Jonathan grunts, then snaps, “Go to your room. Close the door. This doesn’t concern you.”
He doesn’t look at me.
My stomach tightens. A cold knot forming fast.
Leaving this room, away from this man, sounds like the only good option available to me.
But before I can move—Artemis steps forward.
Straight toward Niko.
My breath catches.
She doesn’t do this.
She doesn’t approach strangers. She doesn’t allow touch. Not unless it’s me… or Trey.
Niko’s hand lifts slowly, deliberately.
He brushes behind her ear.
And she leans into it.
Like she knows him.
Shock hits me sharp and fast.
“Artemis,” I whisper, fear threading through my voice. “Come.”
She hesitates.
Just for a second.
Then returns to my side, Klause flanking her as always, muscles tight, gaze alert.
I don’t wait.
I move quickly toward the bedroom, legs unsteady, the weight of the room pressing in on me. The tension clings to my skin, sharp and suffocating.
The dogs follow close.
The door clicks shut behind me.
Only then do I breathe.
I press my back to it, chest rising too fast, adrenaline and exhaustion tangling together until I can’t tell where one ends and the other begins.
For the first time since being taken, the fear crawling through me isn’t just about where I am.
It’s about what’s coming.
I can feel it.
In the way the shadows stretch along the walls.
In the faint sounds bleeding through from the other room.
In the silence that feels too heavy. Too full.
