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Celine's POVA shaft of light and heat consumed the stronghold, inscribing the Alpine night in daylight.We were two hundred meters down the slope when it happened, Kent dragging Caelum by the arm with very deliberate force, a person who was now sure that whoever he pulled along was not going to make this decision without his assistance. I was running and Ryker had his hand on my back and Victoria was behind us somewhere, and then came the sound, a pressure that moved through the air but also through the ground at once, so I dropped to one knee and put up my arm against the heat and saw the building transmute into something else entirely.Looking back Caelum had come to a halt.He was standing in the snow as the light of the fire touched his face and Kent’s hand remained on his arm and he was looking at where the building had been and his expression wasn’t one I had a name for.I reached and I said next to him and stared at the fire and felt the heat from that distance and thought abo

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Celine's POVThe boat cut through the bay like a blade, its hull painted in those unmistakable Bratva markings — deep crimson and black, the kind of colors that announced ownership before anyone even stepped off the deck. Men in tactical vests stood along the rail, rifles held loose but ready. No shouting. No dramatic gestures. Just the low, steady growl of the engine slowing as it nosed toward the rocky shallows.Vivienne’s composure cracked.It wasn’t much — a tightening at the corners of her mouth, the way her fingers curled tighter around the edge of the driftwood she sat on — but I saw it. For the first time since we’d arrived on this island, she looked genuinely unsettled.Victor’s arms were still locked around my waist, his face buried against my shirt. Grace had pulled back just enough to wipe at her eyes, but she stayed close, one hand fisted in the fabric of my jacket like she was afraid the wind might carry me away. Hope hadn’t moved from her spot in the sand, knees drawn u

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Caelum's POVThe words left my mouth before I could weigh them properly, before I could dress them up or soften the edges.“The first time I killed a man, I was nineteen…”The beach went still. Even the wind seemed to pause, as if the Adriatic itself was listening. I felt Celine’s eyes on me, sharp and worried. Victor’s small hand tightened in hers. Grace stood frozen beside her mother, and Hope — my oldest, the one who had always watched everything too closely — looked at me like she was bracing for impact.Vivienne sat back down on the driftwood log, one hand pressed to her chest, watching me with something between curiosity and satisfaction. Sergei and his men had retreated to the edge of the tree line, but they were still close enough to hear every word. Their presence made the confession feel like a performance I hadn’t auditioned for.I kept my voice low and steady, the way you speak when you know lies have already done enough damage.“His name was Pavel. He owed my mother money

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Celine's POVThe sound of the new boat engines grew louder, cutting across the water like a warning. Multiple vessels, moving fast. I felt the shift in the air immediately — the way everyone on that beach tensed at once. Sergei’s men swung their rifles toward the bay. Vivienne’s thumb stayed frozen over the detonator, her face pale and slick with sweat despite the cooling evening. Caelum stood like a wall in front of us, his body coiled tight, ready to move the second anything broke.Hope’s question still hung there, sharp as broken glass.“If you really loved us… why are you willing to kill us to keep us?”Vivienne’s eyes flicked to her granddaughter. For a heartbeat, something raw and almost human moved across her face — pain, maybe, or the closest thing she could feel to it. Her hand trembled. The blood at the corner of her mouth had dried into a dark crust, but fresh droplets appeared with every shallow breath.“I’m not killing you,” Vivienne said, voice hoarse and thin. “I’m givi

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