himself—she could tell. Too many emotions, too much blood in the

room, and the adrenaline of killing still pulsing in his bloodstream.

How did she know all that?

Because Damon wasn’t perfectly in control, either, she realized.

She was sensing things directly from his mind. Best to get him out of

here quickly. “We’ll wait outside,” she said, catching his arm, to Dr.

Meggar’s obvious shock. Slaves, even beautiful ones, didn’t act that

way.

“Go and wait in the courtyard then,” the doctor said, carefully

controlling his face and speaking to the air in between Damon and

Elena. “Lakshmi, give them some bandages so they can staunch the

young girl’s bleeding. Then come back; you can help me.”

“Just one question,” he added as Elena and the others were walking

out of the room. “How did you know that this woman is pregnant? What

sort of spell can tell you that?”

“No spell,” Elena said simply. “Any woman watching her should

have known.” She saw Bonnie flash her an injured look, but Meredith

remained inscrutable.

“That horrible slaver—Drogsie—or whatever—was whipping her

from the front,” Elena said. “And look at those gashes.” She winced,

looking over two stripes that crossed Ulma’s sternum. “In that case, any

woman would be trying to protect her breasts, but this one was trying to