Secret Bloodline

Truth

"Come here, my darling. Let me show you what true power feels like," Katerina says.

She takes a step toward Camila, reaching out, and the brunette feels something inside of her, like a spider scratching against her mind.

"No!" Camila yells. She shoves herself away and bolts back out the door.

She tears down the hallway, smashing into a dresser but Katerina calmly strides after her, blood dripping with every step.

"Don't make this difficult, Camila," Katerina speaks.

"Why are you doing this? What have you done?" Camila questions.

"This is simply the way it's always been, Camila. The way it'll always be," Katerina says.

I need to get to the others... Camila thought.

She passes a bronze bust on top of a pedestal and hesitates.

Can't risk it... Camila thought. She shakes her head and just focuses on getting back to the ballroom as fast as she can. Camila bursts into the ballroom and looks around for the others.

But the floor is a mass of vampires dancing and writhing and feeding.

"Lauren! Zayn! Where are you guys?" Camila calls out.

The brunette stumbles into the party as Katerina stands framed by the doorway, following Camila's movements with her eyes.

I need to lose her... Camila thought.

Nearby is a small group of vampires in an intense dancing cluster and not too far away from them is the champagne fountain.

Camila quickly swerves to one side and wiggles into the group of dancers as they cheer at her appearance.

"Want to join us, lovely?" A female vampire asks.

"Yeah! Totally! Love dancing! It's the best!" Camila says.

Enmeshed within the cluster of gyrating bodies, Camila peers out between their flailing limbs to see Katerina walking through the ballroom, coolly assessing the party around her.

Camila breaks away and tries to reach the outskirts of the party.

The brunette can feel Katerina nearby, her energy spreading through the ballroom and the vampires held in the party's thrall.

"You can't run forever, Camila. Give in. Submit to me," Katerina speaks.

Heart pounding in terror, Camila finally finds the others toward the back wall.

She darts towards them, a large puddle of spilled wine directly in her path.

Camila doesn't even think about it as she gathers up her momentum and leaps into the air above the puddle.

She lands on the other side effortlessly, sprinting on. "I did it!" Camila smiles.

She pushes through the decadent throng, shoving towards the table where her friends are.

"Camila! What's going on?" Zayn asks.

"It's Katerina! She's not who she says she is. She-"

A low laugh cuts through the noise of the ballroom as Katerina is still pursuing Camila, grinning.

"Whoa, what? She's, uh... Very naked," Dinah says.

"That's not the important part!" Camila says.

"Seems... Very important," Dinah says.

"Listen! I found her surrounded by a dozen drained humans... Humans that she killed! And she enjoyed it. There's something seriously wrong here," Camila explains.