3. The Devil Wants a Dance

Amara POV:

Viktor Dragovic wants to make a deal with me? That’s fucking hilarious.

I’ve killed men with more brains and less ego. He thinks tossing money and whispers my way will get my attention?

He has no idea who he’s playing with.

Still, I couldn’t help but grin as I stared at the encrypted message glowing on the screen:

“The Devil offers a meeting. Midnight. Iron Citadel.”

Drama much?

I leaned back on the hotel couch, swirling cheap whiskey in a glass. My black boots were muddy from last night’s kill, blood still crusted on the laces. I hadn’t bothered cleaning them. Why would I? The mess was half the art.

He’d been trying to kill Dmitri Solokov for four fucking years. I did it in one night with no backup and no blueprint. That must’ve bruised his pride so hard he bled jealousy.

Now he wanted to meet me. Like I was some damn contractor.

My laughter cracked the silence, dry, bitter, dangerous.

“Poor bastard’s probably jerking off to my kill report.”

I shook my head and downed the whiskey.

Then my phone rang. Not the burner. Not the work phone. My phone. Only one person had that number.

I grabbed it like a reflex. “Yeah?”

“Miss Voss?” A nervous female voice.

“It’s Eva, the babysitter. Sorry, but Luca’s asking for you. Says it’s important.”

My chest squeezed. That familiar ache returned like a punch to the ribs.

“Put him on,” I said, already softer.

A second of shuffling, then, “Amara?”

His voice was tired. Small. My world.

“Hey, honey,” I breathed. “What’s wrong?”

“I had a nightmare,” Luca whispered.

“You were burning. People were screaming. I couldn’t find you.”

Fuck. My hand clenched into a fist. I stared at the wall, jaw tight.

“I’m here,” I said quietly.

“I’m okay. You hear me? I’m alive.”

“But it felt so real…”

“Dreams can’t hurt us,” I said. “Monsters don’t win. You know why?”

“Because you kill them,” he said.

“Damn right I do,” I smiled, a real one this time.

“And I’ll keep killing them until none are left.”

“I miss you,” he whispered.

“I miss you too, Luca. Every second. But everything I’m doing is for you.”

“I know,” he said. “I love you.”

My eyes stung. I shut them hard.

“I love you more, baby. Now go to sleep, okay? I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Okay… night, Mari.”

I hung up, letting the phone rest on my chest.

Even though he's 18 now, I just can’t stop worrying about him. My work is risky, and to keep him safe, I have to stay away most of the time. I’ve got a caretaker to be there for him so he’s not alone, but honestly, I miss him so much. I miss hanging out with him, talking to him, just being around him. It’s hard, and it makes me feel so lonely sometimes.

He’s the only reason I haven’t lost myself. He holds back the darkness in me, keeps the monster inside under control. Without him, I’d turn into something dangerous, something I can’t come back from. He’s all I’ve got.

I shut my eyes and fought back the tears, I can’t cry. I have to be strong, for myself and for Luca. In this world, showing emotions means showing weakness.

Everyone else showed up with knives and fire. But he held onto the last soft piece of me. I have to be strong, no matter what.

Now it was time to be the monster again.

******

The Iron Citadel wasn’t a mansion. It was a fucking fortress.

Gates of steel, cameras on every inch, guards with rifles pacing like dogs waiting for orders to bite. The walls looked like they’d tasted blood.

I walked up in all black, hood up, blades hidden, confidence louder than any gun.

The guards stepped forward, unsure, hands twitching near triggers.

“I’m here for Viktor,” I said coldly.

They didn’t answer.

I tilted my head. “Tell him The Revenant wants a word.”

That got them.

One stammered into a radio. The other stared at me like I was a ghost, and maybe I was. A shadow that kills and disappears. A name they whispered but never thought they’d face.

The gates groaned open a minute later. I stepped through without a word.

Let them be afraid. Let Viktor wait. He wanted to dance with the devil?

I was right here. And I don’t play nice.