เข้าสู่ระบบPOV: ClaraThe little grocery store smelled like stale popcorn and old wooden floors. It was light-years away from the high-end boutique markets I’d gotten used to over the last few months. There were no imported cheeses, no organic juices, and definitely no private security guards waiting by the door to carry my bags. The luxury was gone, and the transition felt like dropping from a warm bed straight onto a block of ice.I pulled the hood of my oversized gray sweatshirt lower over my forehead, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs. The plastic sunglasses I’d found in the truck’s glove box were slipping down the bridge of my nose because my face was slick with a cold sweat. I felt like a giant, glowing target walking down the narrow aisles.Every time a floorboard creaked, I flinched. Every time an old lady looked up from her shopping cart, my stomach did a sickening flip."Did she see the morning news?" I muttered to myself, my eyes darting toward the cash register. "Do
POV: NikolaiBy the time I woke up, my head was pounding a bit less than yesterday, but my throat felt like I’d swallowed a handful of dry sand. I stayed still for a second, just listening. The silence of the woods was heavy, but it wasn't all that was there. Underneath the sound of the wind in the pines, there was a faint, crackling noise.It was a radio.I blinked my eyes into focus. The cabin was small, smelling of old cedar and the damp clothes we’d shed last night. Clara was sitting at a small wooden table a few feet away. She’d found an old battery-operated radio on one of the shelves, and she was leaning over it, her forehead resting in her hands. She looked exhausted. She was still wearing a shirt that was three sizes too big for her, probably something I’d left in the trunk here years ago."Turn it up," I croaked.Clara jumped, her shoulders nearly hitting her ears. She looked at me, her eyes wide and bloodshot. "You’re awake. God, Nikolai, you scared me. You were talking in
POV: ClaraThe rain lashed the world into gray sheets as we stumbled up the overgrown path to the cabin. My arms burned from supporting Nikolai’s weight. He was heavy, even half-dragged, his soaked clothes clinging to every line of muscle and injury. Blood mixed with rainwater on his side, dark and stubborn. The safe house... if it could even be called that, was little more than a forgotten hunter’s shack tucked against the pines. It was small, dusty and so fucking cold. But it had four walls and a roof and that would be more than enough for now. After all, beggars couldn't be choosers. I kicked the door open. It slammed against the wall with a hollow bang. Inside smelled of pine needles, but it was dry. I lowered Nikolai onto the edge of the narrow cot, his breath coming in sharp, frustrated hisses.“Stay here,” I whispered, already moving. I found a lantern, matches that still worked, and a stack of somewhat clean blankets. The generator outside started working after three tries,
POV: NikolaiI felt like I was floating in a dark, cold ocean. Every time I tried to reach for the surface, the weight of my own body pulled me back down. My head was thumping with a rhythm so steady and painful it felt like a drum beating inside my skull. Then, there was a new sound. It wasn't the waves or the rain. It was the loud, ugly rattle of an old engine."Nikolai! Nikolai, can you hear me? I need you to help me just a little bit more!"The voice was frantic. It was Clara. I forced my eyes open, but they felt like they were glued shut with salt and dried blood. I managed to crack one open. The world was blurry, but I could see her face. She looked like a mess—mud everywhere, hair sticking to her forehead—but she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen."Clara?" I croaked."I’m here. I’ve got a truck. I’m going to get you inside, okay? I’m going to pull you. It’s going to hurt, but please, don't pass out on me now."I felt her grab my shoulders. I tried to use my good leg to
POV: ClaraI looked at Nikolai, huddled in the shadows of the ledge we had managed to reach. He looked terrible. His face was gray, his hair was a matted mess of mud and blood, and his breathing sounded like a rusty engine trying to start. I hated leaving him. My heart felt like it was being squeezed by a giant fist just thinking about walking away from him for even a second."Nikolai, I have to go up there," I whispered, kneeling beside him. "I need to find a way out. We can't stay on this cliff forever."He reached out, his hand trembling as he caught my wrist. His grip wasn't strong anymore, but it was desperate. "Clara, no. It’s too dangerous. Victor’s men... they’ll be patrolling the road.""I know," I said, trying to sound a lot braver than I felt. "But look at you. You’re burning up and your leg is a mess. If I don't get you a doctor or at least a warm bed, you aren't going to make it. I’m going to find Henry’s car.""The car is a trap," he groaned, his eyes flickering shut. "V
POV: NikolaiI woke up again, and for a second, I thought the cave had already flooded. My face was wet, and the air was so thick with moisture I felt like I was breathing through a sponge. I groaned, the sound vibrating through my chest and setting off another round of fireworks in my ribs."About time," Clara’s voice came from the shadows.The fire was almost out, just a few glowing embers left in the sand. The light was dim, but I could see her sitting near my feet. She had managed to find two sturdy-looking pieces of driftwood and had torn strips of fabric from her own dress to tie them around my leg."Did you do that?" I asked, gesturing weakly at the splint."It's the best I could do," she said. She looked exhausted, her eyes sunken and her shoulders slumped. "It’ll keep the bone from moving too much, but you’re still going to have to crawl."I looked at the entrance. The moon was out now, casting a ghostly white light over the water. The waves were much closer than they had bee
POV: CLARAVictor stood in the driveway, his hands moving over every inch of the new vintage car he had bought that morning. “This thing is perfect,” he said. “Nikolai, you and Clara take it for a full test drive to the valley and back. I have a conference call starting in five minutes and I need t
POV: NikolaiI stared at the muddy footprint on the white marble of the hallway and felt like a total idiot. It was a clear, brown smudge right outside the library door. I must have been more out of it than I thought when I got back from the Quinn shed yesterday. If I was getting this sloppy, Victo
POV: ClaraThe greenhouse smelled of damp earth and rot, a heavy scent that stuck to the back of my throat. It was supposed to be a sanctuary, a glass-walled escape from the marble and steel of the mansion, but even here the air felt thin.I found my mother sitting on a stone bench, her hands folde
Clara's POVThe black SUV pulled up the circular driveway, and my stomach performed a slow, agonizing flip. My parents stepped out, looking so small against the backdrop of the Draven estate.My mother looked even more slender than the last time I had seen her, her kind face was etched with that pe







