Vs. Victoire

Victoria was weaving through the tree trunks at the far end of the little opening now. She was torn, her feet pulling her toward safety while her eyes yearned toward me as if I were a magnet, reeling her in. I could see the burning desire to kill warring with her survival instinct.
	Edward could see that, too.
	“Don’t go, Victoria,” he murmured in that same hypnotic tone as before. “You’ll never get another chance like this.”
	She showed her teeth and hissed at him, but she seemed unable to move farther away from me.
	“You can always run later,” Edward purred. “Plenty of time for that. It’s what you do, isn’t it? It’s why James kept you around. Useful, if you like to play deadly games. A partner with an uncanny instinct for escaping. He shouldn’t have left you — he could have used your skills when we caught up to him in Phoenix.”
	A snarl ripped from between her lips.
	“That’s all you ever were to him, though. Silly to waste so much energy avenging someone who had less affection for you than a hunter for his mount. You were never more than a convenience to him. I would
know.”
	Edward’s lips pulled up on one side as he tapped his temple.
	With a strangled screech, Victoria darted out of the trees again, feinting to the side. Edward responded, and the dance began again.