LOGINNatalia’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
Natalia’s POVWaking up the second time was so much worse than the first time.The first time I’d woken in this cell, at least I had had the brief mercy of not knowing where I was, even if it was over quickly.That feeling was gone now.I opened my eyes to the same black ceiling and knew exactly whe
Andrei’s POVThe interrogation chamber was in the lowest level of the castle, two floors below the cells.It was a practical room that I’d designed myself. It had a stone floor, stone walls, and a single drain in the center of the floor that served an obvious purpose. Just above the drain, a chair w
Finally, his shoulders sagged a little. “I could give you everything, Natalia.”“I don’t want everything. I want my mate and my children.”“You can’t have Andrei. Well, you can have his face—” He gestured to himself. “But nothing more. He’s in the cells as we speak, being drained—”I didn’t let him
Natalia’s POVMy teeth sank into the flesh of the hand covering my mouth before I could think. My attacker released me with a grunt, and I spun, finding a man standing behind me—in a guard’s uniform. Placing myself between him and the twins, I reached for the letter opener in my pocket—the only thin
Natalia’s POVThat wasn’t Damon.I couldn’t explain how it was possible, but somehow, the so-called “Winter King” was wearing my friend’s face. He was pretending to be Damon, adopting his mannerisms, his speech… but it wasn’t a perfect disguise.I had spent five years with Damon. I had been by his s
I nodded, although I wasn’t sure how much we could do at this point unless Natalia still had that explosive ruby. But I let her lead me inside anyway, where we found ourselves in a narrow, dark corridor.Grace picked a bundle up off the floor and tossed it to me—black robes. I knew what this was for







