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
Feigning thirst, I made my way to the kitchen, where I found one of the pack servants cleaning dishes. She was young, maybe early twenties. Young enough and low enough of a rank to betray her superiors’ confidence for a little cash.“Excuse me,” I said.She jumped, dropping a plate back into the soa
It was past midnight when I heard a soft knock at the door. I expected it to be Damon or one of the servants coming to check on me, but it was Andrei’s muffled voice that I heard through the door. “Natalia? Are you awake?”For a moment, I considered pretending I was asleep. Andrei was staying in the
“Lilith,” I said carefully, “we need to discuss what this means.”“I know exactly what it means.” Her eyes sparkled. “We can finally get married. Maybe even have the wedding before I start showing. An autumn wedding would be lovely, don’t you think?”“No.”Her smile faltered. “No to autumn? Well, we
That man. He still refused to use Andrei’s name.“Max, sweetie, there will be lots of other children there,” I said gently. “You can play games and eat cake. You don’t have to spend time with Uncle Andrei if you don’t want to.”His eyebrow quirked up. “Really?”“Really. Uncle Damon and I will make s







