“That’s because you are a warrior queen, made to shed the blood of our enemies,” he tells me, a fierce pride in his tone as one hand comes up to stroke down the side of my face. “And you are perfect, Lilly Vanderbilt. Just right for us.” A shiver runs down my spine at his words, my inner demon preening at his praise and acceptance. After all, what better way to defeat the monsters that plague us than by becoming monstrous ourselves?

