Page 134 of Master of My Heart

“Koriathanati,” he answered. “It’s... We have several half-Immortals in our world, but you... You are far more than that.”

“There are others like me?”

Tom smiled. “Well, not exactly like you, but similar. Demi-Immortal women, usually half-Immortal and half-human. But you are...” He looked up at the ceiling, squinting, and then at Richard. “Your father and grandfather, at least, are Immortal, too, so you’re at least three-quarters Immortal.”

Sabrina nodded. “That was my mother. I’m... more.” The men all stared at her. She fidgeted with the edge of her sweater.

“Wow,” Ethan breathed.

“I wish I weren’t,” she said softly, shoulders slumping.

“Why?” Tommy asked.

She looked up, not understanding how he could ask such a question. “Why would anyone want to be?” she asked, her voice breaking slightly. “What good is it? It’s... It’s...” She struggled to find the word. “It’s evil,” she said finally, keenly aware of Chase next to her. She leaned forward and rubbed her face, more confused than ever.

“Why do you say that?” Chase asked in a gentle voice.

“All we do is hurt people.” Khyan hurt her. Terric hurt her. She killed people. What good was it to be Immortal?

“Theo didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“That’s why I asked if he was a different kind,” she said in a low voice, still staring at the floor.

“Sabrina, there are good and bad Immortals, just as there are good and bad humans,” Tom explained. “It saddens me to know you’ve only experienced evil ones.”

She sat up and grimaced. “Why? Why would you care? You don’t know me.”

“Why do I have to know you to care if you’re hurt?”

Sabrina paused, staring at Tom. She’d never considered such a thought. But she knew what she was. She was the bad kind. She hurt people, too. She looked away again. “You don’t know me,” she whispered.

Chase cupped her chin and made her look at him. “Do you think you’re the bad kind?”

Her jaw trembled and she widened her eyes. How did he know? Could he read minds like Richard and Theo? His soft gaze made her wish harder than ever that she wasn’t one. That she was just a normal, human girl. But she wasn’t, and she needed to accept that. She tried to look away, but he wouldn’t let her.

“Whatever they told you, whatever they made you believe, it’s not true, Sabrina. You’re not a bad person. You’re a sweet, strong woman who was kidnapped and abused.” His voice cracked. “But you are not bad, Sabrina. You’re not.” He emphasized the last words.

She wanted to believe him more than anything.

But she knew better than that. She knew what she’d done.

*****

Chase looked at Richard and jerked his head toward the hallway, hoping he and the others would understand he needed some privacy with Sabrina. He had to get through to her somehow, but having an audience wouldn’t help.

Richard nodded and stood, motioning to the others to follow him. When they were gone, he looked back at Sabrina, who sat next to him, hands folded in her lap, head hanging, her whole body trembling.

“Sabrina. Talk to me. Why do you think you’re a bad Immortal?”

“Because I am.”

“Why?”

She sighed. “Because of what I’ve done.”

“What did you do?”

She shook her head.

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