Page 160 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 2

“Wilhelm said your eyes looked vacant when he saw you at Nutcracker, but the real you asked for help.”

A memory flashed into her mind of being in the lobby with Wilhelm after opening night. And then spending the night with him a few days later. She sighed. Wilhelm and Kurt. How could she have forgotten about them? “Does he know what you guys have been doing?”

“A little. We told him that there were people helping you, but didn’t want to tell him too much because Devin keeps a pretty close eye on him. He’ll be in New York when you get there.”

Anna’s heart leaped and she smiled.

“He said that Devin had turned you into his puppet.”

She had heard that term before. Tears filled her eyes as she remembered talking with Alex the morning after the bonding ceremony...

“Last night’s ritual... It was a bonding ceremony. A uniting of a Master and a slave. If I hadn’t interfered... Anna, your mind would have been completely gone. Completely his.” He grimaced. “You would have become Devin’s mindless puppet.”

“‘... your mind would have been completely his,’” she whispered. She drew her brows together. “But... why am I not—I mean, I don’t remember a lot before Nutcracker, but I know what’s going on now.”

“Wilhelm wasn’t sure either. He said something about a final ceremony and it not taking full effect until then. That’s beyond my limited knowledge. But Tommy said, because of what happened tonight, you’d be more yourself after.” He glanced at her again. “Seems right. I haven’t heard you talk this much since—Well, since you went to D.C.”

“Devin and Kaveh...” Anna squinted, trying to remember what had happened on that flight. “They did something on the plane. Devin consumed me...” She shook her head. “I don’t know. But, yes. Those are the last clear memories I have, too. Everything else feels like a dream.”

She used to wish Alex hadn’t interfered with Devin’s bonding ceremony, but did she really want to live like she’d been living these last months? It was March. She’d gone to D.C. in October. She’d lost five months of her life. It was like the two years she’d spent on drugs after Alex’s death. Did she want to only exist for Devin’s plans and pleasures and nothing else? Yes, there had been a tremendous amount of pain, but good things had happened in her life, too. Friends like Jenna and Aaron and Travis. Ben. The precious few glorious months of being Alex’s wife.

Anna burst into tears. For the first time since that horrible ritual of becoming Devin and Alex’s slave, an overwhelming sense of gratitude washed over her when she thought about Alex’s intervention. For saving her.

But a bitter truth lingered. She’d never be able to thank him. Did she still dream of him?

Justin gently rubbed her leg while she cried. He turned onto a freeway and picked up speed. “The train leaves at a quarter to eleven. We’re gonna cut it close, but we’ll make it.”

“You’re going to leave your car at a train station?”

“It’s a rental. Travis’ll pick it up.”

“Oh.” She leaned her head back and looked out the window. “Devin will kill Tom,” she said softly.

“Maybe. Tom’s been pretending for a long time, though. And he has help from several other Elders, too. Including Peter’s uncle.”

“Vlad?”

Justin nodded. “When Peter came into the picture and realized that Devin had fed him a bunch of lies about you, he started working with Aaron and the others. His uncle was concerned about a bunch of stuff, too, and helped as well. Peter’s grandfather died and the plan to get you out got scrapped, but Peter said it was good and would make things easier. As Elder, Vlad could help Tom protect you. We just had to figure out how to get you away from Devin. You living with him made things hard, so Tom suggested doing it this weekend. Devin and everyone else would be distracted, and you’d be yourself.” He shrugged. “So, we catch a train to Portland and head out to New York. We’ll be there Tuesday evening.”

“What about—what ballet were we practicing?”

“Rite of Spring.”

“You’re going to miss a bunch of rehearsals.”

“I’m not going back. You and I are the newest members of the New York City Ballet Company.”

Anna stared. “How did that happen?”

“I forgot to mention that Isaak’s been involved, too. He talked with Vincent, and he’s very excited to have you coming out. Me... well, hopefully, he’s forgiven me for being young and stupid.”

“What did you do?”

Justin shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about it. But I guess bringing you out has redeemed me a bit.”

“You danced in New York?”

“I went to the School of American Ballet and was in the company corps for a couple of years before... Well, before I came out to San Francisco.”

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