LOGINI 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
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
It was likely too late now. Knowing Mother, she had acted quickly and efficiently. Her supporters, like Greta, were few here but they were fiercely loyal and would do anything she requested of them.Unlike me.But it didn’t matter now, did it? She was going to return once her job was complete and th
Natalia’s POV“I lied yesterday. I’m pregnant with Andrei’s child.”As soon as those words came out of my mouth, Celeste looked like she had just seen a ghost. The wine bottle, once frozen in her hands, nearly slipped from her fingers before she carefully set it on the table with a trembling hand.“
Natalia’s POVI spent most of the next afternoon in the kitchen, working alongside one of the cooks to prepare dinner for Celeste and me. The nausea came and went, but I pushed through it, only having to rush to the bathroom to vomit once.Thankfully, no one seemed to notice. Which was a good thing,
Andrei’s POVAs soon as I made it home, I spread the maps and letters I’d found across the table in my study, pushing aside the empty mug of coffee that had gone cold hours ago. The documents hadn’t been kept in the best condition, but thankfully, most of them were still readable.The first few lett







