Page 57 of Midnight Enchantment

Raedan swore softly. What if the demon was telling the truth?I need your help. I’ll give you whatever you want.

The woman’s blood.

No!

Then the vampire will bed her.

A cry of denial and rage erupted from Raedan’s throat.

Do we have a deal, vampire?

Raedan’s anger was palpable. Ava clutched Mason’s arm as a shiver of fear ran down her spine.

All right, dammit. Now help me find her!

Her blood. Whenever I want. Swear it.

I swear it.

“Raedan?” Ava tugged on his arm. “What’s going on?”

“The demon has agreed to help me, for a price.”

“What is it he wants?”

“Liliana’s blood.”

“He wants you to drink from Lily?”

“Yes.”

“I thought you already had.”

“He wants more than just a small taste.”

Ava stared at him in horror. “He wants you to turn her?”

“No. He doesn’t want it all. Just the right to drink it whenever he wants.”

She shook her head. “You can’t promise him that! What kind of life would that be for her?”

“Better than the alternative,” Raedan growled, both hands tightly clenched at his sides.

“Varden can’t father a child.”

“But he’ll be able to try as often as he wants.” The words were torn from his throat.

Ava paced the floor. What kind of choice was this? Leave Lily in Varden’s hands or subject her to a life of giving blood to a demon? And what if Raedan lost control and took it all? Filled with anguish, she cried, “How can I make a decision like that?”

“I’ve already made it,” Raedan said, and vanished from her sight.

Ava collapsed on the sofa, hands clenched in her lap. She groaned deep in her throat. This was all her fault. She never should have allowed Lily to date Raedan. She should have sent her back to Savaria the night they met. What if the blood-demon couldn’t find Lily? Her mind filled with horrific images of Varden venting his lust on Liliana over and over again in an effort to impregnate her.

Sitting beside her, Mason draped his arm around her shoulders. “Is there anything I can do?”

Ava blew out a sigh. She wasn’t accomplishing anything just sitting here. Taking Mason by the hand, she led him up the stairs to her room where she picked up her scrying mirror. “Powers of earth, wind and fire, reveal to me what I desire. Show me the vampire, Raedan.”

Colors swirled across the glass, shifting, fading until a faint image martialized.

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