-Ronan Hale:
The pain had never scared me.
I had lived with it, fought through it, carved my way through the world with my blood on my hands and the vampires' blood on my blade. But this—this was different. This wasn't the sharp burn of a fresh wound or the ache of a broken bone. This was something deeper, something darker.
Because it wasn't my pain that made my chest tighten. It was Lucien's face.
He was still kneeling, still bound, but I could see the way his whole body trembled, the way his breath came in short, uneven gasps. He looked at the boy—the small, trembling human shoved forward in front of him—then at the vial of shimmering green liquid held between the vampire's fingers.
His face twisted, a flash of horror crossing his features, and then—
"No," he said immediately, his voice cracking slightly, but firm. "I won't do it."
