AryaI don’t know why being in Dimitri’s arms makes me feel safe, but it does. It’s confusing to me since I’ve known him less than a month but it feels like I’ve known him my entire life. I want to trust him, I want him to protect me and tell me everything is going to be okay. Right now, I don’t want to be anywhere else but his side. Does this make me sound crazy or dependent? I don’t know this man from a bar of soap, I’ve known him less than I’ve been acquainted with any guard back home. And yet….“Hmm, what are you thinking about so intently?” Dimitri asks as he wraps the large fluffy towel around my shivering body. I look up at him and shake my head as a ghost of a smile plays on my lips. “I was thinking how safe and protected you make me feel even though I don’t know you that well,” I say, then lay my head down on his chest. “Gosh, I sound so needy.”Dimitri wraps his arms around my waist and holds me tightly before he places a soft kiss on my head.“You don’t sound needy at all

Arya“What are the names of your family members?” I ask when we pull up in front of a mansion.He smiles when I ask this. “My eldest brother is Kai, he’s our leader, and it’s his birthday today, his wife is Caterina. Then there’s Konstantin and his wife Lilith, my youngest brother, Nikolai and his…girlfriend Nova.”“You only have brothers?” I ask with a frown, and he nods. “Wow, I would have loved a brother growing up.” As much as I loved being an older sister, I would have liked having an older brother who could protect me if needed.As if Dimitri can sense my nervous demeanour, he takes my hand and leads me inside a mansion smaller than my father’s but a hell of a lot grander. I didn’t expect his family to have their very own hidden little town; it makes me wonder how they’ve come to be so well respected.“I’ll be right there with you,” he says, snapping me out of my thoughts when we come to a stop in front of the large oak door. “If you need to leave, tell me right away, and we’ll

Arya Oh, my God, why did I do that? What is it about Dimitri that causes me to act like a complete brat and crave his reprimand? I should just ask him to take me home right now and go bury my head in the sand. Home…my bedroom. I don’t think I ever want to be in that room again, knowing what Dante had done to me in there. Actually, I don’t know what to expect when I get home at all. “Have you heard from my father?” I suddenly ask Dimitri when we pull up in the underground parking of his penthouse. He nods. “I spoke with him while you got ready this morning. Dante is being kept alive in his basement, and your sister should arrive this evening. Both your parents have been made aware of what Dante had subjected her to, as well as what you were forced to endure.” I blanch and swallow hard. “That means my mother will hate me even more now,” I say, discouraged. My mother already blamed me for Adilah getting traded, and now she would blame me for the abuse she endured. “It won’t matter to

AryaI was right about Nova; she’s the sweetest, most genuine person I have ever met. There’s no hostility or fake niceties from her at all, not like with other people. When she speaks to me, she actually looks into my eyes and seems to not even notice the scars on my face. I want to be friends with her, but I hope my negativity hasn’t pushed her away.But now, I have something else to take care of, and as I look up at our mansion, I steel my heart and walk inside. I have decided to speak with my father first as he needs to know about my plans, then I’ll face my mother and sister. Spending the weekend with Dimitri and being around his powerful family has done something to me; I hope that confidence shows in me now.Not only that, but something occurred to me while I lay in bed alone last night, something that I didn’t want to be true, but I knew it was. Something that equally broke and hardened my heart. I need to put a stop to it now that I know the truth and Dante’s words make their

Dimitri Arya fell asleep almost immediately after the shower. Even as she tried to act brave and confident, today was an emotionally draining day for her. In the short period of time I’ve known her, she’s always been gentle, so the fact that she’s taken two lives in the space of 24 hours still has to register with her. She will need me when she’s realised that she now has blood on her hands. /“Mitri, are you there?”/ The voice of Nikolai comes through the mind link. /“Yeah, I am. How's Nova? Is everything okay?”/ /“She’s awake and healing, so things are looking positive for now. Listen, Nova told me something about Arya, something she picked up on.”/ My heart drops when he says this, but I tell him to go on even as I dread to know what that little librarian has discovered. /“Fear, thick and suffocating, was rippling off of Arya when she went to drop her off at home. It was almost as if she feared going home for some reason.”/ I sigh, pulling Arya closer to me and kissing her fo