The weight of everything Dominic had told me crashed down on me like a falling building. My legs suddenly felt weak and unstable, and before I could stop myself, I was sliding off the bed and onto the cold marble floor. The hunting knife clattered beside me, forgotten in the chaos of emotions swirling through my mind.

"No," I whispered, shaking my head violently. "No, this can't be true. You're lying. You have to be lying."

But even as I said the words, I could feel the terrible ...