Tyra meets me in my dorm room as I zip my bag. She’s reluctant when she hears the news. “Your guy-friend died and now he’s taking you out of town? Peighton, watch that woman.”She jerks her chin at the hallway. “Keira isnotyour friend. Not after what happened with Brutus.”
I swallow hard. “I know.”
“No. You doubt yourself too much. She is dangerous. Petyr is worse. Be smart.”
I hug her tightly. “I’ll be okay.”
She hugs me back, breath shaky. “I’m flying home. Call me. Or text. Or something. Don’t disappear.”
I promise I won’t.
She gives me one more searching look, then leaves with her suitcase, and I suddenly feel very alone.
Moments later, Gustav appears with Micha. He takes my bag from my hand without a word. His touch is firm.
We load into a black SUV. Keira and Petyr settle into the vehicle with us.
The farther we drive, the more the world changes. Forests stretch endlessly, pale and frozen. Abandoned towns appear like ghostly silhouettes. Signs in Russian and Ukrainian flash past. The clouds are a mottled gray, heavy with secrets.
Hours later, the trees thin enough for me to recognize something strange.
The landscape looks different.
Wilder.
“Is this…” I press a hand to the window. “Is this that nuclear disaster place?”
Gustav, who has been silent and brooding for most of the drive, finally answers. “Da. The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.”
I exhale softly. “Nobody lives there?”
He snorts. “Incorrect. A few. In fact, a new bratva faction lives in there.”
I whip toward him. “Really? Why?”
“Because nobody wants to poison themselves with radiation. They hide in plain sight. In Pripyat. They don’t care. They enjoytheir… practices.” His tone shifts subtly, a cold disdain beneath it. “Even I find them sick.”
The memory of the blond boy crucified in Gustav’s castle flashes behind my eyes. My stomach knots.
If Gustav calls them sick…
What the hell are they doing?
A chill creeps through me.
Keira, from the front car, rolls down her window and leans out. “They’re wildlings. Human strays,” she calls. “Pray you never meet one.”
The wind slams her words back into the cabin.
I sit very still for the rest of the drive.
When we finally reach our destination, civilization hits like a slap. Lights. Motion. Cars honking. Buildings stretching skyward. It feels alive in a way the frozen monastery never did.
And Gustav… changes.
The moment he steps out of the car, he straightens his jacket. His shoulders go wide. His chin lifts. His posture shifts into something regal. Someone carved for command. The madness is still there, simmering beneath the surface, but he looks polished. Controlled. Charismatic.
And he keeps touching me.
