in the room

lap. My hand throbbed where I had cut it earlier, the bandage starting to feel tight. I had never held a gun before

e clock on the

hum of the air conditioner. The house felt alive, but not in a g

um

t come from the hallway.

against stone. My heart started racing so fast I felt dizzy. Kaelen said he had

membered what Kaelen told me. Don

ass door of the

he moonlight. A man in a black mask burst through the heavy

amed, raising the g

ade my skin crawl. "A million dollars for a little girl in

me. I squeeze

ic

't fire. My heart dropped into

rl," the m

oss the floor. I fought him, scratching at his eyes and kicking with everything I had, but h

oice hot against my ear. "But they didn't say

eyes tight, a sob breaking fr

or didn't just open-it w

e was a sickening crack of bone, an

like a man anymore; he looked like a demon. He had the intruder by

r, his face twisted in a look of pure, animal rage. Blood sprayed across the whi

gone, and his white shirt was covered in grease and blood. He tur

dboard, terrified. I had neve

yes flickered and died. He looked down at his blo

my arm, where dark red finger mark

trembling slightly. He touched the bruise with a g

His voice was raw. "I sho

asked, my voic

oor. He picked it up, flipped the safety off with his thumb, and

ked exhausted. He rested his head in his hands,

or. "The Romanovs, my father... they all want

the truth, Kaelen. Please. My father...

s pocket and pulled out an old, burnt s

younger. The other was a man with a kind smile and eyes just like

dn't want to share the city. So he ordered the hit. I was ten years

om my dreams-the fire, the smoke

You were so small. You weren't crying. You just held out

ed. "You've been protect

be a hero. I saved you because I knew one day, you'd be the onl

w, we go to the Romanov territory. We're going to s

cellist anymore. I was a weapon in a war I didn't understand. And t