Chapter Two

Mikhail's POV

One glance at her and I knew she was the perfect pawn.

Frail. Fragile. Weak. Gaunt. Skinny. 

“Tsk tsk tsk.” I shook my head.

“Told you it was a bad idea, but you insisted on marrying her. You could still own her without marriage.” Dmitri whispered, our eyes on the child and her father.

I smirked. “No one owns a thing without a covenant.”

Dmitri shivered, his eyes wide as the realization dawned. “No way!”

“Time’s up.” I muttered, checking my watch. I looked up at the child as she slipped a metal substance into her sleeve. I grinned. “Perfect!”

Dmitri opened the car door for me. “You're a psychopath.” He whispered, leaving the car door open for her.

She stood there, gazing at the ground as she bit her perfectly carved lips.

“Is this what I will be dealing with for years?” I muttered, loud enough for Dmitri to hear.

He chuckled. “Warned you,” 

I hissed. “Pathetic.”

Dmitri looked back from the driver's seat, his breath warm against my face. “She's going to try to kill you tonight.” 

I smirked, adjusting my gloves. “I'm counting on it.”

Those fragile hands wouldn't even kill a roach.

I got out of the car. The girl flinched when I reached for her, her hollow eyes widening as I yanked open the car door.  

“Get in,” I commanded.  

She hesitated just for a second before obeying. Good. There was still some fight in her.  

The leather seats creaked as I settled beside her. The car reeked of her fear, sour and sharp beneath the floral perfume they'd doused her in.  

Dmitri shook his head. “This is a mistake.” 

I ignored him, turning instead to study my trembling bride. Up close, she was even more pitiful, dark circles under her eyes, her lips bitten raw, her collarbones sharp enough to cut glass.  

I wasn't shocked when her father told me he wanted me to take one of his daughters to be my bride.

I knew she was going to be the sacrificial lamb that was why I insisted on a proper wedding. 

No father would give out his daughter to The Reaper except he wants her dead.

“You're smaller than I expected,” I mused, reaching out to trace the bruise blooming on her cheek.  

She recoiled like I'd burned her.  

I chuckled. “Did Nickolas hit you? Or was it one of his precious daughters?”

Her throat worked as she swallowed. “Does it matter?” She replied, her voice cracked and dull.

Not that I was expecting a response from her though.

“It does if you want me to return the favor.” I smirked.

Her breath hitched. 

Interesting.  

The car rolled to a stop outside Volkov Manor. Dmitri turned, his gaze flicking between us. “Mikhail…”

“Out,” I snapped.  

The second the door closed, I grabbed Liliana's wrist, twisting it until the dagger clattered to the floor.  

She gasped, her pulse fluttering like a trapped bird beneath my fingers.  

“Did you really think I wouldn't notice?” I purred, kicking the blade aside.  

Tears welled in her eyes, but she didn't beg.  

Disappointing. I hissed.

I leaned closer to her, my lips brushing the shell of her ear. “Your father sent you to die, girl. But I have other plans for you.”  

Her breathing became faster. “W…what plans?”

I smiled, my eyes darkened. “Tonight, you'll find out.”  

I dragged her out of the car inside the manor, and she followed quietly.

The heavy oak doors of my throne room groaned as they shut behind us, sealing my new bride inside my domain. The scent of gunpowder from this morning's executions still hung in the air, mixing with the expensive Cuban cigar I'd been smoking before leaving for the cathedral.

I watched as Liliana took hesitant steps across the marble floor, her cheap white wedding gown dragging behind her like a soiled handkerchief. The fabric was thin. I could practically see through in the dim lighting. I could count her every rib through it.

“Kneel,” I commanded, my voice echoing off the vaulted ceilings.

She hesitated for just a second before dropping to her knees with a quiet thud. The resignation in that simple movement pissed me off more than any defiance could have.

Dmitri chuckled from his post by the fireplace. “Looks like Orlov trained his bitch well.”

I shot him a glare that silenced him instantly. This was my game to play.

Slowly, I circled my trembling bride. The flickering firelight caught the silver threads in her braid, and it was the only thing about her that looked even remotely bridal. That, and the fresh bruise blooming across her cheekbone where her dear old Papa had struck her.

“Look at me,” I ordered, stopping directly in front of her.

When she didn't immediately obey, I grabbed her chin with my leather-clad hand, forcing her head up. Her skin was ice-cold beneath my fingers. 

And those eyes, Christ, those empty, haunted eyes finally met mine. Her expression was blank. No anger. No fear. Just... nothing. Like she's already dead inside.

And it made my blood boil.

“Do you know why you're here, little ghost?” I asked, tightening my grip on her chin.

She swallowed hard but didn't flinch. “To die.” Damn. Her voice was ice cold.

Dmitri barked out a laugh. “Good to know you're aware.”

I silenced him with a glare. “Talk one more time, and your head will be served on a plate.”

I turned to Liliana. “You're smart,” I purred, dragging my thumb across her bottom lip. It was chapped from the cold. “But not quite right.”

I released her abruptly, turning to pour myself a drink from the sideboard. The crystal decanter clinked as I filled it with amber liquid.

“You're here,” I said after taking a slow sip, “because your father is a coward who thinks trading his useless daughter will save his crumbling empire.”

I watched her carefully for any reaction. Nothing. Just that same hollow stare.

With sudden violence, I threw my glass into the fireplace. It shattered spectacularly, flames leaping up with the added fuel.

“Fucking look alive!” I roared, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her hard enough that her teeth rattled. “I didn't marry a corpse!”

For the first time, something flickered in those dead eyes. Anger? Fear? I couldn't tell, but it was better than nothing.

“You... you married me to torture my father,” she whispered, her voice raspy from disuse. “To humiliate him.”

I laughed, low and dark. “Oh, malyshka. You give yourself too much credit.”

Dmitri stepped forward, his expression uneasy. “Mikhail, perhaps we should stop for…”

“Leave us,” I snapped without looking away from Liliana.

When the door clicked shut behind him, I crouched down to her level. Close enough to smell the sweat breaking out along her hairline.

“You might be useless to your father, but you're useful to me.” I smirked. 

“H…how?” She asked.

“You’ll find out soon.” I replied, gazing into her forest green eyes. “And also, you can try killing me. I really want to see how far you can go.”

And shockingly, Liliana stood up and dashed at me. 

My eyes widened. 

She had a flint knife in her undergarment all along!