Adrianna’s POVThe apartment smelled like the inside of a worn leather boot with too many meals cooked too close to where you sleep, detergent clinging to drying clothes and old coffee gone bitter in cups. The walls were thin, the window frosted from the inside and the heater groaned every few minutes like it was dying a slow rattling death. I’d spent few days here all alone (with isabella) with my plans and my thoughts along with the ghost of Rafael’s voice in my ears. But now Mira was here standing in the middle of the chaos like she was already a visitor from another world.She looked different. Not just because her outfit screamed luxury which included a black cashmere dress, thigh high boots that probably cost more than the rent in this place and diamond studs glinting at her ears like little promises of danger but because she moved like she knew she was carrying power in her veins. The Mira I met weeks ago on the road bruised with fury and heartbreak was gone. This version was
Mira’s POVThe second time I met Basha it was in a place that smelled like polished leather and old power and money too old to ever be clean again. His penthouse wasn’t just expensive it was built to remind you of who he was. Black marble floors wirj gold accents that glimmered without ever being garish and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a New York skyline that bowed to no one but him.I was dressed in something I hadn’t paid for yet. A black velvet dress with a slit so high it could slice skin and red soled heels that whispered wealth with every step. He’d sent a private car to pick me up. A driver in a suit who said nothing but opened the door like I was already owned. The message was clear that Basha didn’t chase but summoned.He was already pouring whiskey when I entered the room his back to me as the amber liquid caught the city lights. His shirt sleeves were rolled up just enough to show the tattooed ink snaking up one arm with something written in Albanian so cryptic.“Yo
Mira’s POVThe jet lag hadn’t even worn off when I slipped into the silver dress Adrianna had picked for me. It clung to my curves like it had been painted on catching the light in every step I took. I hated how well it fit and how I looked like a woman ready to be devoured. But that was the point as I wasn’t here to be safe. I was here to be dangerous.New York buzzed outside the hotel window all fast, arrogant and alive. But nothing compared to the heat simmering beneath my skin as I checked my lipstick one last time in the mirror. It was red and bold and very distracting just like me. I slipped my phone into the clutch making sure the mic was live. Adrianna’s voice had been calm and steady earlier as we reviewed the plan for the hundredth time. “He’s going to want to own you the second he sees you. That’s your power so you have to use it. But never forget who you’re doing this for.”I hadn’t and I wouldn’t. My cheating ex was probably still in Moscow, balls deep in another lie b
Adrianna’s POVThe phone buzzed in my pocket for the third time and a persistent vibration that felt like it was clawing at my ribs. I hadn’t been paying attention to anything not the ticking of the broken wall clock and not the snow tapping against the windowpane and certainly not the flickering light bulb swinging above my head like it was losing its will to live. K fished it out with shaky fingers dread curling in my gut like smoke and answered without checking the screen. Only one person ever calls me witj this burner phone so there is really no need checking the screen and I also know it’s followed by bad news. “Adrianna. We need to talk now. It’s about Basha.” Nathan’s voice hit me like a slap all calm and clipped and too quiet. I sat up straighter on the lumpy couch my adrenaline pumping through my veins like caffeine. “What happened?” My voice was scratchy because I hadn’t spoken in hours.“He’s planning something. Something big and definitely ugly. Rafael’s walking into i
Rafael’s POVThe cemetery was silent and bathed in the soft light of the sky. I stood for one final moment in front of the twin graves Adrianna's and Isabella's. My throat was dry snd my chest hollow and the ache in my bones hadn’t lessened even a bit since that day. Six years of loving her from afar and only a few moments of having her in my grasp before the universe snatched her and our daughter away. I have spent more time in this cemetery the past few days than I did in my bed. I placed the flowers I got them each with their favorite color. Isabella had always loved purple and pink while Adrianna used to be obsessed with green since I told her it was my favorite color because of her eyes. Tears stung in my eyes that moment. There was no room left for tears inside me only fire and vengeance. They would all pay and it would be swift and brutal and final. I stepped into the black SUV, the engine humming to life like a beast beneath my hand and I didn’t look back. I couldn’t beca
Third Person POVShe stood at the edge of the old estate hidden by the arms of a dying tree. The wind howled around her brushing against her cloak as if trying to pull her back snd to stop her from seeing what she already knew too deeply and too bitterly. But Queen Amaris remained still like a stone amongst the world. Her eyes were sharp and grey like a storm, never left the man walking across the gravel courtyard below. Her last son and flesh. Rafael.He moved like a shadow cut from the body of rage itself all sharp and lethal and cold. Each step he took was heavy like he was dragging the weight of a hundred ghosts with him. Amaris watched the way his hands curled unconsciously into fists and his shoulders held tight as if he were keeping his fury caged beneath his skin. He was no longer the curious boy she had given away in quiet pain. No longer the bruised teenager she had tracked through the files of the Brotherhood watching helplessly as he was shaped into steel by a world tha