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secret for a secret? You tell me and I'll tell you."

"You go first," I replied. I expected to give him what he wanted and get nothing in return. Neither of us trusted the other. And why would we? Eric was terrifying, but I finally had a glimpse of the new Eric, and he was equally afraid of me. I could see it in his eyes, and in the way that he carried himself.

We stared at each other, neither of us making any motion to move. Neither of us had any intention of telling our secrets, but Eric surprised me when his lips parted and he spoke first. "It has something to do with how I was made." His jaw clenched shut, and every muscle in his body flexed. He was enraged that I'd made him what he was. He swallowed hard, and continued, "I'm not a normal Valefar. Celestial silver doesn't affect me the way it does other Valefar. It hurts like hell, but it can't kill me. That's why I wanted you. That's why I brought you here. I need to know what happened to me in the Lorren."

I hesitated, not wanting to tell him anything, but part of me wanted to come clean. I promised myself that if I had the chance, I would confess what happened in the Lorren. And he answered my question. He shattered the chains because it was something I could do. Without knowing it, I'd made him into a different kind of Valefar - one that was more powerful. Eric watched me as time passed, and all I could do was stare at him willing myself to speak, but not finding the words.

Finally, I broke his gaze, knowing what I would say. I pulled my knees tightly to my chest, and said, "I never intended to kill you. I found you lying on the ground, writhing in pain. Your body was dusted from head to toe with brimstone dust. I knew what it was, because you'd told me about it. That was the first time I'd ever seen it used on someone." I swallowed hard. "I didn't see who did it to you. Since I knew it couldn't hurt me, I tried to comfort you. I was just going to stay with you until you died, but I thought," I opened my mouth, willing the words to come out, but they were stuck in my throat. Eric was hanging on my words, waiting for me to finish. "I thought I could save you. So I gave you a demon kiss. I thought that I could fix you. I thought..." but words wouldn't form.

"You thought that you'd be immune to the allure of the demon kiss, but you weren't - were you?" Eric's words stung. That was the part that haunted me. I could still taste his soul sliding down my throat, and I craved him even more.

"No," I breathed. "I wasn't immune. I'd thought that I'd save you the way I saved...someone else. But, he wasn't hurt the way you were. To make the pain stop, I had to kiss you. I had to take your soul away so you weren't a Martis anymore. I thought if I turned you Valefar, that I could help you. But, I couldn't..." my voice dropped so low I wasn't sure he could hear me. My mouth hung open, as he finished my thought.

"You couldn't stop." Eric's eyes were wide as he watched me. I nodded, unable to speak.

I felt completely naked at that moment, vulnerable, and exposed. That was the worst mistake that I'd ever made, and I was telling Eric. He didn't force me to say it. He didn't put the thoughts in my head. They were always there, swimming at the back of mind, trying to come forward - but I wouldn't let them. I couldn't accept that I'd stolen his soul and enjoyed every second of it.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

The rest of that night was weird. Eric moved around me like a spooked cat. Before then, it was clear that he had control over me, but now he knew that was a façade. I could kill him whenever the urge struck me. Tension was building. I didn't want to leave and face Collin. I couldn't tell Al that I got away from Eric because I became the girl everyone said I'd become. The thought made me want to crawl under a rock and die. Eric didn't try to comfort me. I would have