Nathan eyed his would be prize like a rottweiler would eye a filet mignon cutlet. She was supposed to be his. Of course Victor would argue that she was supposed to be his. Lissa, his once beloved niece, had been the key to his survival. She was going to be what gave him eternal youth while he fought for the crown. Now she had the crown.
"The child queen," Nathan took a step toward her only to suddenly see the younger sister stand up looking furious. Her small hands were balled into tight fists. "Settle down, little one, I was never interested in the bastard child really. The prize was her all along."
Victor looked disgusted at this strigoi laying claim to any Moroi. Who did he think he was? "It's been a long time, Vasilisa. You look well." When he glanced at Rose he sized her up. "And free of driving this one crazy, or crazier as it may be. How is that working out for you both?"
Jill opened her mouth to say something, but fell short when she saw Eric Dragomir suddenly lash a punch at Victor Dashkov's right jaw. It was a decent punch. "Do not speak to them after what you did to Natalie, and what you put them through."
Natalie. Jill shuddered at that name. Though she had been spared seeing what became of her. Rose had to carry that. The blondes at her sister's side looked furiously at the two ghosts in the room with Eric and the girls. Andre. She had no memories of him, but she'd seen his picture. Suddenly she felt like an outsider looking in.
"The cell is starting to feel a little small," Jill said quietly, moving a little closer to the wall and toward Rose. They couldn't hurt them. Especially with the charm that Lissa made, but it didn't mean she wanted to have a sleepover with them.
"Sweetheart," Eric said quietly to his older daughter, but he seemed stuck on what to say next. Apologize? Explain? He didn't get a chance. Victor struck back at him, landing a punch of his own as Nathan laughed. A cold dry laugh of a strigoi who could find little more amusing than dead Royals throwing down.
Looking at Rose he held her gaze for a long moment. "If only they had the guts to fight things out among themselves when they have a pulse, right Lunch?"