The silence stretched between them, thick as smoke.
Maryna sat stiffly on the velvet settee, her bare feet brushing the cold floor. Her clothes were simple—clean, but not her own. The worn jeans and sweater she had packed so carefully for her escape were nowhere to be seen. Another loss. Another reminder.
Across the room, Vasilios watched her from his armchair, one ankle casually crossed over his knee, as if they were nothing more than business partners discussing a minor contract.
Except Maryna knew better.
She could feel it in the air, the hum of something ancient and coiled, ready to strike.
He hadn't touched her again—not yet—but the threat of him was a constant, thrumming presence just beneath her skin.
"You will stay here," he said at last, his voice low, cutting through the silence like a blade. "You will obey my rules. If you prove… cooperative, your life will be comfortable."
Maryna swallowed, her mouth dry. "And if I don't?"
Vasilios smiled then—a slow, dangerous curve of lips that sent a shiver racing down her spine. "Then your stay will be… considerably less pleasant."
He rose to his feet, moving toward her with the lazy grace of a predator that knew there was no point in rushing. His scent—something dark and magnetic—wrapped around her as he leaned down, his face inches from hers.
"I bought your blood," he murmured, his eyes gleaming with something she couldn't quite name. "But your soul? That remains to be earned."
Maryna's heart pounded in her chest, the words sinking into her like hooks.
He was beautiful in a way that made it hard to breathe—chiselled, merciless, utterly untouchable.
And somehow, some terrible part of her didn't just fear him.
It wanted to understand him.
Vasilios straightened, turning toward the door.
He didn't need to say it: this was her cage now.
Before he disappeared into the shadows, he glanced back over his shoulder, his voice a silken promise:
"Rest, Maryna. Tomorrow, your training begins."
The heavy door clicked shut behind him.
And Maryna was alone with the echo of her own racing heart.