The temperature drops ten degrees. Alexei's entire body goes predator-still, and suddenly I understand the difference. Kaz threatens with words, but Alexei is violence incarnate.
"Cousin," Kaz says, voice light.
"Kazimir." Alexei's tone could freeze blood.
They exchange a look I can't read. Something passing between them in the language of family and old wounds. The air crackles with potential violence, and heat pools in my belly at Alexei's protective rage.
Then Kaz walks away, whistling softly. The casual dismissal is almost worse than threats.
Alexei reaches me in three strides. His hands cup my face, searching for damage, his touch immediately calming my shaking.
"What did he say to you?"
"Nothing important."
"Sofia."
I don't answer. Some battles are mine to fight. But my body betrays me, trembling against him, seeking the safety that only exists in his arms now.
He studies me for a long moment, thumb stroking my cheek. Something shifts in his expression. A decision being made. The kind that changes everything.
"Get dressed," he says. "Proper clothes."
"Why?"
"I think it's time you saw your family."
I stare at him, certain I've misheard. "What?"
"You need to remember who you are. Where you come from." His thumb traces my bottom lip, the gesture achingly gentle even as his eyes burn with something darker. "Go home, Sofia. See your brothers. Have dinner at your family table. Tell them you sneaked out."
"You're letting me go?"
"I'm letting you visit. There's a difference." Something flickers in his eyes. Absolute certainty. The confidence of a man who knows he's already won. "You'll come back."
I blink slowly, thinking it over. "Will I?"
He doesn't answer immediately. Just looks at me with those pale eyes that have seen every broken piece of me and somehow want me anyway.
The terrifying thing is, he's right. I will come back.
Because the sacred promise I made to Nico nine years ago is already shattered beyond repair. I've lied to him twice, chosen my enemy over truth, betrayed the one pact that mattered more than blood. The damage is done.
What's one more betrayal?
I think about sitting across from Nico at dinner, looking into those hazel eyes that know me better than anyone, and lying to his face. Telling him everything's fine. That Alexei hasn't hurt me. That I haven't fallen completely, irrevocably for the man whose family destroyed us.
My family will see their sister, their princess, returned from captivity. They'll check for bruises, for signs of torture. They won't see the real damage. How I've carved out pieces of myself and handed them to Alexei willingly. How I deleted information that could save their men's lives because I couldn't bear to betray him. How my pussy gets wet just from his voice, how my body craves his violence as much as his tenderness.
"When?" I ask, voice barely a whisper.
"Tonight. After you get cleaned up." His jaw tightens. "My driver will take you and drop you around the corner. You'll have dinner with your family. Then you'll come back to me."
Not a question. A statement of fact.
"They'll ask questions," I say. "About you. About what you've done to me."
"Tell them whatever keeps you safe." He pulls me closer, forehead resting against mine. "Tell them I'm a monster. Tell them you're gathering intelligence. Tell them anything except the truth."
