Katie's POV The Next Morning — Infiltration DayWe didn’t even make it past the second stair.I was tightening the straps of my small lootbag when a scream—loud, unrelenting, and filled with all the righteous fury only one specific girl could muster—pierced through the hallway.“I knew it!”The voice came from below the stairs, followed by rapid footsteps and a very disgruntled Sebastian yelling, “Young mistress, wait—!”I froze. Vladimyr, standing behind me, muttered a low, resigned, “Oh dear.”And then she came into view, wild curls tangled from sleep, eyes blazing, her little fists clenched at her sides. Behind her was of course, her twin brother, calmer but no less determined, arms crossed and face taut with that telltale stubbornness that he definitely inherited from their older brother.“You were going to leave us behind.. again!” Victoria accused, pointing a finger at me like I’d betrayed the entire realm.“I was going to leave you safe,” I corrected, trying to sound authorita
Katie's POVMorning came too quickly.A low knock at the chamber door stirred me from the few hours of rest I’d managed. Vladimyr was still asleep beside me—if his deep, even breaths could be called sleep. His brow was furrowed, as if his mind couldn’t rest even in dreams.I carefully slipped from beneath the covers, pulling on a robe and tying it tight at the waist as I opened the door.Miranda stood there, her hands folded neatly, but the tight set of her jaw betrayed her calm demeanor.“Report,” I said softly, stepping into the hallway and closing the door behind me.“We’ve finished securing the inner sanctum,” she said, falling in step beside me as we walked down the corridor. “The twins are under protective watch. They know something is happening, but we haven’t told them the full extent.”“They’ll figure it out,” I murmured.“They already are,” she admitted. “The young mistress tried to break through the barriers last night. Said she dreamed you were in danger.”Of course she di
Katie's POVI stared up at him. At the way his jaw tightened with each breath, the raw intensity in his gaze that bordered on something wild. And yet, beneath all that fury, I saw it—his helplessness.He hated feeling powerless. Hated not remembering. Hated that someone else had the upper hand when it came to me. Even without his memories of us, I can still feel his genuine concern towards me through the bond.But I couldn’t let him fall into rage. Not when it would cost us more than it helped.So I reached up, cupping his cheek gently. “Then we get ready,” I whispered. “We prepare together. Smartly. Not like this—driven by anger. That’s what he wants. He wants to provoke you, Vlad..”My mate stared at me like he was searching for something in my face. Maybe a lie. Maybe hesitation. But he’d find neither.“I already lost you once,” he murmured, voice so low I barely caught it. “And even now, I only have pieces of what we were. If I lose you again, Katie…”“You won’t,” I said firmly. “
Katie’s POVThree days passed and in those times, our routine is pretty much the same.Waking up, trying something to make Vladimyr remember, trying to wake our demon, our duties as the Lord and Lady of the North, and all other things. But what I love in this “pretty much the same” routine of ours is that it ended with us in our chambers.With me in his embrace. Always.Until this morning, while I was tending to the northern gardens, Rori suddenly teleported in front of me. Panic, fear and anxiety was written all over his face. “Katie!!”I lifted my head from the bushes to face him. “What's the matter, Rori? Are you well?”He bit his lip. Wondering if he should be the one to break the news to me, but in the end he did. He gulped first and looked away. “I-it’s.. It’s him. That bloody duke.”The title alone is enough to hit me like a punch to the gut. “The d-duke? Here?” I demanded, my voice rising.Rori immediately shook his head. “Not exactly here, but… there’s a message. It’s address
Katie's POV“Did you… did you hear that? I’m not going crazy, right?” Vladimyr pressed, his voice low but urgent, eyes slightly widened as they searched mine for validation.I nodded slowly, pressing a hand over the place where his heartbeat pulsed strong beneath my fingertips. “I did.”It had been faint. Faint enough that I might’ve convinced myself I imagined it—if it hadn’t been for the look on Vladimyr’s face.That quiet, near-snarled breath that sounded too much like a memory to ignore.Lucifer.He hadn’t spoken again since. The silence that followed was almost more deafening than his name being whispered from the void. But I didn’t feel fear. Not anymore. Not when the bond had trembled, however slightly. Not when I knew, knew, he was still buried somewhere inside Vladimyr.He was just... trying.And so were we.The rest of the morning passed with quiet, tender movements. Vladimyr stayed close, never more than a few steps away as we got dressed and freshened up. It was endearing,
Katie’s POV The following morning...I woke to the subtle weight of an arm around my waist and the slow, deep rhythm of another's breathing against my back. For a moment, I didn’t move. I didn’t even breathe too loudly. I just let the reality of this moment sink in.Vladimyr was here. Still.Warm, solid, alive—and with me. I cannot believe it.My heart ached in the best possible way, like a wound slowly stitching itself closed. It hadn’t been a dream. None of it. The fountain. The look in his eyes. The way he trembled when I touched his hand like I was a ghost came to haunt him, or worse—leave him again.And now... we were here.I turned gently in his arms, careful not to wake him. His face was slack with sleep, and there were faint shadows beneath his eyes—he hadn’t been sleeping well lately, that was evident. But thankfully, right now, it seemed the exact opposite. I smiled at the thought that he finally slept peacefully after those exhausting nights.I reached up and brushed a st