Se connecterELARA’S POVI was in my room trying to sleep when I heard a knock on my door. Except it wasn’t the kind Maria did, it was heavy and scary. It was Dmitri’s knock. It was usually heavy and commanding.My heart rate spiked, but I forced my face into calm compliance as I opened the door.“Good evening,” I said, keeping my voice soft.Dmitri stood in the hallway, perfectly dressed as always, a cigar in one hand. His eyes traveled over me with that predatory assessment I’d learned to hate.“Come with me,” he said. “I want to spend time with my dark angel.”The words made my skin crawl, but I smiled. “Of course.”I followed him down the hallway to his private suite…a room I’d only been in a handful of times, always for “rewards” that felt like punishments.He closed and locked the door behind us.The room was elegant in that cold way everything about Dmitri was. It had expensive furniture. And everything was filled with dark colors. “Sit,” he said, gesturing to the bed.I sat on the edge,
Elera's POV We either gain our freedom or die trying.The next morning, I woke with a sense of purpose I hadn’t felt in months.At breakfast, I approached Maria.“I’d like to help with cleaning today,” I said. “If you need assistance.”Maria looked surprised. “You’ve never volunteered before.”“I want to be useful.” I kept my voice sweet and compliant. “I want to show Dmitri that I’m grateful for everything he’s given me.”Maria studied me for a moment, then nodded. “Very well. After breakfast, meet me in the main hall.”Caroline appeared beside me as Maria walked away.We spent the morning helping Maria clean the first floor. Dusting, polishing, organizing.And when Maria was distracted helping Lily move furniture, I slipped into the storage room.My heart pounded as I quickly scanned the shelves. Cleaning chemicals. Polishes. Solvents.I grabbed a small bottle of acetone…nail polish remover, which was highly flammable…and tucked it into my pocket.Then a bottle of rubbing alcohol.
ELARA’S POVWe sat in Mei’s room, the five of us crowded together in the darkness, and for the first time since I’d arrived at this compound, I felt like I was looking at allies instead of competition.“Before we go any further,” I said quietly, “I need to know everyone is committed to this. If anyone disagrees, if anyone thinks we should just accept our situation and hope for the best, speak now.”I looked at each of them in turn.Caroline, who’d been here four years and had built her entire identity around being Dmitri’s favorite.Sophie, who still had scars from her early attempts at resistance.Lily, who barely spoke and seemed half-broken already.Mei, who’d helped plan the last escape attempt that had ended with her friend dead.“If we do this,” I continued, “we all have to be in. No one can back out halfway through. No one can tell Dmitri. Because if even one person breaks, we’re all dead.”The weight of those words hung in the air.“I’m in,” Sophie said immediately. “I’d rathe
ELARA’S POVI couldn’t sleep. After Caroline and the others left, after their threats and accusations, I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, my mind churning.That voice at the auction. The way it had shaken me to my core.It couldn’t have been Knox. It was impossible.But I couldn’t stop hearing it. I couldn’t stop hoping.Around 2 AM, I heard footsteps in the hallway. It was obviously Dmitri’s footsteps. I was already used to his steps.I held my breath, waiting to see if he’d come to my room. But he passed by, continuing down the hall.Then I heard his voice…muffled but audible through the walls.He was on the phone. Speaking in English, his tone was casual, and businesslike.I slipped out of bed quietly and moved to the door, pressing my ear against it.“…yes, five should be sufficient,” Dmitri was saying. “I want variety this time. Different types.”A pause as the person on the other end spoke.“The current collection?” Dmitri’s laugh was cold. “They’re starting to bore me, hones
KNOX’S POVThe party before the auction was exactly what I’d expected…wealthy people in expensive clothes and masks, drinking expensive alcohol, making small talk about investments and real estate and other mundane topics that had nothing to do with why we were really here.I stood near the bar, nursing a whiskey I had no intention of finishing, and tried to blend in.“First time?” a man beside me asked. American accent, confident bearing. His mask was black with silver trim.“Yes,” I said, keeping my voice neutral. “A friend recommended that I attend.”“You’ll find it… educational.” The man smiled in a way that made my skin crawl. “The quality has improved significantly over the years. More sophisticated screening. Better training methods.”He was talking about human beings like they were wine.I forced myself to smile back. “Looking forward to it.”The man moved on to talk to someone else, and I turned away, scanning the room.That’s when I saw her.The woman in the green dress is
ELARA’S POV“I’m surviving,” I said flatly. “Same as all of you.”“No.” Caroline shook her head. “We survive by being obedient. By following the rules. By not making waves. You survive by making him obsessed with you.”“That’s not…”“He gave you jewelry,” Lily said quietly from near the door. It was the most I’d heard her speak in weeks. “He never gives us jewelry. He moved you to the east room. He takes you to events. He talks about you constantly.”“And we’re tired of it,” Mei added. “Tired of being ignored because you’re the shiny new toy.”I looked at their faces…at the anger and jealousy and desperation there…and felt something shift in my chest.They weren’t really angry at me. They were angry at Dmitri for having favorites. For treating them like they were disposable while lavishing attention on his newest acquisition.But I was easier to blame than him.“I didn’t ask for any of this,” I repeated. “I didn’t ask to be bought. I didn’t ask to be brought here. I didn’t ask to be







