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
Andrei & LilithAndreiI had to come up with a way to get Natalia alone, away from Damon, so I could talk to her.A few days had passed since she had told me she had aborted my baby, and it gave me time to think. Something was off about Natalia, and I had a feeling it was because of Damon.He was ma
But as I reached the corridor that curved toward the front gate, someone stepped into my path.Lilith.Her mask of politeness was gone now. Her lips were curled back, her voice a snarl.“You think you’re clever,” she said. “Pretending to be dead, crawling back in here on Damon’s arm like some tragic
“You’ll always been the Moonshadow Luna to me,” I gave a light laugh. In my mind, Natalia didn’t—never existed. The sooner she was forgotten by everyone—the better.She clipped a dead bloom with practiced precision. “Hmm,” she hummed. “So you’re back,” she said. “In his life.” She didn’t sound enthu
I should have expected this, and inwardly chided myself for not showering before seeing the twins. I had just been so excited to see them that it had slipped my mind.“No, I didn’t see your dad,” I lied, hating how bitter it tasted on my tongue. “But…” I hesitated for a moment, then made a decision.







