LOGINEMILYI stood in the middle of the living room, one hand resting protectively over my stomach, the other clutching the edge of the table beside me as another dull ache rolled through my lower back. It wasn’t strong enough to be labor. Tomorrow.That was what the doctor had said.Tomorrow, you’ll likely go into labor.I let out a slow breath, trying to steady myself, trying not to let the fear claw its way up my throat again. Everything felt too close. Too fast. The sound of tires screeching outside cut through my thoughts.My head snapped toward the door.Before I could even move, the front door burst open with a force that made me flinch.And then Alessandro walked in.He didn’t rush. Didn’t raise his voice. Didn’t even look particularly angry. If anything, he looked calm. Controlled. Behind him, his men fanned out like shadows, filling every corner of the house with their presence.My stomach dropped.“What do you think you’re doing?” I demanded, my voice sharper than I felt. “Ge
JULIAN The moment I realized she wasn’t breathing, something inside me snapped so violently it felt physical—like a wire in my chest had been yanked loose and left sparking.“No… no, no, no—hey… hey!”My voice came out strained, unfamiliar, like it didn’t belong to me. I dropped to my knees in front of her, my hands hovering uselessly over her body before finally settling on her shoulders. I shook her gently at first, then harder when she didn’t respond.“Wake up,” I said, my tone sharpening with panic. “This isn’t funny. Get up.”Her head lolled to the side.The sound of it, echoed louder than it should have in the silence of my office.Blood had already begun to pool beneath her, seeping across the polished floor in slow, creeping lines that made my stomach churn. It was everywhere. On her hair. On the edge of my desk. On my hands.My hands.I stared at them, chest heaving, my breath coming in shallow, uneven bursts. “No…” I whispered, shaking my head as if that alone could undo w
JULIAN The first thing I remembered was the sound.Not the fire. Not the shouting. Not even Emily’s voice.It was the crack.A deep, violent crack that tore through the ceiling like the building itself was giving up, like everything holding it together had finally snapped.And in that moment, I didn’t think of anything else as I ran. “Emily!”My voice barely sounded like mine as I shoved through the smoke, my eyes burning, my lungs protesting with every breath I forced in. The air was thick and the heat was suffocating, wrapping around me like it was trying to drag me down with it.I found her near the center of the room, coughing, disoriented, one hand pressed against the wall like she was trying to steady herself but couldn’t quite find her balance.“Julian...”Her voice broke, and that was enough.I closed the distance between us in two strides, grabbing her arm, pulling her toward me before another piece of the ceiling came crashing down right where she had been standing seconds
EMILYThe silence Julian left behind was louder than anything.It pressed into my chest, heavy and suffocating, like the walls themselves were closing in on me.I stood in the middle of the room long after he had gone, my fingers still curled where his shirt had been moments ago. My heart hadn’t caught up with reality yet. It was still racing, still clinging to the heat of him, the way his voice had dropped when he said my name like it meant something.Like I meant something.I exhaled shakily and dragged a hand through my hair.“This is a mistake,” I muttered to myself. “Everything about this is a mistake.”But even as I said it, I knew I didn’t believe it.A knock sounded on the door.My heart leapt instantly.“Julian?” I called, already moving.I didn’t even think. I just opened the door and froze.It wasn’t him.Venida stood there, hands clasped neatly in front of her, her expression carefully neutral.Disappointment hit me harder than I expected.“What is it?” I asked, my tone sh
EMILYI went straight to the consulate the next morning, determined, almost restless with urgency, and asked Janice to have Julian contact me. I made it very clear that it was important, desperately so but even then, as the hours dragged on, he did not come. By midnight, I had worn a path into the rug of my bedroom from pacing, my nerves stretched thin with waiting.Convinced he would come the way he had the night before, through the gardens, up onto the terrace, I finally stepped outside myself. The balcony doors stood open behind me as I moved into the thick, waiting darkness.The night was utterly black, starless and still, yet heavy with a cloying sweetness, fragrant and warm against my skin. I leaned against the smooth mahogany railing, straining my eyes, trying to see through the dense shadows that swallowed the gardens and the pool below.And then, without warning he was there.He swung over the railing and landed beside me as silently as a jungle cat.I didn’t even have time t
EMILYA loud banging dragged me out of sleep.I groaned softly, every inch of my body heavy, as though I hadn’t rested at all. Rolling over, I reached blindly for a pillow and pressed it over my eyes, trying to shield myself from the flood of sunlight that had suddenly filled the room, as if someone had flung the shutters wide open.And then I remembered.Julian.A slow, warm smile spread across my lips, a deep, glowing happiness curling through me.“Jist ain’t right… good folks ought to know better. Now, if’n it was po’ trash, why, then I’d understand but good folks? Lady!”My eyes flew open.Venida.I gasped, bolting upright, my gaze darting wildly across the room. Relief crashed through me when I saw I was alone, Julian was gone.Thank goodness.“Such carryings-on I neveh did see! ’Bout time you opened them eyes!”“What time is it?” I demanded, still trying to steady myself.Venida set a tray down beside the bed with a decisive clatter. “Seven.”“Seven?” I repeated, startled.“You
EMILY South Valley.The name alone had sounded ominous when Julian first spoke it. Now that we were here, I understood why.It was dry and suffocatingly hot deep in the bowels of the constricted valley. For two relentless days we had crossed an arid desert mountain range, following narrow, treache
ALESSANDRO I refused to take a room behind that filthy saloon.The others might have preferred a roof over their heads, but I couldn’t breathe in that town. The air itself felt wrong. So we made camp just outside it instead, close enough to watch, far enough not to be swallowed by it.But the nigh
ALESSANDRO The ground shook beneath the pounding of hundreds of hooves, the thunder of them rolling across the hot desert toward the south . Dust rose in thick clouds, stinging my eyes and coating my tongue. Almost as one, the cavalcade curved and slowed, then came to a rolling halt.“The Rio.”I
JULIAN I had known we would be followed. I had been certain of it. It wasn’t logic, it was sheer, hardened instinct.And I had been right.I crouched on a rock ledge above the narrow trail that wound toward the rim of the plateau. The path was treacherous even in daylight—slow, rough, and easy eno







