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
Natalia’s POVI wiped my eyes and leaned forward, grinning at the tiny shape on the screen.Our baby. It was hardly even the side of a peach yet, just a lump on the screen, but it represented everything Andrei and I had been fighting for, everything we were trying to protect. In that moment, staring
Natalia’s POV The morning came too soon. I woke to find Andrei already dressed in his leathers, buckling his weapons belt around his waist. “Time to go already?” I asked, sitting up.. “Yeah.” He turned to look at me, and as he stepped into the early morning sunlight peeking through the curtains,
Natalia’s POV I walked over to join Andrei at the railing and leaned against him, letting his warmth soothe me. The stars were particularly clear tonight, forming a canvas of glittering silver and midnight blue overhead. “It’s a nice night,” I said, resting my cheek against the warm plane of his c
Natalia’s POVAndrei led me up the stairs to his chambers, past the broken banister and scorch marks on the walls from where the fighting had briefly spilled into the main house. Thankfully, the upstairs had been untouched, and Andrei’s bedroom—the room we once shared as husband and wife—had also be







