"Do you know," he said softly, a cruel amusement in his voice, "how long I've been amassing the power I used on you?"
Liora couldn't answer. Her throat wouldn't open. Her body remained still, save for the candle shaking between her trapped fingers.
He chuckled, low and feral. "Oh, you're even more frightened than I imagined. Delicious."
He tilted his head, as though examining a fragile animal caught in a snare.
"I suppose you're wondering who I am. Most do, though it hardly matters to me. But for you—" his grin widened— "you may call me Vander."
Liora's heart stopped.
Vander.
Zyren's elder brother. The red-eyed vampire. The name spoken in whispers behind shut doors. The one banished. Imprisoned. Forgotten.
Her mind screamed. Not him. Anyone but him.
He was supposed to be locked away, restrained, weak. But the power wrapped around her body was suffocating. Whatever magic he had left, it was strong enough to control her like a puppet on strings.
She tried to fight.
