Theo’s gaze roamed over her one last time before he turned away from her room. Elena was getting worse and he didn’t know how to fix it. They had been making good progress in her training. She could resist most of his commands now and she hadn’t had another episode of the bond trying to take over her mind but it just didn’t seem to be enough to fight whatever it was that was consuming her.


    She was retreating further into herself with each passing day, and some foolish, selfish part of him had allowed it to happen. At first, he’d even been relieved when she started distancing herself, thinking it would make it easier to ignore the feelings that had taken root inside him. But that relief was short-lived. The chasm between them now felt like it was tearing something vital inside him. Every time he was near her, all he wanted was to hold her, to touch her, to taste her. The need for her was relentless, maddening. And yet, he feared that even if he told her how he felt, it would be too late, his words lost against the fortress she’d built between them.


    With a sigh, Theo made his way down the hall to the great room, where David stood stiffly beside Arthur, looking awkwardly out of place. David, it seemed, was the only person Elena would respond to anymore, the only one she’d eat for or engage with in even the smallest way. Theo clenched his fists, his gratitude for David’s help warring with a simmering frustration. David’s constant push for Elena to leave—his subtle hints, his arguments—was grating, twisting something inside Theo every time.


    “ How is she?” He asked as Theo approached.


    “She said she will meet you in the garden in a minute.” He said, his tone clipped.


    David nodded and without another word to either of them he headed toward to the door.


    Theo turned his attention to Arthur who was already studying him with those piercing blue eyes as if he could see into his soul. Even in all the time Theo had known Arthur, his presence had never stopped unsettling him. Here stood a being who had never known a human form and that fact seemed to radiate from him.


    “Maybe she’s better off going with David,” Theo muttered, the admission barely a whisper. “I don’t know how to reach her anymore.”


    Arthur didn’t answer him, instead he gestured to the other room and Theo followed. Arthur poured him a glass of whisky and handed it to him before he spoke.


    “ I can’t say what the best thing for Elena would be but I do know Lucian and there is nothing he wouldn’t do to get what he wants. I don’t know that I trust anyone who hasn''t learned that fact first hand.”


    Theo nodded, taking a drink. He agreed. David meant well, but whether he fully understood what they were facing, he didn’t know.


    Theo sighed, his fingers tightening around his glass. “I just can’t shake the feeling that Lucian’s planning something. Why hasn’t he made a move to retrieve the artifact?”


    “My brother prefers to play the long game. He is likely making moves right now, we just aren’t seeing them.” Arthur said gravely, pouring himself a glass of wine and taking a sip.


    They stood in silence, each lost in thought, the weight of their fears pressing heavily between them. Eventually, Arthur set his empty glass on the table with a soft clink.


    “I have to go feed,” Arthur said, breaking the silence. “Will you be alright here with David?”


    “Yes.”


    “ Stay alert.” were Arthurs parting words as he headed out the door. He was gone from the estate in an instant.


    Theo made to head to Arthur’s study. Maybe he could spend some time seeing where the rest of thoes damn fragments were when he heard raised voices coming from outside. Elena and David were arguing so followed them.


    “Theo…he’s dangerous, Elena. You can’t forget what he is.” David’s voice drifted to him. Theo froze by the door. His heart sank as he waited for Elena to agree but it didn’t come. Instead he heard Elena raise her voice and tell David off.


    He exhaled and something swelled in his chest. He walked out the door and to the edge of the garden.


    Elena was standing next to David, her posture tense, a muscle working in her jaw. He walked up to them.


    “Is everything alright?” He asked and David shot him a glare over the top of Elena’s head.


    “Fine,” Elena replied coolly, her tone sharp. “David was just leaving.”


    David glanced back over at Theo. His expression a mixture of contempt and distrust. Theo returned the look.


    “I’ll see you tomorrow, Elena,” David said finally. She didn’t respond and he turned away sparing Theo one last contemptuous look but Theo’s focus had already turned to Elena who was pointedly ignoring him. Irritation sparked inside him. Why did she have to do this to him? Why was she so intent on shutting him out? Couldn’t she see what this was doing to him or did she just not care? Before he could say anything, she walked away leaving him standing alone in the garden. Elena’s withdrawal, the cool, impenetrable wall she’d thrown up—it was tearing at him, unraveling him piece by piece. He could feel his frustration bubbling to the surface, his need for release so great that he nearly followed her into the house to confront her at last but then he heard David mumble just loud enough for him to hear.


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    “Fucking leech.”


    Theo turned his attention back to David and tracked his retreating figure, his fists clenched so tight he could feel his nails biting into his palms.


    If he couldn’t confront Elena directly—if he couldn’t reach her through the cold walls she’d built up between them, couldn’t find a way to bridge the distance without risking everything between them—then he needed an outlet, somewhere to pour the frustration that was threatening to consume him. He knew he shouldn’t, knew that picking a fight with David wouldn’t solve a damn thing. But the urge to do something was too strong, a live wire snapping at his control.


    David, with his self-righteous accusations and barely concealed disdain, was right there, too tempting to resist. Theo moved, his steps purposeful, catching up to David just as he neared his car.


    David noticed him approaching and turned slowly, his expression tight, arms crossed over his chest as he raised a brow. “What, you don’t trust me to find my own way out?” His voice dripped with sarcasm, but his gaze held a challenge, as though he’d been waiting for this.


    Theo closed the distance between them in a few long strides, stopping just a few paces away. He held his voice steady, barely, though it was laced with a tension that hinted at everything simmering beneath the surface.


    “I trust you to keep your fucking mouth shut,” Theo said, his voice low, almost a growl. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing to your sister? The doubts you keep planting in her head are going to make her fall into the darkness even faster and she’s close enough to the edge as it is.”


    David tilted his head, his expression inscrutable, but Theo could see the steel in his gaze. “Elena is stronger than you think. And maybe, the fact that she is struggling so much, should tell you that she’d be better off with people she knows.”


    Theo narrowed his eyes. "People she knows? Like who?"


    "Like me, her own brother," David retorted sharply. "She belongs with family, Theo, not hiding away in some vampire''s lair."


    A bitter laugh escaped Theo''s lips before he could stop it. "Family? You mean the brother who abandoned her when she needed him most? The brother who left her to bury their parents alone?"


    David''s jaw tightened, a flash of guilt crossing his face before it hardened again. "You don''t know anything about that."


    "I know enough," Theo shot back. "You left her alone when everything fell apart. And now you think you can just swoop back in and play the hero?"


    "I''m trying to make things right," David snapped. "Which is more than I can say for you."


    Theo bristled, his patience wearing thin. "What you’re doing is giving her more reasons to withdraw which is the last thing she needs. You do realize I’m keeping that bond from eating away at her mind, right?"


    “Sure you are,” David took a step closer, his eyes locked onto Theo''s. "I''ve heard things, Theo. Rumors about your ties to Lucian."


    Theo''s expression darkened. "I don''t work for Lucian anymore."


    "Convenient," David said mockingly. "How is Elena supposed to feel safe with someone who ‘used to’ work for the very monster we''re all trying to protect her from? How do I know you''re not just leading her right to him?"


    Anger flared hot in Theo''s chest. "You have no idea what you''re talking about. I don’t work for Lucian anymore. That part of my life is done.” He said, his voice a harsh whisper. There was a small pang in his chest as he loosed those words. That part of his life was done but he had to leave Isabell behind to do it and that fact was still materializing in his nightmares.


    “But since we’re on the subject, you should know what it means to be in Lucian’s sights. If he so much as gets a whiff of how much Elena cares for you, it’ll put you—and your entire family—in danger.”


    David''s eyes narrowed, his fists clenched, giving off a small glow. "Is that a threat?"


    "It''s a fact," Theo said sharply, eyes flicking to David’s fists. "Lucian exploits weaknesses. He''ll use anyone Elena cares about to get to her—including you."


    David took another step closer. "Funny, because from where I''m standing, you''re the one exploiting her weaknesses. Have you looked at her lately? She looks malnourished, exhausted. What exactly are you doing with her during those compulsion trainings? Are you helping her or helping yourself to her?"


    Theo’s voice dropped to a deadly calm. "Careful, David."


    "Or what?" David sneered. "You''ll use your compulsion on me too?"


    Theo''s eyes flashed. His fangs elongated slightly as he took a step towards David, the two of them just a foot away now. "Maybe I fucking will."


    "Go ahead," David replied coldly. "Let’s see if you can give my sister a preview of what’s waiting for her if she continues to stay here. One small slip of your control, and you could do something you can never take back. That’s a lesson she should learn."


    Theo felt a surge of indignation. "I would never hurt Elena."


    "Maybe not intentionally," David conceded. "But can you guarantee that? Can you promise you won''t lose control, that your... nature won''t get the better of you?"


    Theo clenched his fists. "I''m doing everything I can to help her. The compulsion training is to strengthen her mind against the bond."


    "And yet she looks worse every day," David countered. "Pale, isolated. That''s not protection, Theo. That''s imprisonment."


    "She''s free to leave whenever she wants," Theo snapped, his voice harsh. "But she chooses to stay. And let’s not pretend that going with you is going to be any better. What sterile hell hole is waiting for her at the Watcher’s headquarters?"


    Anger flashed in David’s eyes “Even staying in a sterile hell hole is better than becoming some vampire’s thrall. Tell me, have you fed on her yet?”


    Theo''s patience frayed to the breaking point. "Enough!" he barked, his voice echoing in the quiet night. "You have no idea what she''s up against—what we''re all up against. This isn''t about you or me; it''s about keeping her alive."


    "Then let me take her," David insisted. "Let her come with me, where she can be with people who won''t drain the life out of her."


    Rage flared in Theo’s chest. David must have noticed the shift in him because he slipped into a fighting stance, fists glowing bright. The look on David’s face told him that he had been itching for this fight maybe as much as Theo had. His control dropped completely and he nearly lunged—but a sudden call from inside the estate froze him in place.