“Well, it’s not her choice now,” the other replies.  “You know Sylas will make her do it—she has to be one of us, or this won’t work.”

I analyze my options. There are two of them and one of me. And I’m bleeding. I never bleed, which means the medicine has finally left my system, leaving me vulnerable. My heart’s also starting to come to life again and is going to take my strength away. Plus, if these guys have any of the strength Sylas has, they’ll be able to kill me with a simple snap of their fingers.

And what if they bite like him? The bite—that’s where the blood’s coming from. God, what does that mean? That I’m infected with something? Strong or not, infected or not, I’m not one to give up. I take a deep breath and swiftly roll on my back, kicking one of them right behind the kneecap and the other one right between the legs. One collapses to the concrete ground, but the other only stumbles. I leap to my feet, but the room sways and I teeter to the side, smacking my head on a steel beam.

One struggles to his feet, while the other charges. Both their eyes are black, but burn a fire to kill. I try to run, one foot in front of the other. But I’m weak and I hate the feeling of no control. A hand grabs me by the shoulder, his strength cutting into my skin.

I kick at him, but he only laughs. “Let me guess. You used to be really, really strong.” His teeth are sharp, his lips a deep red. His sandy hair chops across his head. He’s not afraid of me, not by a long shot. But the other one, the one standing behind me, fears I’ll kick him between the legs again.

I knock my head back, trying to hit him in the face.

“God damn it.” He grabs my hair and tugs at the roots. “Knock that crap off.”

I try not to wince or scream in pain, but it’s hard. It hurts and I don’t know how to deal with pain. It feels like fire, hot and unnatural and it won’t go away.

“Easy, boys,” Sylas says, emerging from the shadows of the beams. He moves like he’s commander of an army, like he knows he holds all the control in his hand. “Let her go.”

They obey, but the blonde one shoves me forward. I blink, grabbing my head, my stomach churning as the world spins a wild color of chaos.

“Are you stupid?” Sylas asks, his words harsh, but his voice eerily calm. “I said not to hurt her.”

“I’m sorry,” Raymond apologizes, terror rushing through him. “But she kicked me.”