Page 330 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 1

Sebastian frowned. “I don’t know. There’s nothing we did that would have alerted him.”

“But there’s nothing he can do about it now, right?” Alex glanced at his friend.

“No. Not right now. He can at the final ritual, but that’s years away. By then, it will be harder because your bond with Anna will be incredibly strong and very difficult to break.”

“I’ve never been so thankful for the rule about foreign Immortals coming into the Schloss.”

“And that’s why the prohibition is in place. Otherwise, there would be no safe place.”

“I’m sure Anna is worried.” Alex turned and walked through the door. A white blur rushed toward him and grabbed him around his waist. His precious Anna.

“Alex,” she sobbed into his coat. “I was so scared.”

He petted her hair and held her tightly. “It’s alright now,” he said softly in English. “They were just trying to intimidate us. But there’s nothing Devin can do now.”

“What do you mean, it’s too late?” Devin shouted at Kaveh. “How is that possible?” He picked up a paperweight on his desk and threw it across his Manor study, hitting a potted plant. The pot shattered, spilling dirt all over the floor.

Kaveh narrowed his eyes and pulled himself up to his full height. “Watch your tone, human. We arrived when she was almost to the door of the German Manor, and Alex shoved her inside. I think your source was too slow in her information.”

“Fuck!” Devin shouted, stomping his foot on the floor. Fucking Alex had outsmarted him. “How do I get rid of him?”

“You cannot. If you kill him, you will kill her.”

“There has to be a way,” Devin muttered through clenched teeth. Frustration welled up inside him as he paced across the room, his mind racing to find a solution. “I will find a way to get rid of him. Anna is mine. I made her who she is.” Everything he had painstakingly built over the last two decades was threatening to crumble around him.

His heart pounded in his ears and his blood boiled. He looked around for something to ease his rage. Something to throw, something to break.

He stood and stalked out of his study and down to where his girls lived. It was after midnight, but there would still be some up. He needed someone sweet. Someone who would scream loudly and beg him to stop. He stopped at the doorway of the main room where the girls stayed. No. Not an experienced one. He needed one of the younger ones.

Spinning around on his heel, he turned and made his way through the dark hallways to another part of the house where the younger, untrained girls were. He slammed open the door and flipped on the light. The girls in the room ranged in age from six to twelve. There was groaning about the light, but when they saw who stood in the doorway, they quickly fell to their knees.

“Look at me. All of you.”

They all nervously looked up at him. He searched the room with his eyes and settled on a tiny girl in the middle with green eyes. “You!” He pointed to her. “Come.”

She jumped to her feet and ran over to him. Devin chose two more, then left the room. “Come with me.” He led them to the larger dungeon where the girls were trained.

Chapter 152

Sebastian took Anna up to the room she’d awakened in the previous night. “I wanted to talk to you before you go down to the Elder Chambers. About being an Elder-Mistress.”

Anna frowned, confused. “What do you mean?” She knew what it meant to be an Elder-Mistress. It meant she did what Devin told her to do. She manipulated people so they wanted to do whatever Devin wanted them to do.

“The way Devin has treated you is revolting. Elder-Mistresses are to be respected. They are not slaves. Yes, they have Masters, but that is because they are given to the Elders for a purpose. Elders are married and cannot take second wives. Sometimes a Son is given a Half-Immortal for a wife. Then her husband is her Master. This would have been your case if Devin hadn’t taken you. This is what Alex is working to undo.”

“I’m not a slave?” Hope rose in her chest.

“Unfortunately, you are, Anna. Devin made you that way and it is not easily undone. But that is another thing Alex is working on.”

“Oh.” She stared at her hands, hopes dashed.

“You are not to be raped. You are not to be harmed. Yes, your sexuality is helpful and can be used to gain an edge for the Elder. But Devin should not send you into harm’s way.” Sebastian paused and Anna looked up. The anger had lit his blue eyes with golden fire around the edges. “He should warn those men to treat you respectfully. And if they do not, they should be punished.”

Anna didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t imagine Devin cooperating with Alex.

Sebastian blew out a slow breath, his eyes returning to their normal crystalline blue, though they were still filled with intensity. “From now on, Alex will make sure Devin treats you with respect.” He smiled. “When you go in to greet the Elders this morning, you will walk in with your head held high. Not arrogantly, but gracefully. You need to respect the Elders and defer to them. Bowing to them when you greet them is proper. But you needn’t grovel in front of them.”

Anna blinked and looked away. What he said sounded so strange, so... unbelievable. And so wonderful.

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