Chapter 46

A cold darkness wraps around Ana like an iron shroud. Her mind is a shattered mirror, memories flickering in and out, blurring at the edges, dissolving before she can grasp them.

The floor is hard beneath her. Stone. Damp. The scent of blood lingers in the air. Hers? Someone else’s? She doesn’t know.

She hears voices.

“Elijah, what did you do to her?” The unfamiliar man’s voice is sharp, cutting through the fog in her brain.

Elijah’s chuckle is a low vibration in her skull. “I reminded her.”

Reminded her of what?

Her thoughts are tangled, heavy, like they’ve been locked away in a vault she wasn’t meant to open.

She blinks, forcing herself to move.

A hand touches her shoulder.

She flinches.

“She’s waking up,” Elijah murmurs, his voice rich with satisfaction. “Good girl.”

Ana shoves his hand off, forcing herself to sit up. “Don’t. Touch. Me.”

Elijah smirks. “There she is.”

She glares at him, but her heart hammers against her ribs.

Something is wrong.

The unfamiliar man watches her closely, golden eyes unreadable. “How much does she remember?”

Ana’s breath catches.

Remember.

She was remembering something before she collapsed. A ballroom. A waltz. Blood.

A man’s voice whispering in her ear:

"You are mine."

A violent shudder runs through her.

Elijah crouches in front of her, eyes gleaming. “Tell me, sweetheart—who do you belong to?”

Ana’s stomach churns.

Something inside her knows the answer.

But she refuses to say it.

“Elijah…” the other man warns.

Elijah ignores him, his focus locked on Ana. “Say it.”

Ana shakes her head. “No.”

Something flashes in his gaze—something dark and hungry.

His hand shoots out, fingers gripping her chin, forcing her to look at him. “Say. It.”

She shoves him away.

“I belong to no one.”

Elijah laughs. A slow, delighted sound. “Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong.”

Ana forces herself to her feet, legs trembling beneath her. “Julian will come for me.”

Elijah’s smirk fades.

A flicker of something dangerous crosses his face. “Julian doesn’t deserve you.”

Ana’s heart skips.

Before she can respond, the other man steps forward. “We need to go.”

Elijah’s jaw clenches.

Ana’s pulse races.

Go? Go where?

She looks between them, chest tightening. “What do you want from me?”

Elijah’s eyes soften—just slightly. “To make you remember who you truly are.”

“I remember enough,” she spits.

“Not everything.”

His voice is velvet, coaxing.

She takes a step back.

“No.”

Elijah’s smirk returns. “You’ll see, sweetheart. You’ll see.”

The other man exhales, irritated. “We’re wasting time.”

Elijah looks at him. “Prepare the ritual.”

Ana’s blood turns to ice.

Ritual?

Her breath comes fast. “No. No, I’m not—”

Elijah moves in a blur.

Ana barely has time to react before he’s in front of her, his cold fingers brushing her cheek.

“You were mine before,” he murmurs. “And you will be again.”

Darkness swallows her whole.