"You will be." He tilts his head, studying me. "You're different than before. You look… harder."
I don't answer. I’m not going to crawl for the food the way he wants me to, especially right now, when I’m not hungry. He can wait there for a long time if that’s what he wants.
"I liked you better before," he continues. "When you were soft. Breakable."
"Get out,” I snap, as if this were my bedroom and he’s an intruder.
"Iosef has plans for you, you know." Grigory's smile widens. "Big plans. He's been waiting for this. To get you back.”
"Kazimir will kill you," I say it with absolute certainty, because I know that if Kazimir is alive, he will come. And when he does, these men will die screaming.
"Maybe." Grigory shrugs. "But that's a problem for later. Right now, you're here. And we have all the time in the world."
He leaves, locking the door behind him.
I ignore the food, and I think about Kazimir. I have to believe he's coming. I have to believe he's alive and looking for me and that he will find me before it's too late. Because if I don't believe that, I have nothing left.
The light from the window fades completely, leaving me in darkness. I lie back on the mattress, my hand on my stomach, and try to feel some movement, some sign that the baby is okay.
There’s nothing yet. Too early, probably. But I imagine I can feel something anyway. A flutter. A whisper. A promise.Hold on,I think.Just hold on a little longer.
I must doze off, because the next thing I know, I'm jerking awake to the sound of voices outside the door. Loud, angry voices.
"—told you to wait?—"
"I'm tired of waiting. She's here, she's ours, and I want?—"
"Iosef said?—"
"Fuck what Iosef said!"
The door slams open, and Evan stands there, his face flushed, his eyes wild. Behind him, I can see Grigory trying to pull him back, but Evan shakes him off.
"Just a taste," Evan says, moving toward me. "Just a little taste. She owes us that much."
Terror floods through me, sharp and cold. I scramble backward, but the chain brings me up short. I'm trapped. Cornered. Evan's hand reaches for me, and I do the only thing I can think of.
I scream.
Not a scream for help—there's no help coming yet—but a scream of pure rage and defiance. A scream that says I wouldrather die than let him touch me. And then I lunge forward, my teeth bared, aiming for his outstretched hand.
I feel my teeth sink into flesh, taste blood, and hear him howl in pain and fury.
His fist comes out of nowhere, catching me across the face. My head snaps back, stars exploding behind my eyes. I feel myself falling, the chain catching me before I hit the ground. Through the ringing in my ears, I hear Grigory shouting, hear Evan cursing, hear the sound of a struggle. And then Iosef's voice, cold and commanding: "Get out. Both of you. Now."
There are footsteps. The door slamming. And then silence.
I lie on the floor, my face throbbing, blood in my mouth—mine or Evan's, or both, maybe. My hand is still on my stomach, protecting it.
Iosef crouches down beside me, and I flinch away from him.
"That was stupid," he says quietly. "Evan doesn't have my patience. Next time, he might not stop."
"Then kill me now." I look up at him, and I mean it. "Kill me now, because I will never stop fighting. I will never give you what you want. I will die first."
Something flickers in his eyes. A mingled respect and annoyance, I think.
"You won't die," he says. "Not until I'm done with you. And I'm nowhere near done." He stands and walks to the door, pausing in the doorway.
