“I know it's not ideal. I know you want your freedom. But the training isn't bad. It's intense, and you might have to do some things you don’t want to do. But you won't get hurt.Ever.I can promise you that,” he said. “And here's the thing: you don't have to marry Julian once it’s all over. You can say no. But…” He hesitated. “Please let him down gently. Like I said before, he's risked everything for you.”
I looked away, guilt twisting in my stomach. “Me saying no to the marriage won't look suspicious?” I asked. “Won't it make the Council question why I went through all the training in the first place?”
Roman shook his head. “No, because part of the training involves a trial that’s basically a proving ritual. Once you've completed that, you're in. You know the secrets, and the Council trusts you completely.” He paused. “A little while after that, you can say you’ve decided you don't want a future with Julian after all, and you can walk away. They'll make you sign an NDA, ofcourse, but you'll be free to go. And you'll be safe, because they'll know you're not a threat.”
“When does this proving ritual happen?” I asked warily.
“It’s the first trial. Just one month into the training,” he replied. “The whole training period is three months, if you decide to stay even longer.”
I closed my eyes, exhaling deeply. One month stuck here, locked away from the outside world. One month of Julian's intense, suffocating attention. One month of pretending I wanted any of this.
I wasn’t sure I could handle that. Especially when my captor was a possessive stalker who’d somehow managed to convince his own brother that he was in love with me.
“There is one thing I can do for you,” Roman said quietly, obviously noticing my hesitation. “To make things easier.”
I opened my eyes. “What?”
“When we're working on finding Cal's killer, I'll give you my phone so you can call your friends. Let them know you're okay,” he said. “Obviously, you can't give them any details about what's going on here. But just talking to them, easing their fears… that could help a bit, couldn't it?”
Something in my chest loosened slightly. “You'd really let me do that?”
He nodded. “Of course. They're probably worried sick about you, seeing as your name was on the List,” he said. “And honestly, it'll help our investigation too. Because once we’ve put our heads together on this, we might come up with questions only they can answer.”
I studied his face, searching for any sign of deception, but all I saw was earnest sincerity. Roman really wanted to find Cal's killer, and he was willing to bend the rules to make that happen.
“What about the Council?” I asked. “Won't they find out what we’re up to? Then you could get in trouble for covering up my investigation.”
He shook his head. “Not if we're careful. We can meet in your room, because there’s no surveillance in the suites, so no one will overhear us.” He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “Look, Violet, we want the same thing here—justice for Cal—and right now, working together is our best chance of getting it. Also, it’s actuallyeasierfor us to do that if you’re here. So… please stay. Just for a while.”
I thought about Cherry, Jeremiah, Ginny, and Dylan. They'd tried so hard to protect me during the hunt, and I'd been ripped away from them. They were probably terrified, thinking I was being tortured or brainwashed or worse.
If I could call them, I could at least let them know I was alive. That I was okay, relatively speaking. And a month wasn't forever. I could endure that if it meant solving Cal's murder and eventually walking away from all of this.
“Okay,” I finally said. “I'll stay. For now. But I want to talk to my friends as soon as possible. Today, if we can manage it.”
Roman's expression brightened with hope. “Yeah, we can do that,” he said. “But for now, I better get you back to your room, before my brother starts to think I’ve hurt you.”
“What do you think he’ll do when he sees you?” I asked.
Roman's expression darkened. “He’ll probably try to kill me.”
“You're kidding.”
“I'm really not.” He let out a humorless laugh. “When I was angry at him earlier, I threatened to turn him into the Council. I never would’ve done it, of course. I just said it because I was fucking pissed. And then I drugged and kidnapped his Selection. In his eyes, that’ll be—”
He stopped abruptly, head tilting. I heard it too. Footsteps echoing down the stone corridor outside; quick, purposeful strides growing louder with each passing second.
Julian had already found us.
34
Julian
The door was locked,but that didn’t matter.
I slammed my shoulder into it with enough force that the old iron hinges groaned in protest. Once. Twice. On the third hit, the lock gave way with a sharp crack, and the door burst open, slamming against the stone wall behind it.
Roman shot to his feet, eyes wide. Violet was sitting against the far wall, looking up at me with an expression I couldn’t quite read. But she was alive. Breathing. Whole.
