Page 92 of Fighting for Her Heart

It hurt her?I was fourteen years old. All alone. No one else could step foot on the property, or even see it. We had lots of food stored away, but soon I had to venture out to shop on my own, terrified each time. Terrified because she’d made me paranoid, certain the entire world was out to get me, especially at night.

“After you moved to the city—”

“But I sold the farm!” I interrupt her. “How…” I have far too many questions.

“You didn’t sell it,” she says. “Not really. I arranged all that so that you would have the means to live.”

“So you knew where I was, even after I moved?”

She nods.

“Then why…” The pain of her desertion is overwhelming.

“I didn’t want the Council to know where you were. I kept my distance. I knew that as long as you stayed away from vampires—and away from me—you would not draw the Council’s attention.”

“How… What… How doesOctaviafit into all this?” My mind continues to swirl.

“She was a pawn.” Mom rolls her eyes. “A useful tool for us. Quite useful. I met her in the 1920’s at a women’s suffrage meeting, not long after she became a vampire. The other women there had no idea what she was.

“At the time, she was little more than a secretary to the CEO at DEFTA, more like his mistress. He was using her cunt like he owned it, keeping her in a subservient job, and she was eager for advancement.

“We gained her trust and gave her powers, helped her kill the CEO. She’d been used by so many men and was eager to do whatever we asked if we helped her gain power over them.”

“What did you ask her to do?” All the horrible things Octavia’s done rush through my mind.

“In exchange for her power, Octavia gave us access to Zuben’s research, to keep tabs on how much the vampire world had learned about you.”

She stops her angry tirade, and I absorb all that she’s said, trying to make sense of it.

“And after Octavia captured us and left us for dead in that prison?” Every time I get an answer, more questions erupt.

“I was horrified to hear you were trapped in a dungeon with those blood suckers. I did all I could, but…” Nora shakes her head sharply. “Does that really matter right now?”

“No.” I still have more questions than answers. But I need to stay focused on the one goal that matters—freeing my men.

“So, what happens now?” I ask her. “You tricked me into turning the men lambent. But now you’re holding them captive.Hurtingthem. Do you expect me to just go along with that?” Do I have a choice?

“Ember.” Getting up, she takes my hands and pulls me to my feet.

As a vampire, I could easily resist her—unless she’s using magic?—but I don’t resist. Instead, I let her pull me into an embrace, and in spite of everything, it feels so familiar and welcome, transporting me back to my childhood.

My anger is being squashed by comfort.

“It’s important that you see the big picture.” Releasing her tight hug, she rests her hands on my shoulders. “With your help and persuasion, I’m sure we can make the vampires more comfortable if that’s what you want.” She smiles. “Perhaps even alter our methods of fluid collection.”

“But…” Is there a way we could all be together, always, and still help my mom?

“I know you think you have real feelings for these vampires,” she says, “and that you want to stay close to them. That’s what I’m offering you.”

I nod. She’s failing to add that, because of me, none of them will ever be free.

If I hadn’t followed her and Zuben to Philadelphia, I’m sure she would have come back to get me on the farm. She would have brought me here. Or to somewhere else where she’d have encouraged me to create more lambent vampires for her to trap.

“You willalwaysbe safe with me,” Nora says. “Always. I promise you that. And if you cooperate, I can promise that for your men too.”

Is what she’s describing the best I can hope for? Surely not.

“Don’t let any man take your freedom or smother your potential,” she says, looking into my eyes with what actually looks like earnest concern. “Magic keepers have always been able to hold onto our power, unlike most of our gender.”