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
And there, near the entrance, was the family I couldn’t stop thinking about.Natalia looked stunning in a pale yellow gown that made her skin glow. The twins flanked her sides, Jane in a pink dress that made her look like a little princess and Max in a tiny tuxedo that made him appear far older than
Lilith flinched, fresh tears spilling over. “I never would have—”“Don’t tell me you wouldn’t have gone to such a length to get what you wanted, Lilith. You tried to kill two children. You pushed Jane and Max into that lake and you did it with glee. They could have died. You nearly murdered two fuck
AndreiThe twins were in the back yard when I arrived. Jane immediately bounced over, grinning from ear to ear, while Max remained where he was crouching by the swingset, digging in the dirt with a stick.He only glanced up at me over his shoulder with a wary look before he returned to his work. Mea
NataliaMy heart sank as I processed what Lilith had just shown me. Her hand on her belly, that smug smile. She was pregnant, wasn’t she?Of course she is.All those stupid fantasies I’d been having lately about maybe working things out with Andrei, about the twins having their real father, about us







