LOGINANDREW'S POV, “That seems premature. We're at a delicate point in the discussion—” “Which is exactly why we need a few minutes,” I said, holding his gaze. He looked away first, and I continued. “To discuss your proposals in private and speak our mind without you listening to us. Unless there's a r
ANDREW'S POV, I noticed the guard first. Not his presence, his absence. The post in the east corridor had been manned every time I had checked it since we arrived. It was a consistent, unremarkable detail that I had catalogued the way I catalogued everything in a room like this one—automatically,
ELENA'S POV, The report came in fragments, the way bad news always did. It wasn't clean, nor with the kind of clarity that made decisions easy. Just pieces, arriving one after another through channels that were supposed to be secure and reliable, and each piece landed worse than the one before it.
ELENA'S POV, “I don't need a recess,” I said and my voice came out flat. It wasn't cold, nor sharp, just flat, emptied of the performance of composure I had been maintaining since we walked through the door. Al'thor blinked once, and for the first time since this meeting began, I watched fear fli
ELENA'S POV, I don't know how long I stood there before Andrew noticed. He didn't say anything at first. He just shifted around, closing the distance between us by half a step, the way he always did when he sensed something was wrong but didn't yet know what shape it had taken. It was a small thin
ELENA'S POV, “During what?” I asked, not caring that I cut him off from finishing, or that my voice was loud. I had spent years making sure others were happy with what I was doing, and I wasn't the reason for any of their troubles. Now I wanted to be better than that, for myself, instead of being
But then the voice inside me whispered back, ‘What if she becomes like her one day?’I cried harder when the fear gripped my heart. I didn't want Elena to be cruel like my mother. I was afraid that I might have to live in fear once again. My tears dripped onto my knees, leaving little wet spots on m
ELENA'S POV, The days after my conversation with Ryan passed without any hiccups. He was weirdly understanding of my decision to leave the palace someday in the future. And didn't bother me again to have a conversation with him, or try to change my mind about it. We went about our routines as if no
ELENA'S POV,“I fuck them till they cry.” He said it in a way that made me think he was warning me, letting me know in advance that he won't be holding back once he starts. It was my last chance to pull back, to save myself from the beast inside and that worried me a little. While I had read thing
“We have certain things more to worry about,” I added when he came closer to me. His hands found their way inside my top, and he reached for my breasts.“About us? About her?” He unclasped my bra while asking the question nonchalantly, like he wasn't playing with my breasts.“Both,” I whispered, try







