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A slight panic rose in my chest, followed by anger. Would Jade be so stupid to have let Mercy go?

I turned toward the limo outside my home and held up my finger, signaling to Clara that I would be back in a minute. I couldn’t see her through the tinted windows, but I assumed she had seen me, knowing that crazy bitch was always watching my, and everyone else’s, every move.

I walked into my house and sniffed. Not like it would have mattered. Mercy was still under that infuriating spell her uncle had cast upon her to mask her intoxicating scent.

I strolled down the hall and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw the safe’s door standing wide open.

My nostrils flared.

Where the hell is Julian?

When I neared my bedroom where we were keeping Mercy, I saw that Mercy was, indeed, gone. Her unlocked chains lay on the bed, and the syringe filled with the drugs I’d needed Jade to administer to her was full.

If Jade weren’t already dead, I’d kill her.

I balled my hand into a fist, feeling the pressure build around my eyes, and my fangs protruded. I hissed as Clara walked into the bedroom.

“While you were playing house with her, she should have been locked up in a cage,” she said in a huff. “Doesn’t matter anymore. We got what we needed from her.”

“Yougot what you needed from Mercy.” My jaw tightened. “I wasn’t done with her. Not by a long shot.”

Clara walked past me and picked up the syringe. “You really are a sadistic son of a bitch.” She squeezed the syringe and emptied its liquid contents onto the floor. “But we have more pressing matters to address.” She tossed the needle into the trashcan in the corner of the room.

I followed her, and as we neared the front door, Julian entered the foyer. “She’s at the factory. We have her bound in stall number five.”

“Good,” Clara said. “Vampire trials for the potion will start tomorrow. Our test subjects will be brought to the office at seven in the morning.” She turned to Julian. “Maurice is in charge, and you’ll obey him from now on. Once the subjects are brought in, we will proceed with the ceremony. Be there at nine,” Clara ordered. “Oh, and Maurice?” She turned back to me.

I looked at her and waited for her order.

“I expect a proper goodbye in my bed before Kylan leaves Cami’s body and takes over mine.”