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“No?” I ask confused. This is what he wants so why has he said no?

“You want Abigail and her family to live; I want something else for sparing their lives.”

I shake my head. I have nothing else to offer. What else can he possibly want?

“I will let them live, if you let Dragus and I mark you and you stop fighting the mate bond.”

“What?” I ask, dumbfounded.

“You heard me, Elora. Now choose or I will make you watch as I kill them.”

I look to Matitus and Dragus, but they look away. They know I don’t want any of this, anything to do with them. Who in their right mind would after the horrible things they have all done?

“Fine, but on one condition.”

“You don’t get to make conditions, Elora.”

“Then you’ll never have me,” I tell him, refusing to drop my gaze from his. “One condition, no, make it two, or I will reject you. All of you. And I’ll accept you killing me for it. You have my mother’s necklace, you have me. I am allowing you to mark me. So, what’s one more thing, Silas.”

I hear Matitus snort, making my gaze dart to him.

“What do you want?” Silas asks, crossing his arms across his chest, making him even more intimidating as he glares down at me.

“You can never threaten or use Abigail or her family against me again no matter what, and I want you to restore power back to the city.”

Silas scoffs. “You want us to re-power the entire city? The city has had no power in decades since the war.”

“Yes, I do. You destroyed it, and the entire city is suffering for it, the very people you Dragon Kings swore to protect, but you are just letting them freeze to death in the winters and die from heat stroke in the summers. Turn the power back on. Not everyone has generators or working heaters. Would it kill you to do your job for once? Those people are forced to live here, forced to die here, and you continue to force them to suffer through it all. I know you have the means to do it, but you just refuse to.”

Silas remains quiet for a second. He places his hand on my lower back, pushing me toward the gates. The guards open them quickly and we step through. As we trudge up the stone road, Abigail stands out front. A Vampire has hold of her arm as she squirms trying to get out of his grip.

I try to run to her, but Silas’s hand on my arm stops me as he tugs me back beside him. When we get to the castle doors, I notice Abigail’s mother and daughter just inside the doors both shaking in fear, eyes wide. The Vampire grips Abigail’s hair, and she cries out, clutching at their hands.

“Let them go. Taylor, escort them home and don’t lay so much as a finger on them,” Silas says, and I know he is agreeing to what I want in exchange for what he wants. Taylor nods and I see Jackie pick up Abbie’s daughter, placing her on her hip. She runs past Abigail quickly. The Vampire still has a tight grip on Abigail. Shaking Silas’s hand off, I step forward.

“Let her go now.” My voice does not waver as I glare at him. He smirks and steps closer, dragging Abigail with him.

“You heard her,” Silas growls behind me and the Vampire glances between us and he lets Abigail go. He then glares at me and takes a step back.

Fucking leech.

Matitus snorts and I know he is listening in on my thoughts again.

“You can go home with your family Abigail; come back in a few days,” Matitus says. She nods, scurrying over and hugging me. I hug her back, shrugging off my cloak. when I see her daughter is hardly wearing anything. Silas watches me but says nothing as I go over and drape it over Jackie and her granddaughter.

“Elora, inside now,” Silas says behind me, making me glance at him. Moving past everyone, I step inside then go to sit and remove my boots when Dragus comes over to me, kneeling and untying the laces. I put my hand on his shoulder as he grabs my foot, removing my shoes, leaving me in my socks. Silas and Matitus stroll in watching us while removing their own boots. I wait for them before Dragus grabs my hand gently.

“Hungry?”

“A little,” I tell him and let him pull me further into the castle. Silas and Matitus follow closely behind. Glancing back at Silas, he is watching me.

“Thank you,” I tell him, and he looks shocked for a second then nods.