Mag-log in"You ran." His voice was low and controlled, spoken only for the two of us to hear. It carried a deep, raspy edge, with a roughness that made every hair on my arms stand on end, even beneath my coat.
I tightened my fingers around the wheelchair handle. "I..." I stopped. There wasn't an answer that wouldn't make things worse.
The baby in Nora's arms started crying in earnest.
Ravok didn't look.
Not even for a second.
He just kept looking at me.
And too
"You ran." His voice was low and controlled, spoken only for the two of us to hear. It carried a deep, raspy edge, with a roughness that made every hair on my arms stand on end, even beneath my coat.I tightened my fingers around the wheelchair handle. "I..." I stopped. There wasn't an answer that wouldn't make things worse.The baby in Nora's arms started crying in earnest.Ravok didn't look.Not even for a second.He just kept looking at me.And took another step.The door opened again, and the impact of the wood slamming against the wall made my body react with a small shudder. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Romeo walk in and stop just beyond the threshold, his shoulders tense, his gaze going straight to Ravok before anything else."Take her to the car, Romeo." Ravok's order came without raising his voice."I'm not going." My response came too quickly, before I could measure what I was saying. I felt my throat tig
I lightly ran my hand over her arm, more to complete the gesture than expecting any response. "It's temporary, I know. And Nora probably wants me out of here as soon as possible…" I looked around, letting my gaze travel across the space before returning to her. "But I like being here. I feel good with you and the babies."Nora appeared in the doorway, her silhouette outlined by the dimmer light from inside, and watched us for a few seconds, her eyes going straight to Merliah before anything else. It was always like that—as if she needed to confirm, as soon as she woke up, that her daughter was still there.I raised my hand to get her attention. "We're taking a walk."She held my gaze for another moment, silently assessing the situation, before giving a slight nod. She didn't say anything. She simply turned back inside and closed the door behind her. Nora wasn't the friendliest person in the world. She didn't try to be. But she was the one keeping me here, the one putting money in my h
Melany's POV — One Week LaterI woke with the sun shining directly onto my face, far too warm for that hour, pouring through the curtainless window without anything to soften the light. I turned my head on instinct, squeezing my eyes shut for a second before they adjusted, still caught somewhere between sleep and wakefulness.For a moment, I waited.I waited to hear the familiar sound of fabric being drawn, the curtains sliding open, Rose's quiet voice complaining about how lazy I was. The silence that came instead was sad, and it made me open my eyes completely.I ran a hand over my face, brushing away the last traces of sleep, then slowly sat up in bed, feeling the cold floor beneath my feet as they touched the wood.I stood without hurrying and crossed the short hallway to the room next door. The door was half-open, as always. I nudged it with my fingertips, just enough to peek inside before entering.Merliah was st
I watched them for a second, then shook my head, turning my attention back to Romeo.“I don't have time for this.”He shrugged, as though he had expected that answer.“Someone has to remember to feed the demon.”There was no mockery in his voice.Just a statement of fact.A moment later, he turned and walked out of the room without waiting for an answer, closing the door behind him.Silence settled over the room again.I felt the red smoke creep into the edges of my vision, crawling across my sight until everything was stained with a warm, pulsing crimson.It wasn't real.It never was.But it burned as though it were.Sorvane slipped into my mind without asking.His long, pointed fingers slid through my thoughts, scratching slowly, opening cracks where nothing should have existed.“I can hear their hearts beating.”The whisper came thick and sl
“What?”I held the glass out toward him, and before his fingers even touched it, the scent reached him. Romeo turned his head to the side, taking a small step back in discomfort.“I’m not surprised she tried to poison you,” he said, taking the glass. “I’m surprised you actually drank it.”I shrugged.“I wanted to see how far she'd go,” I replied, wiping my nose again, cleaning away the last of the dried blood.“And, fuck... she went pretty damn far.”He let out a short breath through his nose, sounding more irritated than surprised, then handed the glass to the guard beside him, who accepted it carefully.“How long ago?” Romeo asked.“About ten minutes.”“She doesn't know the routes well enough to get out unseen.”“She knows them well enough not to get caught easily,” I corrected, stepping down t
She never looked away.Her eyes were too wide, following me until the very end, as though she expected to see something happen right there in front of her. I found myself wondering what was going through her mind at that moment. Whether there was regret. Whether there was hope. Whether, for even a single second, she believed it would actually work.I lowered my arm slowly and let the empty glass fall beside the bed.Then I stood.Melany released the breath she had been holding, her shoulders relaxing just slightly, as though her body had reacted before she could stop it.There was no turning back.For either of us.“It’s a good thing you came,” I said, keeping my voice steady, as though nothing had shifted out of place.I had already let her go too far to turn back now. I couldn’t allow her to realize that a few drops of poison would never be enough to bring me down.She didn’t know.
Even seated at the center of the table, clad in a charcoal-gray suit that fit his frame with merciless precision, he radiated command. His gaze met mine, pale blue and glacial. Somehow, the room felt colder with him in it.His jaw was tight, the muscle ticking once.To his left stood Romeo, the fir
She shifted in the tub, turning slightly as if the water could shield her from my gaze, her body still drawn in, defensive. But under all that defiance, I could smell it... pain.“You hurt yourself.”Her eyes narrowed. “How do you know that?”I did not answer right away.Because I could still feel
Ravok POVI drained the last swallow of whiskey, letting the burn coat my throat before I set the glass on the table.“On the bed. Hands and knees,” I said, my voice calm. My gaze slid to the bed, then to Seraphina, who was still kneeling naked in the corner, her head bowed like a trained pet. “Ye
Sorvane did not talk unless he was hungry. “I could eat her whole. Just let me in, Ravok.” And I would give in, because if I did not, the hunger would tear me apart from the inside.I had to buy slaves (women who would end up in my bed and die) just so Sorvane could devour the energy he craved. Ro







