"I know that, it's just..."
With a speed she could never match, he had moved to stand directly before her.
"What?"
She blew out a heavy sigh, accepting there was no way to hide from him.
"All these years I've blamed my rotten fate on whatever horrible monster had put this curse on me. Now I discover it was my own father."
"He obviously did it with the best of intentions."
"That doesn't change the fact that I've spent over eighty years as a slave." Her teeth clenched as the memories threatened to rise up. Memories she kept locked away so they didn't drown her. "I've been beaten, chained, and sold like an animal."
"I know it's been difficult—"
"Difficult?" She gave a short, humorless laugh. "There hasn't been a moment when I haven't been at the mercy of some master. Not a moment when I didn't fear what the next hour might bring. Not a moment when I haven't struggled just to survive."
"Shay."
The pity on his face had her angrily swiping at the tears. "I'm sorry. I'm not usually a whiner."
His eyes darkened. "Don't be sorry." He lightly touched the dampness that lingered on her cheeks. "I only met the witches briefly, but I don't doubt they made your life a living hell."
"Hell is right," her voice held a bitter edge. "When Edra was displeased she would lock me in a cellar. More than once she left me down there for years. There was no light, no food except for the bugs and rats I could find crawling around me. There were times when I didn't think I would ever get out. I thought..." Her voice broke and she was forced to clear her throat before she could continue. "I thought I would be stuck in the dark for an eternity."
His expression was carefully neutral, as if he sensed that she would close down at the first hint of pity.
"That's why you insisted that those demons be loosened at the auction house?"
"Yes. Nothing deserves such torture." She forced herself to meet his gaze squarely. "But you know Edra wasn't the worst of it."
"What was?"
"The knowledge that I'll always be in the power of someone. That I can never be strong enough, or fast enough, or smart enough to escape, because there is no escape."
His features tightened, no doubt sensing that a part of her frustration reached out to include him. With that smooth elegance he turned to pace toward the bed before turning and regarding her from a distance.
"Actually, I know precisely how you feel"
"You?" She gave a disbelieving snort. "How could you possibly understand?"
He remained shrouded in the shadows, reminding her of the aloof vampire who had first arrived at the auction house to bid on her.
"I was not always a clan chief," he said, his tone low and oddly rough. "There were many years after I was first turned that I was at the mercy of whatever vampire wished to claim me."
Shay felt a stab of shock. It was impossible to imagine this arrogant, ruthless man at the mercy of anyone. Certainly not another vampire. He seemed... impervious. Invulnerable.
"You were a slave?"
"A slave and worse."
"What could be worse?"
"You do not truly want to know, pet."
She bit her tongue. He was right. However bad the witches had been there could always be worse. Much, much worse.
She gave a slow shake of her head. "I thought that clans protected their own?"
Viper gave a graceful shrug. "Times have thankfully changed and we have grown more civilized."
"Civilized? You think vampires are civilized?"
"Compared to the past. There was a time when the clans were merely wandering bands of warriors. To become a part of the clan a newly awakened vampire had to ... submit to their demands no matter how twisted or depraved they might be."
Shay frowned. "Then why would you wish to be a part of a clan?"
"To be alone was to die."
"They would have killed you?"
"The strong survived and the weak were merely prey."
"And you were prey?"
Her skin prickled as his power flared through the room. "Until I became strong enough to battle back."
"But you did become strong enough," she said softly.
There was a moment as he battled his own inner demons, and Shay abruptly understood the reason for the vast armory of weapons that Viper had hidden beneath his house. Whatever power he might now possess there would always be the knowledge that there were monsters lurking in the dark. He had surrounded himself with the sort of beautiful, lethal objects that were not only a collectors dream, but an unconscious sense of security.
With those gliding steps he was once again standing before her, his hand reaching out to trace the curve of her neck.
"I became strong, but like you the memories remain."
Shay didn't pull away from his cool touch. There was nothing to be read on his beautiful features, but she knew that he had endured horrors that would no doubt give anyone nightmares for centuries. Even more amazing he had managed to maintain a sense of honor and integrity that had kept him from becoming one of the animals that had tortured him. Still, she could not completely dismiss her petty envy. Not as long as she remained bound by her curse.
"You survived and now you are free."
His lips twisted at her words. "Never free, pet. There are... powers that even I must answer to."
Her brows lifted in surprise. "You're a clan chief. What powers could you possibly have to answer to?"
"They are forbidden to speak of,"
And that was that.
There was no mistaking his tone of voice. It warned her that she could, spend, the rest of eternity badgering him for an explanation and he would never yield. Which of course only made her all the more curious.
She grimaced. "Am I supposed to be comforted?"
Without warning a smile curved his lips. That sinful smile that always tugged at something deep within her, and made the hovering darkness a bit less dark.
"We will discover where Evor has been hidden, Shay." His hand shifted to the back of her neck, his fingers lightly brushing up and down her sensitive nape. "And then we will break the curse once and for all."
Her mouth went dry and her toes began to curl in her shoes. It was insanity. A few moments before and she had been sunk in despair. A despair that had felt so thick and heavy she wasn't sure she would ever be rid of it. Now her entire body was tingling and her heart nearly leaping from her chest. It didn't seem possible that a mere touch could so utterly alter her emotions.