POV: Victoria
My body stood up without my permission, and I screamed inside my dying mind.
Malphas was controlling me again, but this time was different. My body was so weak from blood loss that I could barely stand. Each heartbeat sent pain shooting through my chest.
I'm dying, I realized. And he knows it.
"This vessel will serve my purposes," Malphas said through my mouth as he made me walk toward the cabin. "Even a dying body can kill small children."
No! I fought against his control with everything I had left. I won't let you hurt those babies!
"You cannot stop me. You are too weak to fight."
But he was wrong. Being close to death had changed something inside me. The fear and anger that had made me easy to control before were gone. All that was left was a strange kind of peace and a burning need to make things right.
I may be weak, I told him, but I still have one thing you don't understand.
"What is that?"
Love.
