The bullet went straight through my shoulder and took me down. Numb and sharp pain spread through my muscles and everything went black. The lack of sleep rendered me useless, and a bullet through a limb was enough to make me walk the edge between conscious and unconscious.

I forced my eyes open, just to check if Jax did what we told him. Eyes wide and shocked, he collected the guns and disappeared through the door, into the sunshine.

I twisted my head towards Dorian's unconscious body, needing to check if I'd accidentally murdered him.

There have been times when I fantasized about shooting Dorian. I had imagined what he'd look like staring down the barrel of a gun. Never thought he'd welcome the bullet, or that my heart would splinter once I saw his body lying on the ground.

"Dorian-" I uttered, dragging myself towards him with one working arm.

My shoulder throbbed. I was losing a lot of blood.

It was nothing compared to him. The bullet went straight through his stomach, and the best I could hope for was that he was so full of blood he'd manage to survive. I grabbed his hand, and when he squeezed back, I lost consciousness.

The taste of human blood dripping into my mouth woke me up. It was exquisite; thick, warm, and full of fear-

My eyes flung open and I pushed myself away in an instant, back hitting the living room wall. Drapes were drawn over the windows, shrouding the crimson living room in darkness. A thick stale scent of blood lingered in the air. In front of me stood my youngest brother, holding a blonde girl by the hair.

She was unconscious, her hands swinging by her sides, her naked knees scraping the ground. Bite wounds covered her neck and her exposed cleavage, but she wasn't bleeding anymore, which made me realise she was going to die very, very soon. My youngest brother didn't care; his fingers gripped her hair, holding her like she was nothing but a sack of potatoes.

Anton Zaleria was tall and thin, which made him look a year or two older than thirteen. His hair was platinum blonde like my mother's and his eyes were silvery blue, piercing, hungry. He wore his navy blue PJs. He was barefoot.

"Why did it take you so long to wake up?" Anton's piercing eyes narrowed, shining with intelligence.

Dorian sprawled on the crimson sofa, "She hasn't been feeding properly for two years."

"Oh." Anton's eyes widened, a pout gripping his plump girlish lips. "Have some."

He flung the unconscious woman my way, her torso dropping on the ground, body rolling two turns until she ended on her face. The visceral reaction to help her died out when I met Dorian's eyes. His jaw was clenched and his lips formed a thin line as his eyes bore into me, the dark blue of his irises merging with his black pupils.

My breathing evening out, I pulled myself up, "I prefer male blood."

"Oh." Anton's eyes dropped. "We're all out of boys."

Edmond's brittle laugh reached from behind Anton, "If only I hadn't lost Jimmy. His blood would taste so sweet."

My older brother sat in the armchair, legs crossed, shirt torn where Dorian jammed a broken baseball bat through his body. His voluptuous dark hair fell freely over his shoulders, framing his sharp face. He was completely healed now, probably because he drained the poor woman dying in front of me.

I dragged myself to the sofa and dropped next to Dorian, finally taking in my surroundings. If my memory was to be trusted, we were in the southern living room on the first floor of the mansion. The dark room. Walls were painted black, as well as the wooden cupboards and vitrines full of liquor bottles. The only light came from the candles lined up on the table between the sofa and armchair, casting faint flickering light on the furniture, forming formidable shadows.

My shoulder still throbbed with pain, although someone had taken the bullet out, and I noticed that Dorian's gunshot wound was still bleeding. They hadn't given us enough blood to heal completely, possibly on purpose.

"So." Edmond switched the crossed legs. "One moment I was closing in on those pesky hunters, and the next, there was a baseball bat in my spine. How did that happen?"

Tension filled me from head to toe, and I breathed in through my nose, forcing my own biology to listen to my brain.

Dorian shrugged, "I guess you weren't careful."

Anton let out a shrill laugh and clapped his hands like he's just heard the funniest thing in the world.

"That's right, Eddie, you weren't careful." My youngest brother sat on the floor, and took the unconscious girl's arm. "I told you to stay in the basement."

Edmond's hazel eyes cut through both Dorian and me, and I fought against the need to swallow the spit gathering in my mouth. The tiniest movement and he'd know we were full of shit.

"Not only am I wounded, but all of the guards posted in the mansion are dead." Edmond's curious gaze bore a hint of amusement. "And all of Anton's guards are gone."

"Everyone knows Anton treats his guards like shit." Dorian repeated his shrug.

"Hey!" Anton waved with the girl's hand before he sunk his fangs into her wrist. "Eww, dead."

Bile rose to my throat, and I couldn't even swallow that without giving myself away.

"Employee satisfaction truly is the cornerstone of every business." Dorian pursed his lips.

"Don't fuck with me, Darascu." Edmond was out of the armchair in an instant.

I flinched on impulse, and my brother's lips dragged into a smile when he realised it.

"What do you want me to tell you, Edmond?" Dorian remained calm. "As soon as Odette told me Jimmy figured out you two were vampires, we drove to the mansion."

My gaze snapped to him. Me? Me?

Edmond's eyes slid to me, curiosity inside growing, "Little princess knew about this?"

Panic seized me, but I knew better than to show I had no idea about this. Fuck, when I said I trusted Dorian, I didn't think I'd have to play along with all the goddamn schemes he came up with.

"Thought you knew." Dorian said. "She figured out Jimmy was a hunter, and she's been screwing him for information."

My heart settled into a frantic rhythm, one I was certain Edmond could pick up on, but I was hoping he'd ascribe it to something other than me being a lying traitor.

"Getting down and dirty for your siblings, ha?" He chuckled. "I have to admit, I didn't know you were that desperate."

I allowed myself a deep breath, "I told you I wanted to speak to father."

"Anyway." Dorian leaned against the backrest, tucking his hands behind his head. "When we arrived, the upper floor was swarming with hunters. I wonder why they hadn't killed us though."

Edmond's gaze bore into me. In the darkness, his eyes appeared darker brown, taking on the colour of his surroundings. We shared the same eyes, our father's eyes. I held his gaze, even though my entire being wanted to look away. I repeated Lucia's name in my head, forcing myself to consider the bigger picture. He needed to be taken down. Slowly, but surely.

When he switched to Dorian, a wave of relief washed over me.

"Those in the basement had stakes." Edmond said, thin lips spreading into a grin. "I have at least twenty bodies piled up in the basement."

"What?" Anton looked up from the floor, where he used his nails to carve an A into the dead girl's skin. "Is anyone alive?"

"And where have you been?" I asked, surprising myself with the question. "Where the fuck have you been while your brother's been fighting off all the hunters? What would father say?"

Anton's eyes turned round and scared, "I wasn't going to fight them! They were all big!"

"No, you were just going to drain the bodies later on." I gritted my teeth. "Like a coward."

Anton shut his mouth and gazed at Edmond, searching for his brother's support, but Edmond paid no mind to him. Instead, he waited for Dorian to speak.

"Those on the upper floor had guns." Dorian said. "Which makes me think they have no idea how to kill us."

They didn't know how to kill us. Only Jax did.

"Hmm." Edmond put his hands behind his back and began pacing.

I glanced at Dorian, but his eyes were firmly set on Edmond. He wasn't going to look at me, he wasn't even going to telepathically whisper reassurance. I braced myself, counting down the minutes until we left this house.

Edmond turned on his heel, "I'm going to need Jimmy delivered to me."

My breath caught in my throat.

"I suppose that's not going to be a problem." Dorian finally looked at me. "Right, Odette?"

The stupid hunter shouldn't have entered Anton's house before he knew what he was dealing with. He sealed his own fate. Still, I felt sorry for the poor bastard. Maybe he'd wanted to kill my entire kind, but he thought he was doing the right thing. And when it came to Edmond Zaleria, killing him would have been the right thing to do. It was a damn shame he failed.

"For a price." I shrugged, eyes glued to Dorian.

Edmond chuckled, "Nothing is ever free with you, princess."

"I've decided to let her talk to her father." Dorian looked at Edmond, and my heartbeat accelerated.

Edmond's face changed; the smile disappeared, and an empty, expressionless mask fell on top of his usually either smirking or frowning face.

"I see." Edmond walked over to me, spread out his hand, and touched the ruby pedant hanging around my neck.

Chills spread through my skin. My nerves went into a frenzy. His fingers were cold against my skin, and when I looked closer, I noticed blood under his nails.

"She led me here." Dorian continued, and I heard him shift in his seat.

He didn't like having Edmond this close to me.

"She's willing to give up Jimmy's full name and location." Dorian side-eyed me for a split second. "In my book, she's proven her loyalty."

Edmond's fingers remained on the pedant. He flipped it around like it would reveal a secret. He either knew or guessed what it meant, but didn't say anything.

"Alright." He dropped the pedant, and offered a closed-lip smile.

I would have breathed out with relief if I hadn't thought he'd interpret it as weakness.

Edmond stepped away, head turning to Dorian, "I guess Darascu's worth has significantly grown since he introduced us to his family tree. Who am I to go against his decisions?"

"Oh!" Anton jumped in, eyes wide and in awe. "You have Elder blood! That's so cool. I wish I had Elder blood."

Dorian chuckled, "My blood doesn't matter, Edmond. I'm using my right as a Council member."

"Right." Edmond's smile twitched, eyes jumping to me once more. "You have Lucien's vote, too. I suppose that means you can speak to father."

When I walked in the Lion's Den a few weeks ago, I hadn't thought it would have been this hard to get a conversation with my father, nor had I thought my motivation would have so profoundly shifted from helping out Lucia to taking down my own brother. The fear remained, though, and I wondered if I should have just taken Dorian's money and ran.

But I had made my decision, for better or worse.

"Alright then." I scooted to the edge of the seat, itching to get the hell out of this house.

"If you don't mind," Dorian stood up, "I've inhaled a whole gram of cocaine last night, I'd like to sleep it off."

No one said anything, and we took that as our cue to leave. Once we reached the door, Edmond stopped me.

"Odette, a word. Alone."

My limbs tingled, muscles begging to leave.

Dorian glanced at me, "I'm waiting outside."

With some reluctance, I turned toward my brothers and crossed my hands on my chest.

"I'm listening."

Edmond waited for Dorian to leave the room, then sat back into his sofa.

"For a moment there, I thought he truly wouldn't allow you to talk to father." He reached for the box of cigars on the coffee table. "But I guess he's always going to be whipped when it comes to you."

Going against everything inside me, I took a step closer, "You knew I'd find my way back in."

"Sure. But still." Edmond lit up the cigar and puffed the smoke. "He must know you're after his seat on the Council, because you will never get mine. Or Lucien's. What if he goes after you?"

"That won't happen."

"Why not?"

"Because I'll go after him first."

Edmond chuckled, "In that case, welcome back to the family, little sister."

My blood recoiled, but I forced a smile, "It's good to be back. Anything I should know?"

"Oh!" Anton exclaimed. "Aunt Lucrecia doesn't exist anymore."

Father's sister.

I swallowed, "What happened?"

"She said she could rule in father's stead." Edmond said. "I suggest you don't mention her name."

"Thanks." I nodded. "I'll erase all photos."

Aunt Lucrecia seemed to have suffered the same fate as me two years ago. If someone said the wrong thing, my father simply erased them form existence.

I turned on my heel and left the room, looking forward to breathing in some fresh air.

I wondered if Aunt Lucrecia was dead. She wouldn't be the first relative my father had killed.

I wondered how quickly he'd kill me if he ever found out what I had in mind.

If he found out I was planning to take our entire family down.