Chapter One

Aliana’s POV

“Come back here, you little bitch!”

Fuck that!

It was a HELL NO for me, dude!

I ran...

Branches clawed at my arms, ripping at my skin as though the forest itself wanted to drag me back. The ground was wet and soft, every step dragging my feet down and leaving thick footsteps in the mud. My lungs burned with every breath. A sharp, metallic taste stained my tongue, as if I were breathing blood instead of air. My shoes kept getting stuck in the earth, making my steps uneven and erratic. I was stumbling around, my sense of direction long since lost.

But lost was better than going back…

Better than accepting my fate.

That… that was certain death!

I crashed to the ground, scraping my hands and knees. Shit! Of all days to forgo my beloved jeans! Of course, had I known the reason why my father insisted on being “presentable” for last night’s dinner, I wouldn’t even have bothered showing up.

Fuck him!

Tracking through some unknown forest in a cute sundress wasn’t my idea of fun...

Shouts cut through the trees behind me. My head snapped around as I picked up men’s voices barking orders in Albanian. My heart lurched, adrenaline flooding my blood as I pushed myself off the ground and once more began running.

Harder!

I had to push harder!

Branches smacking my face, and the underbrush unforgivably tore at my dress and bare legs. Thorns tearing at my skin, the wind chilling my arms. I pushed past it, clawing my way through, until--- My fingers brushed against something hard, and I barely suppressed a cry of pain as rocks and stones dug into my palm.

What the hell---?!

Looking up, I saw a decaying structure loom out of the dark like a ghost. A broken arch. A cluster of crumbling columns, half-swallowed by moss and ivy.

A ruin!

Maybe I could find a place to hide in there. Maybe I could finally catch my breath and think of something other than running around like a headless chicken. Or maybe I was just too tired to think, and desperately needed this break…

I slipped inside…

The shadows wrapped around me, cool against my overheated skin. The sounds of the forest muffled my erratic breathing, fading into an eerie hush. Carefully, I moved along the walls, using my hand to guide me. The moon was full, but in this dense forest, the shadows were long and dark.

I felt dents in the wall, and I realized that it must be some sort of carvings or pictures. Hoping for a clue as to where I was, I pulled on some of the hanging vines, squinting to see. It wasn’t easy to make out, but the carvings along the stone – faint under centuries of weathering – were indeed familiar.

Greek!

An old temple, then?

If that was the case, I must have somehow ended up in an old part of Greece. Maybe, if I continued to head south, I would get back to my mother’s home country and get help from some relatives there. Once I told them about my father’s plans for me, I knew they would protect me…

But for now, I had to get there first.

Maybe if I figured out which god or goddess this temple belonged to...

I pressed my hand against the cold surface, tracing the lines. There seemed to be some kind of bird-like creature, but there were many gods associated with birds and forest animals.

Trust me – I knew!

My father’s obsession with ancient Greece had dominated most of my life. Much of my childhood was spent scouring one ancient ruin after another – always looking for something that seemed to be just out of reach. He called it exploring – I called it exploiting! All the little caves he couldn’t get into, all the little wholes his fat fingers couldn’t fit...

Well, fuck it!

It would seem that all the years he forced me to do his dirty work, forced me to study old, dusty manuscripts and translate broken fragments in ancient Greek letters about his beloved gods, would finally come in handy.

I continued to feel my way forward, tracing what I thought was a snake at one point, before I found a text written in the wall. Most of it had been broken off or eaten away with the river of time, but there was one section I could make out – sort of! It was dark, and although my eyes had mostly adjusted to the dark, it was still hard to make out.

But finally I got it…

Δίκαιος

“Dikaios.” I said out loud, searching my brain for the meaning. That’s what the symbols meant, and I wondered if I’d stumbled into an undiscovered temple of Dike, one of the goddesses of justice.

But it didn’t quite fit...

If it were her, it could be “Dicaeosyne”, not “Dikaios”. And while the newer meaning of the word meant something other today, the ancient meaning was something else entirely...

“Justice!”

But not the good, righteous kind. It was vengeance, retribution, and retaliation. It was satisfaction for blood spilled, a hunger for unclean souls. It was the hellfire to punish the murderer, the killer, the slaughterer. It was justice for innocent cries, innocent blood…

It was death!

“Yes...”

A whisper...

Like a breeze in the wind, it came from all around me, leisurely stroking my skin with cold fingers.

I froze!

My head whipped around, searching for the source. Had they found me? The thought alone made me sick, and I could taste bile at the back of my mouth.

“Scared, little girl?”

Mocking…

I snapped around once more, the world spinning and feeling as if it was closing in on me. Frantically, my eyes searched the ruin, like a scared animal trapped in a corner.

Nothing!

There was nothing there…

Yet, I could hear low chuckles that seemed to come from everywhere around me.

“Who’s there?” I hissed into the silence, fear making my voice tremble. My heart hammered against my ribs, a pulse rushing in my ears. “Show yourself!”

No answer...

Just another deep, rumbling chuckle like falling rocks. The wind picked up, rustling the branches and making a shiver crawl down my spine…

Just my imagination, I told myself, swallowing thickly. It was just my imagination. It had to be! The adrenaline had me imagining things...

Still---

I backed away fast, my heart pounding as if it wasn’t to evacuate my rib cage. Voices or no, I couldn’t take the chance that it was them fucking with me.

I had to leave!

I had to---!

My heel hit something solid. A wave of shock coursed through my body, but it was too late. My knees buckled, and I went down hard, palms scraping against stone. I bit back a cry, wincing as I felt blood pour from an open cut.

Fuck!

Just what I needed…

If Kodra’s men didn’t get to me, blood poisoning would!

Biting back a curse, I looked up--- and had to muffle yet another cry as a huge shadow loomed above. But much to my relief, it was only a statue towering over me.

Or what was left of one...

The torso was cracked, the head was missing... but its hands still clutched shattered chains! And even if I wanted to, I couldn’t help but wonder what it meant…

It was morbidly beautiful!

As much as I despised my father and his sick, twisted hobby, I had grown to love parts of it over time. It was what eventually sparked my love for art. For the passion and skill it took to master such craftsmanship. Ironically, it was thanks to my father that I now pursued an education in art – despite his protests and dismay…

“You want to make a pact with me?”

I jumped, my heart just about to shoot out of my ass. I reeled back, frantically searching for the owner of the voice and---

Found it!

Or rather, I had a feeling that he found me! Because I had no idea how to describe the thing that stood before me. He was perched on top of the crumbling wall, a black figure even with the night as his backdrop. A robe like smoke surrounded him, making out the outline of a person, yet---

There was nothing human about him!

His words seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once. His whispers like fire catching on dry leaves…

But his eyes!

They were the kind of deep crimson red that looked like…

Blood!

“That’s either incredibly brave,” he continued, his words transcended on me as if broadcast from another dimension. “Or extraordinarily foolish!”

What the---?!

“Who---?” I stammered, my mind blank as to even beginning to understand what was going on. Was I hallucinating? Had I been drugged? Hell, was I dead and this was the Grim Reaper?!

The image definitely fit…

“Who are you?”

He cocked his head, his chuckle once more rippling through my head like an ice shower.

“You know who I am,” he replied. His answer felt like a stab to my brain. As if his voice was--- too powerful!

“Say my name and complete the bond, little girl.”

Bond?

Pact?!

“What---?!” I stuttered, trying to crawl away, wondering if these were my last moments on earth. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You should do it quickly,” he replied, not answering my question. “They’re coming.”

My heart sank. But sure enough, the night soon was filled with courses of Albanian curse words I had no interest in learning.

“Shit!”

I hated how my voice cracked with fear. Just thinking about what a marriage to Alban Kodra would be like had my stomach tied in knots. Three wives! Three innocent women before me had mysteriously vanished while married to that man. Everyone knew the truth, but Kodra was too powerful – too rich and influential – to oppose.

And my father had sold me to him!

Handed me over in one of their deals because Kodra had seen a picture of me, and I’d unfortunately caught his fancy. So my father had arranged everything – except telling the blushing bride to be. No, me – hit daughter, his flesh and blood!

Me he lied to!

Lured me back with empty promises and--- well, I guess I shouldn’t expect dinner with a known mob king to go well. During dinner, I’d been drugged, and when I woke up again, I was halfway across the Atlantic Ocean, on my way to my new home in Albania.

Yeah…

Fuck that!

I would not be buried as someone else’s bargaining chip. I’d rather rot here in the woods and let the animals finish me before going back!

Unless...

“Help me!”

I begged, turning to the figure who’d mysteriously shown up out of nowhere. But just as mysteriously as he’d appeared, he’d disappeared.

Well, wasn’t that just fucking fantastic!

With a surge of panic, I pressed my back to the cold wall. My chest heaved, breath ragged. I forced myself to be still, to be silent, praying they’d run past.

If they caught me, it was over!

Their voices grew louder and louder until--- they slowly faded away.

The ruin went silent again…

Was this it?

Was it over?

My heart still thrashed in my chest, my lungs crying for air. Slowly, I allowed myself to breathe a little easier. Allowed myself to relax just a little and carefully crawl my way to freedom…

Something seized my ankle!

I screamed as my foot was yanked out from under me. I hit the ground hard, breath knocked out of me. Fingers coiled around my leg, tightening the more I fought.

And then a hand clamped over my mouth!

I screamed into the palm, thrashing as a heavy weight settled over me. But the man only laughed. His teeth gleamed in the dark, his eyes full of cruel delight as he leaned close enough for me to smell the sweat and smoke clinging to him...

“Found you!”