LOGIN“Do you remember what he looked like?”“It’s all a blur. Sorry.”I nodded slowly, looking around again. I spotted Max on the other side of the yard, returning to his work with a group of other males.“What’s the labor for?” I asked. “Are we building something?”“We think it’s for an army. The stone
Natalia’s POVBy the end of the first hour, my shoulders were burning and my palms had gone from sore to numb. The rock I’d been assigned to break with a heavy pickaxe was dense and black, and I was expected to break it into small pieces, then place them on a large wagon. One of those awful gray thi
A pair of figures crossed our path as we walked across the roadway. We fell into step behind them naturally, matching their pace. Neither of them looked back.The water trough was near the center of the settlement. I spotted a short line of people standing in front of it. It wasn’t running water, bu
Natalia’s POVI jerked awake with a gasp.The red sky was the same as it always was. Max was curled on his side a few feet away, still asleep, his chest rising and falling slowly. Nothing had moved. Nothing had changed.I pressed my hand flat against the ground and steadied my breathing.The vision
Natalia’s POVThe report came back the following morning. I’d hardly slept that night, which was strange for me; usually, sleep came quickly and efficiently, serving purely as a means to regain my energy for another day of hard work.But last night, I kept tossing and turning. That pull in my chest
“It’s no use!” I heard her voice call after me. “He’s already gone, you stupid bitch! He’s not who you think he is anymore! You’ll all die here!”Her words struck me somewhere deep and painful, but I kept running. We didn’t stop until the hovel was well out of sight. Only then, once we were certain
Natalia & AndreiNataliaThe metal shackles had rubbed my wrists raw by the second day. Every movement sent fresh waves of pain shooting up my arms, but I’d learned to grit my teeth and bear it. Complaining would only give these bastards more satisfaction.“Get up, prisoner,” the scarred female bark
My eyes scanned the crowd, searching for those two children I’d seen at Ashmoor. The boy and girl with my eyes. I’d thought about them often since that day, wondering who they were and why they’d seemed so familiar.But there was no sign of them amongst the children racing through the festival groun
But then the front door of the cottage burst open, and two small figures came running out. I recognized them instantly: they were the same children I’d seen at Ashmoor. The twins with my eyes. The little girl who had called me “Daddy” and the little boy who had pulled his sister away.“Mommy! Daddy!
AndreiI arrived at Ashmoor the next morning, still seething from yesterday’s confrontation with Natalia.Was she really so blind as to believe that I didn’t know about her lies?My mind kept replaying that moment in the woods during the full moon. I should have known the moment I heard that little







