Chapter 49

Ana's breath trembles in her throat. The air around her is thick—too thick, pressing against her like an unseen force. She tries to pull away from Elijah’s grasp, but his fingers hold her chin with a kind of tenderness that feels like a trap.

"You weren’t always his," he repeats, his voice smooth, unwavering.

A chill skates down her spine. "I don’t belong to anyone."

Elijah smiles, but there’s something almost sad in it. "That’s where you’re wrong."

Ana jerks her chin free, her pulse pounding. "You don’t get to decide that."

"I don’t have to," he murmurs. "Because you already did."

Her hands curl into fists. "Stop playing games with me, Elijah. If you know something, then just say it."

Elijah studies her for a long moment. Then, with an exhale, he stands to his full height. The golden-eyed man lingers near the door, silent, watchful.

Elijah gestures with a tilt of his head. "Leave us."

The golden-eyed man hesitates, then bows slightly before slipping into the shadows.

The moment he’s gone, Elijah turns back to her. "You want the truth?"

Ana swallows. "Yes."

"You belonged to me first."

The words slam into her like a wave.

For a long moment, she just stares.

Then—she laughs.

It’s an abrupt, sharp sound, the kind of laugh that tastes like disbelief. "That’s ridiculous."

"Is it?" Elijah takes a slow step forward. "Think about it, Ana. Why do you think Julian kept the truth from you? Why do you think he let you forget?"

A flicker of something stirs in the back of her mind—a whisper, a phantom feeling she can’t grasp.

She shakes her head. "Julian wouldn’t lie to me."

Elijah lets out a quiet chuckle. "Oh, sweetheart. He didn’t just lie to you—he erased you."

A shuddering breath escapes her.

"You’re lying," she whispers.

Elijah crouches in front of her, his gaze locking onto hers. "Am I?"

A memory flashes—so quick, so sudden, it nearly knocks the air from her lungs.

—Hands gripping her waist. Laughter in the dark. A voice whispering against her skin—You are mine, Ana. And I will find you, no matter where he hides you.

Her body jerks as she gasps.

Elijah watches, unblinking.

"That’s not—" Her voice shakes. "That’s not real."

"It is," he says softly. "You just buried it."

Her chest tightens.

"Julian took you from me," Elijah murmurs, his fingers brushing against her wrist. "He made you believe you loved him. But before him, Ana—before all of this—you and I, we were—"

"Stop."

Ana’s voice cuts through the room like a blade.

Elijah goes still.

Her hands are trembling. She doesn’t know why—doesn’t want to know why—but something about what he’s saying makes her uneasy.

Because there’s a part of her—a deep, hidden part—that doesn’t doubt him.

"I need to go," she breathes, pushing herself up.

Elijah doesn’t stop her.

But when she reaches the door, his voice follows her like a shadow.

"You can run from me, Ana." A pause. "But you can’t run from yourself."

She doesn’t turn back.

Doesn’t stop.

But the moment she steps into the hallway, her heart pounds with a terrible, terrible truth.

What if he’s right?