More tears leaked down my cheeks. I knew that these emotions were the last thing I should be feeling right now. I hadn’t returned to The Sanctuary for so long that all the memories it brought back of Ibrahim, the first and last love of my life, sent my head reeling. I sank down on the bed, trying to steady my breathing.

After a few moments, I managed it, clutching Ibrahim’s arm. It was time we started figuring out some answers.

“I wonder where that gate was that we just came through. Whether it was near The Shade.”

Ibrahim shrugged. “I have no idea. It’s possible it wasn’t even marked on Mona’s map.”

“Ibrahim. Corrine,” a silky voice spoke from behind us.

A blonde woman had just entered the room. I shot to my feet.

“Thalia,” Ibrahim and I said together.

She was Odelia’s sister.

“Take me to Odelia,” Ibrahim said, walking up to Thalia, his fists clenched.

A sadness filled Thalia’s crystal-blue eyes. “Odelia is no more. Being the next oldest sister of the Adrius line, I am now the Ageless of the Sanctuary. In light of the many years you served my sister, I thought it was only right that I make a personal visit to answer any questions you might have, so you don’t feel like prisoners.”

My jaw dropped. “She’s dead?” I gasped.

“She was murdered in her sleep.”

Ibrahim’s breath hitched. “By whom?”

“To this day we don’t know for sure. But we suspect that it was a black witch. It seems they are becoming powerful enough to penetrate our realm.”

As much as we were shocked by the news, it was clear that neither of us were truly that sorry. Odelia had caused The Shade much trouble during her time, and to this day I hadn’t forgiven her for taking my powers away from me—and for what she’d done to Sofia, leaving Rose and Ben motherless during the first weeks of their lives.

“Why have you brought us here? And why are you restraining us like this?” Ibrahim demanded, glowering at her.

Thalia sighed. Drawing up a chair, she sat down and, gesturing to the bed, indicated that we do the same.

“I’m sorry if Brisalia didn’t give you a satisfactory explanation. But she and Csilla had to hurry back to The Shade. They have some… preparatory work to do there.”

“What?”

“Please, sit.”

I was in no mood to sit down and I could see Ibrahim wasn’t either, but we gave in to her request.

“The black witches must be stopped,” she began. “If they are allowed to continue gaining strength, both the human realm and the realm of the witches—indeed, every realm—will feel their threat. They will not stop until they have made every species subordinate to them. Until they have reclaimed the so-called true glory of our Ancients. A glory that comes at the expense of all species other than themselves.”

“What does any of this have to do with imprisoning us? We need to leave. Sofia and Derek are depending on us to—”

“Don’t worry about the Novak girl,” Thalia said calmly. “Hermia, my own sister, has gone after her. She’s already located their trail and will bring them back here safely. So fear not.”

It felt like every clarification only ended up confusing us further. “What? Why would—”

“The Novak twins—well, mainly the girl. It has occurred to the black witches that she will be of much use to them, far more than they initially thought.”

“Why?”

Thalia folded her hands over her lap. “There is an Ancient still remaining. Lilith, her name is. She is one of the reasons they are gaining power so quickly. She guides and directs them. But she is ailing. One of the reasons they need so much human blood is for the rituals they carry out on her behalf, to keep her alive. She is hanging on to her decaying life by a thread. To deny death in such a way requires a constant effort, an immense amount of life force, the most potent of which comes from human blood. Since they know of the twins’ unique blood, they want to see if it will help to prolong Lilith’s life, if it will be more potent than regular human blood. Basically, they want to add Rose to their ingredients shelf. And also experiment with other ways she could be of value other than giving blood.”

“What other ways could there possibly be?”

“I believe they see potential in her, to turn her into a witch. One of them. Perhaps they see her genetics as a strong foundation, if they train her right.”

“What about Benjamin Novak?”

“Lilith consumes primarily female blood. Benjamin’s blood is not of as much use to them in this regard. Besides, once they’ve taken over The Shade, they will get him anyway.”

“Take over The Shade?”

“Oh, yes. That is still their plan. In fact, taking Rose will just make this easier for them. You see, what you need to understand about these witches is that they value vampire, human and wolf life alike. Humans, vamps and werewolves all have their places in their rituals. They can find uses for each of them. So, while they could have attacked The Shade full force, they would much rather gain their cooperation. They don’t want to resort to mass killing in order to gain control. They see too many uses for The Shade’s residents to just kill them whimsically and would rather work on coercion than brute force. Once they’ve done some experimenting with Rose Novak, and are sure they can use her, they will use her to gain cooperation from the Novaks. The Novaks will be much more amenable to negotiation if the black witches have their daughter, don’t you think?”