Month: December 2025

Chapter Thirteen Diana Cold. So cold I can’t think for a moment, can only suck in a shuddering breath as my feet hit the bottom and my knees buckle. An arm of steel bands around my waist and hauls me up, keeping my head above water. “You did it.” Shivering, teeth chattering, I look up at

Chapter Twelve Diana I’m so exhausted my eyeballs feel like lead weights in my skull. I blink, try to refocus on the words I was just reading. But the text shifts, blurs, no matter how hard I squint. I give up and lean back in my chair. My eyelids give up the fight and I close

Chapter Eleven Diana I wake up in the night, heart pounding, my breath coming in short gasps. A sharp whine echoes in my ears, followed by a snap and a desperate bark. I can smell the stench of that backyard—fetid garbage piled in heaps made more pungent by the crisp sharpness of winter. And I can

Chapter Ten Diana Numbness sets into my fingertips and toes as Ari pulls into the parking lot of the hotel. I register a tall, dark building, the front comprised almost entirely of glass. But it’s hard to focus on anything but the cold sluicing through my veins. “Stay put.” I want to argue. Should put up

Chapter Nine Diana I wake with a start as the engine cuts off. I blink, staring out over the snowy landscape as my mind catches up. Embarrassment creeps up my neck as I slowly raise my head and glance over at Ari. He’s staring out his window, his face angled just enough for me to see

Chapter Eight Ari I stalk out of the conference room. The silence behind me is short, ended by raised voices spouting off in English and Greek as I walk away. Anger pulses through me, molten lava burning me from the inside out. After the gala last night, I was fool enough to think the deal with

Chapter Seven Ari Waiters dressed in white dress shirts and black vests, with ties, move in and out of the guests. The silver trays they balance host dishes like Icelandic lobster tucked into small shells and topped with crème fraîche and puff pastries filled with a mix of skyr, smoked trout, and chives. The buffet tables

Chapter Six Diana What am I doing? When I walked out of my small office at AuraGeothermal, I was in a good place. I’d clawed my emotions back under control, spent over ten hours working, sinking into my role as negotiator, and pushing thoughts of Ari out of my head—replacing them with how I was

Chapter Five Ari I arrive back to my office just a few minutes before my meeting with Diana. I hadn’t planned on spending all day at the plant. But right after Diana had left, I found Xenakis talking with one of my engineers. He’d been surprisingly cordial—the friendliest he’s been since the first time we met

Chapter Four Diana Steam rises from the snow-covered landscape. Tall silver towers rise up to the sky, the bases shrouded by mist. Ripples cross the surface of a small lake on the other side of the parking lot even though the temperature is below freezing. The sun hasn’t risen yet, although I can see a haze