I open the door, a smile already tugging at my lips when I think of how I’ll take her into my arms and kiss her soundly, letting her know in no uncertain terms just how much she means to me.
When I open the door and see Elena struggling against Dorian, who’s tugging on her wrist, pulling her closer to him, the first emotion I feel isn't anger. It's panic.
“Elena!”
“Stephan!” she screams right before Dorian grabs her and pulls her into his arms.
“Brother,” he greets me smugly before he flashes me an evil grin, disappearing with my love in his embrace.
My vision goes red, and I roar out a sound of rage as fury pours through me. I explode, punching my fist clean through the stone wall of my castle.
“Elena!”
Twenty-Seven
Elena
I twist and pull in his arms, but it's no good. Dorian’s hold is far too strong, and I am much too small to overpower him. Not to mention the fact that he's a freaking vampire and has out-of-this-world immortal strength.
So, I do the only other thing I can think of, which is scream Stephan’s name as loudly as I can at the top of my lungs. But in the blink of an eye, Dorian and I are no longer in Stephan’s castle. Instead, we're in an upscale, swanky-looking modern pad.
“Let me go!” I scream as I continue to fight valiantly against him—the little good it does me.
Dorian chuckles as he glances down at me, his eyes filled with humor. “You are quite the amusement. I can definitely see why Stephan keeps you around. All that fire, all that beauty.”
He raises a hand up to stroke a finger along my cheek while he studies me. I pull away from his touch, and he frowns. “You can bear the touch of my brother, but not me?”
His voice is stony, and I realize that I've touched a nerve. “What do you want with me?” I push against his chest frantically, but it only serves to make him tighten his arms around me. “You, Elena,” he tells me frankly. “I want you.”
My heart is pumping against my ribcage violently, and I wonder why I haven't fainted yet. I'd never thought myself the kind of girl who was prone to fainting, but apparently, it’s my new thing. I’ve done it at least two or three times in Stephan’s presence.
“Are you going to try to do something crazy if I relax my hold on you?” Dorian asks me pointedly, as ifI'mthe one being unreasonable and he's willing to negotiate.
I purse my lips together, but then give him a curt nod. It won't really do me any good to run. I already know that.
“Good.” He flashes me his brilliant million-dollar smile before he releases me and turns me so that I'm facing away from him.
He places his hands on my shoulders, and I hear his voice close to my ear as he says, “Picture it, Elena. This is what I can give you.”
Suddenly, the room around me seems to dissolve and turn into a palace with every surface lined with gold and marble.
I gasp at the opulence in front of me. It's not that I'm particularly impressed by the splendor, more so than shocked by how the previous room just seemed to fade away to be replaced by this one.
Dorian chuckles right into my ear. It's a sinister sound that sends a shiver running down my spine for a completely different reason than when I'm in Stephan’s hold.
“Or perhaps you prefer something like this?”
Suddenly, the room fades away, and we're standing on a balcony overlooking a craggy shore.
“How did you do that?” I blink, sure that my eyes are playing tricks on me. We can't have actually traveled to these other places because we're still standing in the same spot, and I didn't feel the blinding tug I've always felt whenever Stephan transported me somewhere.
“Oh, Stephan didn't tell you about our powers?” There’s a note in Dorian’s voice that lets me know he's completely unsurprised by that revelation. “Yes, mine is illusions.” There’s a proud note to his voice before he whispers hotly in my ears, “I can make you see whatever you want to see. Whatever you desire, all you need to do is speak it and I can put you in a virtual fantasy.”
“What’s Stephan’s power?” I ask him, though I fear I already know the answer.
Dorian releases my shoulders and takes a step back from me. When I turn around to look up at him, he's frowning down at me for shifting the focus back onto Stephan. Man, he really hates talking about his brother. I file that away for future ammunition. Dorian wants all the focus on himself—not Stephan. I can't help but wonder if there's a more deep-seated reason for that jealousy or if he was just born innately with it.
Dorian waves a hand in the air dismissively. “My brother's power is actually pretty lame. He can charm people into going into a deep sleep.” Dorian laughs a mocking laugh as his lips tip up into a wry grin. “He's basically a walking anesthetic.”