jaw tightened. “You’re insane.”

She sighed. “Perhaps. But I’m not wrong. The girl’s blood already saved her once — from the poison that killed your father.”

His head snapped up. “What?”

Celeste’s smile turned cruel. “Oh, didn’t you know? Your precious father didn’t die from natural causes. The Council tested Vanessa’s blood on him. He lived for days — before his body burned from within.”

I felt sick. “You used her like a lab rat.”

Celeste stepped closer, ...