I’d forgotten his presence, had even run past his coffin as we’d entered the room without a second thought. Now dread overwhelmed me. My gaze fell on the casket. It was empty, the lid torn off the hinges. “Nathan…”

He would be no help, I realized, as I watched him cradle Ziggy close, half rocking on the hard floor. The sight was too painful. I had to look away.

The Soul Eater was somewhere in the house. Then I remembered the vial of holy water Nathan had given me. I’d tucked it into my bra as I’d dressed for the party. I’d just fished it out when the doorknob rattled. “Nathan!”

He was on his feet beside me, his face expressionless. “Ziggy’s dead.”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “Is there anything I can—”

“There’s really not time for that now.” Nathan stepped in front of me. “Whatever comes through that door, run like hell.”

“Excuse me?”

Just then the doors burst open. Cyrus stood in the doorway, rage twisting his burned face.

“I should have known,” he hissed as his one remaining eye moved between Nathan and I.

Nathan strode forward. “Simon Seymour, son of Jacob Seymour, by order of the Voluntary Vampire Extinction Movement, I charge you with the destruction of humans, the creation of new vampires, and the crime of aiding your sire, the Soul Eater, in his own offenses. How do you plead?”

A cruel smile formed on Cyrus’s lips. “I never plead for anything. Certainly not to a whelp like you.”

Nathan stood his ground as Cyrus moved closer. He watched Cyrus warily, as though he were a deadly snake about to strike.

“Dear Nolen. Stupid as ever.”

Nathan clenched his fists. “How do you plead to the charges, Cyrus?”

“Does it matter? I’m unarmed, and no match for you, should you choose to strike me down in my weakened and vulnerable state.” After a deliberate pause, he added, “Like you did your wife.”

Nathan’s body, tensed to the breaking point, snapped into motion. As his hands closed around my sire’s throat, I wanted to kill him. My heart constricted in grief and horror at the thought Nathan might hurt Cyrus.

“Do you think she’ll survive without me?” Cyrus wheezed. “The tie is too strong between us. But that doesn’t matter, does it? You didn’t even save the pathetic human boy.”

“Shut up,” Nathan growled, slamming Cyrus into the wall.

Faintly, through the frantic staccato of my pulse, I heard Cyrus laugh. “You don’t really believe you’ve changed? Just because you’ve killed a few of the bad guys?”

Nathan crushed Cyrus’s head against the wall, and I slumped to the floor, my chest tightening painfully so that I could only take fast, shallow breaths.

When Cyrus spoke, his voice was ragged, but the hate there was unmistakable. “Kill me then, Nolen. It will be worth it to see the satisfaction in your eyes. I’ll die knowing you’re worthy of our sire’s blood.”

Nathan’s hands flexed, squeezing Cyrus’s neck with fury, but Cyrus rallied one last time and shoved Nathan backward, hard. Nathan lost his balance and toppled to the floor. As he pulled himself up, he snarled, “I’m taking her with me.”