak, I slowly nod my head.

Chloe looks at Andrei and Caden. “Is Raphael still close by?”

“Father and Raphael are dancing through the streets, having a merry time,” a new voice sing-songs from the doorway. “I think they got confused, Mother. We are not in France, nor are we experiencing a revolution.”

Everyone turns, but I can’t see who is speaking with Chloe in front of me.

Chloe visibly stiffens. “What streets, Ambrose?”

Craning around her, I see a vampire with long white hair dancing into the room.

He’s dressed in an outfit straight out of the 1700s, and I’m pretty sure if Chloe didn’t compel me to not be afraid of them, just seeing his face would give me a heart attack.

His eyes are bright red and his skin is so white it’s practically translucent, showing all the veins in his flesh. Holding his arms as if he’s holding an invisible dance partner, he spins and twirls his way over to us.

Stopping near Chloe, he bends forward as if he’s dipping his invisible partner. “They’ll reach the church soon and pay their tithes with heads…”

“Fuck,” Andrei and Caden growl at the same time.

“What church, Ambrose?” Chloe asks, her voice rising with alarm.

Ambrose straightens then makes a shoving motion, as if he’s pushing his invisible partner away.