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Chapter Thirteen – Karmia I wake tangled in sheets that smell like sweat, sex, and his cologne. Sunlight slices through the curtains, cruel and unflinching, spilling across my bare skin. Every muscle aches, but not from bruises or fear. No, it’s the echo of the night before, the memory of his hands marking me, the

Chapter Twelve – Rostya Back at the mansion, the adrenaline is still surging in my veins, refusing to let me settle. My hands tremble, fists clenched to keep from betraying just how close it had all come. I can’t shake the image of her caught in the crosshairs, her eyes wide and terrified, the barrel

Chapter Eleven – Karmia The command comes without ceremony, dropped into the room like a blade striking stone. “You’ll come with me tonight.” For a second, I think I’ve misheard. I straighten in my chair, my mouth parting. “What?” Rostya doesn’t repeat himself. He never does. His gaze fixes on me, unflinching, already moving past

Chapter Ten – Rostya I stand at a distance, half in shadow, watching her. She sits at the desk Miron claimed for their work, monitors glowing blue across her face, her fingers flying over the keys with sharp, relentless precision. There’s no hesitation in her posture, no slump of submission, no meekness. She leans in

Chapter Nine – Karmia I wake to stiffness that feels bone-deep, every muscle aching as though I’ve been twisted into some unnatural shape all night. The sheets are smooth, soft, expensive… but they might as well be stone. My wedding dress clings to me, wrinkled and heavy, the lace biting into my skin where I

Chapter Eight – Rostya The hall is stripped bare of pretense. No flowers, no music, no celebration. A notary sits stiff-backed at the table, papers aligned in neat stacks. Ivan stands to my right, a wall of loyalty and steel. Two elders, gray and watchful, sit across, and a pair of soldiers linger near the

Chapter Seven – Karmia The guards haul me from the cell with rough hands at my elbows, their boots thudding against the stone as they lead me through a corridor that climbs upward. The air changes gradually—the damp chill of the underground giving way to something warmer, perfumed faintly with polish and flowers. It’s almost

Chapter Six – Rostya The council room reeks of smoke and power. Heavy curtains blot out the night, trapping the haze of cigars beneath the high ceiling. Polished wood gleams under dim light, the table a dark mirror ringed with men who pretend to be equals but know better. Vodka sits in cut-glass tumblers, sharp

Chapter Five – Karmia Cold eats through me. It’s in the stone under my body, in the damp air clawing at my skin. My breath ghosts white in the dimness, curling before vanishing. I pull my knees tighter to my chest, arms wrapped around them so hard my muscles ache. It doesn’t help. The chill

Chapter Four – Rostya The room waits with me, heavy and still, a tomb built for sound and pain. Concrete walls darkened with old stains. Rust blooms where chains hang from hooks, the smell of iron and sweat thick as fog. Every inch of it carries history—men brought here broken and leaving less than whole.