FIFTEEN

As Samantha stood in the huge, chaotic chamber, thousands of vampires milling about, Kyle seated in his throne and Sam standing beside her, she thought of how quickly things had changed. She had not anticipated any of this. She had imagined fleeing this place long ago, with Sam, and all of this being far behind them. But things had gone quite differently.

She knew that she took a risk by turning Sam that abruptly, and that anything could happen. There just hadn’t been enough time, and she’d had to take her chances. Still, she hadn’t anticipated anything like this. Sam had arisen in such a fury, and with such power, it was beyond anything she had ever witnessed. He also seemed to carry some sort of blood in him, something she did not recognize. She had never—ever—seen such a young vampire so powerful. Maybe it was because he was of the same lineage as Caitlin. But in him, the blood seemed to run darker, more vicious.

She had not anticipated Sam’s being so out of control, his insistenc