“Helovesme,” Layla sobbed. “Malik loves me with all his heart!”
“Then I suppose that makes thissomuch more tragic.”
Time passed like dripping poison. Balthazar didn’t return. And his absence pressed down harder with each hour. My cruelty intensified. I clawed at Layla’s spirit. But the bitch refused to break.
So, I decided.
As soon as the full moon bathed the estate in silver, I was gone—through time, through fury, through the night.
I would return with exactly what we needed.
When Balthazar came back, there would be answers.
And two corpses waiting.
The rush of power was intoxicating.
I raced up the steps of Raul Costa’s estate, my knuckles rapping against the door. It swung open with a creak.
Raul’s eyes widened as he saw me. “Alina!”
He swept me into his arms before I could object. Time had only made him more dangerously beautiful—his chiseled face framed in golden light, his body strong and familiar.
“Where have you been?” he demanded, eyes narrowing. “You vanished after your family was slaughtered.”
I dropped my gaze, letting just the right meekness enter my voice. “I had to disappear. To survive. I’ve been grieving… hiding. But now, I need you.”
His grip on my arms tightened protectively. “You know I would do anything for you.” He cupped my face in his hands, searching my eyes. “Tell me what you need.”
My heartbeat thundered in my chest. “I’m in danger, Raul. Real danger. Balthazar and Malik—they’re going to kill me. I need your strongest poison. I need to destroy them before they destroy me.”
At the mention of Balthazar’s name, Raul’s entire demeanor shifted. His expression froze. The blood drained from his face.
“So, it’s true,” he whispered, stepping back. “You’ve been in league with him. I heard rumors… that you and Lord Balthazar were lovers. And now, you come crawling to me for help?”
He turned his back on me, voice cold as steel. “I’m afraid I can’t offer you anything.”
Panic flared. I rushed forward, grabbing his arm with desperation.
“Raul, please!” I cried, my eyes brimming with tears, forced into being. You’re the only one who can help me. I’m begging you!”
He looked down at my hand on his arm with disgust, as if I’d infected him. “Let go of me, witch. If Balthazar is part of this, you don’t need an apothecary. You need a holy man.”
“Who then?” I whispered, breathless. “Who can help me?”
His eyes locked onto mine, burning with suspicion. “Perhaps a priest. Someone to cleanse you. Because, Alina, you’ve made a pact with the Devil himself.”
Desperation surged through me like wildfire. I dropped to my knees, clutching the tops of Raul’s boots with trembling hands. “You don’t understand,” I gasped. “Living with Balthazar is torment. I fake love for him to survive. He’s a monster, Raul. He suffocates me. And now Malik—another creature of darkness—wants to possess me, too. I can’t take it anymore. I need to be free. Please… please have mercy.”
For a beat, Raul stood frozen. Then something flickered in his eyes—something darker than pity or compassion.
“Alina,” he growled, seizing my arm in a bruising grip that made me cry out. “Stop this madness.” He yanked me to my feet, and I stumbled, unsteady.
Before I could protest, he pulled me into a suffocating embrace, his breath hot against my ear. “There, there,” he crooned, eerily tender. “I’m sorry I doubted you. I can see now—you live in hell.”
He leaned back and smiled, his eyes glittering with calculation. “You’ve come to the right man. I belong to a secret order—Timehunters. We exist to destroy darkness. To kill Timebornes. And I have exactly what you need to weaken them both.”
Relief collided with dread inside me. His generosity was too neat. Too easy.
