09/03/2026 01:13

---

That was it. Here was a face younger and more innocent seeming than Nathaniel's. And just like that, he released me, let me go as if my arms had grown hot to the touch, because he could not disobey a direct order from me. Nathaniel got a frilly white apron, like no one's mother ever really wore, and a string of pearls.

Melbourne's body lay on its side, one hand outstretched toward the cringing vampire. Because I could still see the memory, not in livid detail like it had been, but now it was in my head, too. The vamp never lifted from Jung's neck. He took a deep breath and let it out.