Elena stared at him. The chapel felt smaller now, the shadows pressing closer. "What does that mean? Made you how?"
Damon's jaw tightened. He looked toward the empty doorway where Sebastian had vanished, then back at her. "Not here. Not now."
"Then when?" She grabbed his arm, her fingers digging in. "Damon, that man had armed men in the trees. He knew my mother's name. He knew about some promise…"
"Elena." He turned to face her fully, and she saw it—the fear she'd glimpsed was gone, buried under something harder. "Sebastian Vane doesn't bluff. If he'd wanted us dead, we'd be dead. He wanted us to see him. To know he could reach us anywhere." He paused, his throat moving. "That's how he works. He doesn't take what you have. He makes you hand it over."
Marcus stepped forward, gun still l
