But then rage surged from the depths, rising fast and violent, drowning whatever pity I had left.
I slammed my fist against the door. “Where’s Alina? Where’s that fucking bitch?”
Malik turned his head toward me. Even that small effort looked like agony. His lips were cracked, his expression pale and gaunt, as if the air he breathed scorched his lungs.
“I imagine she left you,” he rasped. His voice sounded like autumn leaves crumbling in the wind.
My knuckles whitened as I gripped the iron bars. “Why the hell would you think that?”
“I told her to,” he croaked, eyes narrowing with a sliver of satisfaction. “I told her you were using her. That’s what you do, isn’t it? Win people over. Make them believe they matter. Then discard them like scraps the moment they stop being useful.”
The words landed like hammer blows.
I couldn’t speak. My fury rendered me mute, blinding me. I wanted to rip the door off its hinges, storm inside, and tear Malik apart limb by fucking limb. But the poison still lingered in that cell like a ghost. One breath inside, and I’d join him in death.
My hands trembled. I searched the room for something—anything—to destroy. But there was nothing—only cold, silent stone.
So, I screamed. A sound torn straight from my soul, raw and animal. It echoed down the corridor, rattling the bars, vibrating in my bones.
Then I turned away, each step up the stairs soaked in fury. I knew where she was.
Costa.
That snake. That smug little apothecary with his vials and poisons. She had gone to him. She’dfuckedhim, betrayed me with him, and thought I wouldn’t find out.
But I would. And when I did?
She would beg me for mercy.
She would learn what true darkness was.
Just as soon as the next full moon rose.
Until then… I’d wait. And burn.
The moment the full moon crowned the horizon, I braced myself.
Time to travel.
Adrenaline flooded my veins like liquid fire. I had no idea what I’d find at Costa’s estate in Italy—or what I’d do to him once I arrived. But I knew one thing for certain—he wouldbleed.
I inhaled deeply, and the pull began.
The world fractured around me, breaking into a kaleidoscope of color and sensation. Wind tore across my skin, hot and cold all at once. I floated weightless, suspended between time, as bolts of electricity surged through every nerve. Memories flickered—mine, and others I didn’t recognize. Faces. Screams. Kisses.Death.
And then?—
Silence.
The vortex spat me out, and I landed hard in another time.
The bloated Italian sun hung low and gold in a hazy midday sky. Dust rose around me as I stormed across the yard, my steps fueled by vengeance. I didn’t bother knocking—I slammed my fist into Costa’s door with a thunderous boom. The wood groaned, splintered, and gave way as I barreled into the house like a storm unleashed.
A man’s voice shouted from the rear.
I ran toward it without hesitation.
Costa emerged from a back room, startled, his eyes wide. I crowded him instantly, blocking any escape, backing him into the threshold he’d crossed.
