“Victor wouldn’t let me leave,” he said. Victor Madden was Eric’s boss; he’d been appointed by Felipe de Castro, King of Nevada, to oversee the conquered kingdom of Louisiana.

My initial reaction to Eric’s explanation was bitter disappointment. I’d heard this story before. A vampire more powerful than me made me do it: Bill’s excuse for going back to his maker, Lorena, revisited. “Sure,” I said. I turned over and lay with my back to him. I felt the cold, creeping misery of disillusionment. I decided to pull my clothes on, to drive back to Bon Temps, as soon as I gathered the energy. The tension, the frustration, the rage in Eric was sapping me.

“Victor’s people chained me with silver,” Eric said behind me. “It burned me everywhere.”

“Literally.” I tried not to sound as skeptical as I felt.

“Yes, literally. I knew something was happening with you. Victor was at Fangtasia that night, as if he knew ahead of time he should be there. When Bill called to tell me you’d been taken, I managed to call Niall before three of Victor’s people chained me to the wall. When I—protested—Victor said he couldn’t allow me to take sides in the Fae War. He said that no matter what happened to you, I couldn’t get involved.”

Rage made Eric fall silent for a long moment. It poured through me like a burning, icy stream. He resumed his story in a choked voice.

“Pam was also seized and isolated by Victor’s people, though they didn’t chain her.” Pam was Eric’s second-in-command. “Since Bill was in Bon Temps, he was able to ignore Victor’s phone messages. Niall met Bill at your house to track you. Bill had heard of Lochlan and Neave. We all had. We knew time would run out for you.” I still had my back to Eric, but I was listening to more than his voice. Grief, anger, desperation.

“How did you get out of the chains?” I asked the dark.

“I reminded Victor that Felipe had promised you protection, promised it to you personally. Victor pretended not to believe me.” I could feel the bed move as Eric threw himself back against the pillows. “Some of the vampires were strong and honorable enough to remember they were pledged to Felipe, not Victor. Though they wouldn’t defy Victor to his face, behind his back they let Pam call our new king. When she had Felipe on the line, she explained to him that you and I had married. Then she demanded Victor take the telephone and talk to Felipe. Victor didn’t dare to refuse. Felipe ordered Victor to let me go.” A few months ago, Felipe de Castro had become the king of Nevada, Louisiana, and Arkansas. He was powerful, old, and very crafty. And he owed me big-time.

“Did Felipe punish Victor?” Hope springs eternal.