LOGINNatalia’s POVHe didn’t hesitate.The moment I swung the rod toward him, his hand shot out and closed around my wrist like a vise. My arm wrenched sideways, and I felt the bones grind together under his grip, and the rod fell. It clattered somewhere on the stone floor, rolling away into the darkness
Andrei’s POVThe room was warm. The bed was soft and plush, the pillows made of feathers and velvet. Everything smelled familiar, the kind of scent that you recognize from a past life but can never put a finger on its source.Home.The woman was laying next to me, just as she always did. Amber hair
But I would do it, because the alternative was my children going through whatever came next, and that was not something I was willing to consider.I wasn’t certain yet. That was the only reason I was still trying so hard now. Because there was still a small part of me that thought that there must be
Natalia’s POVThey came for me after what felt like a full day. I say felt like because it really could have been any amount of time, or none at all. But someone did bring me some slop to eat at some point, so that had to have meant that at least a full cycle had passed.I was on my feet before the
Natalia’s POVWaking up the second time was so much worse than the first time.The first time I’d woken in this cell, at least I had had the brief mercy of not knowing where I was, even if it was over quickly.That feeling was gone now.I opened my eyes to the same black ceiling and knew exactly whe
Andrei’s POVThe interrogation chamber was in the lowest level of the castle, two floors below the cells.It was a practical room that I’d designed myself. It had a stone floor, stone walls, and a single drain in the center of the floor that served an obvious purpose. Just above the drain, a chair w
Andrei’s POVIt took hours to reach a point on the mountain where I could mindlink my Beta again.I had to pick my way down the mountain carefully, avoiding new snowdrifts and patches of ice that rendered the path I’d taken up unusable already. By the time I managed to reach an outcrop of rocks abou
Suddenly, I skidded to a halt. There, at the end of the row of cells, was one cell glowing bright red with rubies. The door was wide open.And there, laying facedown on the floor in the center of the cell, was Natalia.“Natalia!” I rushed toward them, my heart in my throat. I didn’t know where the t
My throat clenched so tightly I almost couldn’t breathe. I sank onto the edge of the bed, still clutching the letter opener in my hand. “He wants to use the ruby on them,” I whispered. “There’s no way to reverse it, Andrei. If he gets ahold of them—”“Here.” Andrei pulled something out of his belt—a
“Not tonight.” He stood, walking around the table toward me. “You look pale, my love. I think you should return to your room and rest. The meal can be brought to you.”My spine stiffened. “But we were supposed to dine together—”“There will be plenty of time for that.” He took my hand and helped me







