She would feel every ounce of it.
At last, the night had come.
Bathed in the eerie light of the full moon, I stood alone, uncertainty pressing against my spine. I had no idea if I would arrive in the correct era—no way to confirm if the date on Alina’s note had been true… or just another thread in her web of deceit.
She was clever. Deceptive.Cunning.
Trusting her was my greatest mistake.
But it didn’t matter. I had made a vow I would uphold, even if I had to chase her through centuries. I would find her. I would drag her back from whatever corner of time she thought could hide her. And I would make her pay.
I murmured the sacred scripture beneath my breath, the ancient syllables rasping like blades across my tongue. Then I lifted the dagger, and without hesitation, slit open the palm of my hand—offering blood to the night sky.
The world twisted.
A rush of wind. A great pull in my chest. The stars blinked out.
And then… silence.
I was no longer under the Florence moon.
Instead, I stood in a land of rolling emerald hills, dotted with grazing sheep and bordered by low stone walls that curved along theearth like veins. A strange brightness filled the sky, too clear, too clean.
Ireland, perhaps. I’d only heard stories of such places, mentioned in passing by merchants or whispered in smoke-filled taverns.
The air smelled different. Fresher. Wilder. But still foreign. Alien.
A strange language danced through the breeze, rough, musical, incomprehensible. My body was tense, and my senses stretched thin. I drank in the dissonance, letting it feed the fire in my chest. Every unfamiliar detail was a risk, a threat… and a step closer to her.
I spotted a group of men ahead, huddled and murmuring in low voices. One of them met my gaze, too long and too directly.
I approached.
My heart pounded with something between anticipation and rage.
But as I drew closer, I saw their expressions shift. Darken.
One reached beneath his coat and drew a gun.
Foolish.
In the blink of an eye, I had my dagger in hand. The blade sliced through his throat before his finger could find the trigger. Blood sprayed across the grass. The others stumbled back, eyes wide with terror, hands raised in surrender.
Cowards.
I stripped the dead man quickly, donning his clothes with practiced speed. Blending in was the first rule of survival. I wiped the blood from my blade and slid it back beneath the stolen coat.
Then, I searched.
My eyes swept across the unfamiliar faces, every heartbeat whispering her name.Alina. Alina. Alina.
Where was she?
How had she survived this long?
She had no skills but sex and deceit. No weapons but her tongue and her thighs. Could she charm her way into safety? Had she already ensnared another fool?
The thought made my jaw clench.
