로그인I 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
“Try,” I said.My wolf seemed to stand on shaky legs, stretching her aching bones and limbs. She’d been so weak since we had been taken from Bloodmoon; I still wondered what, exactly, I had been drugged with when I was taken. Something derived from the rubies, perhaps? Or something else?Still, I fe
I reached for it carefully, afraid it might slip away if I grabbed too hard. It pulsed once, twice, like a heartbeat. Then, a sudden sensation washed over me—strength. Speed. Primal power.But just before I could reach out, just before I could grasp that power and use it, a voice brought me back to
Blood. So much blood.They’d been plotting this uprising for some time. They’d been waiting, biding their time for a savior to come and take down the King. That was supposed to be me, but I had failed and had likely killed my best friend in the process.That was why I didn’t struggle as the King swe
Natalia’s POVMy baby was coming five months too early. All because of this monster and the ruby he held in his palm.“No!” I snarled, lunging toward him. I tried to grab the stone from his hand, but he held it out of my reach. The ruby flashed again, and another contraction overwhelmed me. I cried







