LOGIN“Do you remember what he looked like?”“It’s all a blur. Sorry.”I nodded slowly, looking around again. I spotted Max on the other side of the yard, returning to his work with a group of other males.“What’s the labor for?” I asked. “Are we building something?”“We think it’s for an army. The stone
Natalia’s POVBy the end of the first hour, my shoulders were burning and my palms had gone from sore to numb. The rock I’d been assigned to break with a heavy pickaxe was dense and black, and I was expected to break it into small pieces, then place them on a large wagon. One of those awful gray thi
A pair of figures crossed our path as we walked across the roadway. We fell into step behind them naturally, matching their pace. Neither of them looked back.The water trough was near the center of the settlement. I spotted a short line of people standing in front of it. It wasn’t running water, bu
Natalia’s POVI jerked awake with a gasp.The red sky was the same as it always was. Max was curled on his side a few feet away, still asleep, his chest rising and falling slowly. Nothing had moved. Nothing had changed.I pressed my hand flat against the ground and steadied my breathing.The vision
Natalia’s POVThe report came back the following morning. I’d hardly slept that night, which was strange for me; usually, sleep came quickly and efficiently, serving purely as a means to regain my energy for another day of hard work.But last night, I kept tossing and turning. That pull in my chest
“It’s no use!” I heard her voice call after me. “He’s already gone, you stupid bitch! He’s not who you think he is anymore! You’ll all die here!”Her words struck me somewhere deep and painful, but I kept running. We didn’t stop until the hovel was well out of sight. Only then, once we were certain
“And?”“While I was searching, I came across these preliminary custody documents.” She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a small folded-up bundle of paper, which she handed it to me. “Someone had been laying groundwork to establish paternal rights, and the timing matched when you found o
NataliaI found Damon in his study that afternoon, hunched over a stack of paperwork with a cup of coffee growing cold beside him. The late afternoon sun streamed through the windows, casting golden rectangles across the hardwood floor. He looked up when I knocked on the doorframe, and his face imme
NataliaThe kiss was soft, desperate, and filled with every apology I couldn’t put into words. My lips pressed firmly against his, and I could taste the metallic hint of blood, could feel how cold his skin still was.And for a terrifying moment, nothing changed.Tears dripped from my cheeks onto his
We undressed each other slowly, carefully, fumbling a bit around the bandages covering his wound. When I accidentally brushed against the gauze, he winced, and I immediately pulled my hand back.“I’m sorry,” I whispered, running my finger gently over the edge of the bandage. “Does it hurt?”“Not whe







