Page 174 of The Life of Anna, Tenth Anniversary Edition, Act 2

Anna flinched at the sounds of sword fighting coming from the hallway. Something glass shattered and she gasped. A sound like a wall being blasted open made her jump, and then it was eerily quiet. She listened carefully and, after several minutes of silence, she glanced at Aaron.

He nodded and they crept to the bedroom door to peek out. The hallway was a mess, scorch marks all along the length of the hallway, and the Immortals were gone.

“Where’d they go?” Aaron whispered. “And will they be back?”

Anna shivered. “I don’t know.”

A chill ran through Anna and she stumbled. “Devin...” She gasped and looked at Aaron. “He’s here.”

They stared at each other, unmoving, until Aaron suddenly grabbed her hand and began pulling on her rings.

“What are you doing?”

“If he sees you wearing your wedding rings, he’ll know Alex is alive. He can’t find out yet. Alex needs the element of surprise.”

With tears in her eyes, she pulled her rings off and handed them to Aaron. He was right. If Devin was going to take her, he couldn’t find out Alex was alive.

“C’mon. The less he sees of the place, the better.” Aaron dragged her out to the living room.

Anna was shaking so badly she couldn’t move. Her vision grew dark. Terror froze her feet to the floor. An invisible metal band wrapped around her ribs, keeping her from breathing. She didn’t want to go back to Devin. She wanted to stay with Alex. They had a plan. This wasn’t part of the plan.

“I’m scared,” she whispered as she sat curled up next to Aaron on the couch.

“Alex will get you back, Anna. Stay strong.” He turned her to face him and she saw tears in his eyes. “You are so strong. Don’t forget that. Don’t let him tell you any differently.”

Tears streamed down her face. “Tell Alex I love him.”

Aaron nodded.

They heard a knock on the door, but neither dared to answer it.

The knock became a pound, and then it sounded like someone was kicking the door. Anna jumped at each hit. Finally, there was a crash, and Anna whimpered and huddled lower on the couch.

Aaron grabbed her face and kissed her passionately.

Devin kicked in the door after several attempts and stalked into the luxurious apartment. He walked into what had to be the living room and saw Anna on the couch. Kissing... Aaron? He thought Aaron was gay.

“Anna.”

The couple froze and he saw Anna shaking. Good. She should be terrified. He would torture her to death for leaving him. And then have Kaveh heal her so he could do it again. And again. And again.

She turned and looked at him, terror in her eyes. Devin smiled. “Stupid girl, Anna. Stupid, stupid, stupid.” He walked toward her slowly. She shrank into the couch. He grabbed her by her hair and she shrieked and grabbed at his hand as he pulled her over the back of the couch, her body hitting the wooden floor hard with a thud.

Aaron reached for her, but Devin pushed him away. “You will pay for hiding her, you fucking twat.”

“No, Devin, please...” Anna whimpered. “He wasn’t h-hiding me. Th-this is my place. I d-didn’t like P-Paris so I came back. Aaron didn’t know a-anything about me r-running away.”

Devin twisted his hand in her hair and she shrieked again. “Please don’t hurt him!”

She didn’t want him hurt? Oh, he would hurt him. He released her hair and reached for Aaron.

“Aaron.”

Aaron groaned and rolled to his side, coughing. Blood splattered on the floor and he realized it was coming from his mouth. Shit . Devin had jumped over the back of the couch and laid into him without mercy. The last thing he remembered was hearing Tom tell Devin that he would deal with him and to get Anna out of there.

He opened his swollen eyes to see Tom crouching next to him.

“Anna?” Aaron whispered.

Tom pressed his lips together and shook his head. “Devin took her. But he won’t kill her. He would have killed you.”

“You let him take—?” A coughing fit seized him and Tom helped him sit up.

“I didn’t have a choice, Aaron. Devin’s defeat depends on him not knowing about me or Alex.”

“He’ll hurt her.” God, even talking hurt.

Tom sighed. “I know, and the thought kills me. But he won’t do anything until the funerals are over. He wouldn’t want her to look bad in front of the other Elders. He’ll wait until he’s home.”

“You can’t let him take her home!” Pain shot through his chest and he clutched his ribs and groaned.

“I won’t be able to speak to Wilhelm or Vlad until after the funerals are over. I don’t know if they’ll find out about Anna before then.”

“I’ll call Alex and tell him.”

“No. You can’t. We have to stick with the plan. Alex has to kill Oscar in the morning. If you call and tell him...” Tom shook his head. “He’ll lose it. We can’t let that happen. Now, let me get you to?—?”

“Fuck the plan, Tom.” He began coughing again and blood splattered on the floor and his sweatpants. “You can’t let Devin have Anna for that long. He’ll get his powers back.”

Tom shook his head again. “We’ll modify the timeline, but we have to get rid of Tyler, or Tyler becomes Elder when Devin is removed. And Tyler’s no better than Devin.”

“So call Alex and tell him to take out Tyler.”

“The jobs were given to Alex by myself, Vlad and Wilhelm. One of us alone can’t modify it and, as I said, I won’t be able to speak to them until after Devin’s gone. Devin will be on the lookout for anything suspicious.” He helped Aaron to his feet. “Let me get you to the hospital. I told Devin I’d deal with you. I’ll check you in under a different name. Once you’re released, you need to stay out of sight until Devin’s dealt with.”

Devin shoved Anna through the door of his luxury hotel room near Times Square. “I can’t fully punish you for what you’ve put me through these last few months, but I can give it a good start.”

Anna’s eyes filled with fear as she turned to look at him.

“I don’t know why the hell Tom didn’t know you were here.” He narrowed his eyes. “There are too many people in this fucking city. He needs to be stronger.” He grinned. “I’ll help him with that once I’ve regained my powers.”

Anna just stared at him.

He stepped closer. “Do you know what I’m going to do with you once I have you home?”

She swallowed.

“I’m going to kill you. Slowly. Painfully. And then Kaveh will revive you. Then I’ll do it again. And again. Until the Immortals tell me I can’t do it anymore, because they can’t bring you back again.” He smiled. “You’re going to be in the dungeon for so long, you’re going to forget what the sun looks like. You’re going to forget what it’s like to not be in pain.” His smile broadened into a wicked grin. “You will not leave the Manor until I perform the final ritual. You’ll be lucky to have a few days of relief between now and then.”

Anna swallowed again and closed her eyes, shivering.

He grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the bedroom. “But first, you’re going to give me my powers back.” He pushed her toward the bathroom. “Clean up first. I don’t like sweaty pussy.”

Later that night, Anna lay in bed, unable to move, scarcely able to open her eyes. She could hear Devin and Tyler talking and laughing with Tom and Tommy in the sitting room of Devin’s hotel room.

Devin had drained her almost completely as soon as she’d finished her shower. He wanted her essence and had taken it, but it left her numb so there was no point in Devin exacting his punishment yet. She wasn’t sure which would have been better. Yes, she had avoided the abuse, but Devin was gaining his powers back. She could see the gold in his eyes.

They had to fly to Boston in the morning for Rylan’s funeral. And then Oscar would be killed. By Alex.

Anna let her eyes flutter close. How long before Alex would come and rescue her? Surely he would come as soon as he found out Devin had taken her. She could be patient. A few days at the most. She could handle a few days with Devin, knowing she would be reunited with Alex soon.