Page 48 of Eternal Surrender

“You were good friends with Gill?” Marcus asked flatly.

Anaïs shrugged. “Sort of.”

“Shall I ask the question again?” he asked.

Anaïs’s pupils dilated. “We were friends.”

“And you think your fate could end up like hers?” Marcus glanced at me.

She shivered. “Gill served her years as a novice. . .”

Marcus gestured for Anaïs to come closer and took her hands in his. “Gill was saved by Orpheus. He was planning on making her a Gothica. Gill took advantage of her position.”

Penthea added, “A faction of vampires in Scotland bought her loyalty with drugs. They paid her to spy on her master and report back to them. They were plotting to take over Belshazzar’s.”

“Do you know what Orpheus did?” Marcus asked Anaïs.

“He killed her,” she whispered.

Marcus let her hands go. “And then he paid the clan a visit.”

“We laid Gill’s body out at Stonehenge,” Penthea said with pride.

Marcus sat back. “Betrayal is always dealt with.”

“Gillian never made it to where you stand now,” Penthea added. “She wasn’t worthy.”

Marcus rose, towering over Anaïs. “Gillian was never allowed into the heart of Belshazzar’s inner circle. But you’ve been welcomed in.”

“I didn’t betray you, I swear,” Anaïs said.

Marcus raised his chin, his demeanor proud. “Anaïs, from the day you stepped into Belshazzar’s and took the oath of allegiance, the elders have accessed your every thought.”

Anaïs’s jaw slackened.

“It is our privilege as elite nightwalkers to read the minds of mortals,” he said.

Penthea shrank back, revealing she was not among the privileged to share such a gift, and she threw me a look.

Marcus sat again. “That’s why you’re still alive, Anaïs.” He pointed. “See that door behind you?”

Anaïs turned to where Marcus was gesturing.

“If you choose to go through that door, you’ll be well taken care of,” he said. “As your contract stipulates, five-million pounds will be deposited into an off-shore bank account for you. Your memory will be wiped.”

Anaïs showed her understanding, seemingly hoping for Marcus to say the words of what was once promised back when misery was her only friend.

“Or. . .” Marcus gestured to Zachary.

Zachary approached, holding a scarlet pillow, atop which rested a black collar, like the one he was wearing.

Marcus ran his fingertips over it. “You can wear this adornment of a fledgling and continue to serve within these walls. Your elders will show you the way of the vampire.”

“I want to be a vampire,” Anaïs didn’t hesitate. “I want to be beautiful like them.”

“No going back, Anaïs.” Marcus waited for Penthea’s gesture of confirmation that she’d been prepared.

“She knows what it entails,” Penthea answered.