LOGINI still knew every word.“Mom.” Max’s hand tightened on my arm. “Drop it. Look at me.”I looked at him.He had dirt on his face and his lip was split and his eyes were wide and scared and absolutely certain, all at once. He looked eleven years old and he looked forty, and I loved him so much in that
Natalia’s POVI fought like hell.My arm shook from the strength it took not to let that blade drive down toward Andrei’s chest. Max’s screams faded into the distance. The knife hovered six inches above Andrei’s chest, getting closer with each second.I had both hands wrapped around the handle now,
Natalia’s POVIt all happened so fast—a flash of movement at the edge of the platform, a small hooded figure vaulting up the steps, and then the knife coming down in a quick, hard arc that made the blade catch the red light overhead.Andrei threw himself sideways just before the knife collided with
I straightened up. My heart was pounding. I looked around the room and for a single, disorienting moment, I had no idea where I was. The black stone walls, the red sky beyond the window, the dead air of this place—none of it felt right. None of it felt like mine. I felt like a man who had woken up m
Andrei’s POVThe collar of my shirt was pissing me off.I had fastened it twice already and it still insisted on sitting crooked, pulling too tight on the left side. I undid it a third time and redid it, slower, watching my hands in the mirror rather than my own face. My reflection had been botherin
Natalia’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
Celeste’s POVMy head snapped to the side from the force of Mother’s fist hitting my cheek.I had stopped feeling the pain a long time ago. It felt distant to me now, like I was being hit from underwater.Somewhere, my mind and heart were far away from Bloodmoon. With Karl.But another punch brought
Andrei’s POVThe Thornwood was just as dark as I remembered.Tall trees with twisting branches curled up overhead, creating a dense canopy too thick to see the sun through. A heavy mist hung just above the forest floor, the air so cool and thick that it dampened all sound.Each turn in the path seem
Natalia’s POVThe silence that followed in the wake of the battle was so much worse than the noise of the battle itself.The battle had already been over for an hour, maybe more. The sounds of fighting above us had faded, then stopped entirely, but we couldn’t be certain it was safe to leave the cat
I didn’t think. I just whirled, my blade cutting anything it could find. I caught a glimpse of movement in the corner of my eye and saw Damon struggling against a tree as an arrow, completely on its own, tried to force itself into his throat.He had both hands wrapped around it and was fighting it w







