Seraphine Voss looked exactly like the photographs.
That was the first thing I noticed.
The second was that she was supposed to be dead.
The third was that she was smiling at Athena.
Not happily.
Like she already knew something I didn't.
"You know my name," Athena said.
Seraphine nodded.
"I know much more than your name."
My mother stepped forward.
"Stay away from them."
Seraphine's eyes moved toward her.
"You always were protective."
"You don't know anything about us."
"I know what the Hollow did."
My mother went silent.
Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
Seraphine looked at me.
"And I know what it wants."
I stepped in front of Athena.
"What does it want?"
"Not her."
She looked directly at me.
"You."
I frowned.
"That's not what it's been doing."
"It made you believe that."
"Why?"
"Because you would have run."
She paused.
"But Athena wouldn't."
I felt Athena's hand find mine.
Seraphine noticed.
"The Hollow doesn't understand love."
Athena frowned.
"Then why does it keep using it?"
"Because it understands fear."
Seraphine stepped closer.
"And it knows love creates the deepest kind."
I stared at her.
"How do we stop it?"
She looked at me for a long moment.
"You don't."
Athena's face fell.
"What?"
"You don't stop the Hollow."
Seraphine's voice became quieter.
"You survive it."
"That's not good enough."
"It will have to be."
I shook my head.
"No."
Seraphine looked almost sad.
"That's what Thomas said."
The name hit me like a punch.
"What happened to him?"
She looked away.
"The Hollow used me."
Athena's expression softened.
"It wasn't your fault."
Seraphine looked at her.
"You don't know that."
"I know what Axel told me."
"And what did they tell you?"
"That the Hollow used your body."
Seraphine's eyes darkened.
"Then they told you only half the truth."
I felt my stomach tighten.
"What aren't you telling us?"
She looked directly at me.
"The Hollow didn't choose me because I loved Thomas."
Silence.
"It chose me because Thomas loved me."
Athena went still.
Seraphine continued.
"It learned that human love creates something vampires can't protect themselves from."
"What?"
"Memory."
She looked at Athena.
"Every time you remember someone, you give the Hollow another door."
My blood ran cold.
"Then why is it after Athena?"
Seraphine's answer was immediate.
"Because you have spent years remembering her."
I stared at Athena.
Seraphine whispered,
"And now the Hollow remembers her too."