Chapter 199
KATYA POV
Sothing blunt slamd into the side of my head, wiping the sleep out of in an instant.
The world lurched violently, my vision exploding into white before collapsing into darkness around the edges.
A sound tore from my throat, half gasp, half cry, as my body pitched forward. I stumbled, fingers scraping uselessly against the doorfra as my knees gave out beneath .
The floor t hard, jarring enough to knock the air from my lungs. Pain surged through my back, radiating outward as if my spine had been struck with lightning.
My head throbbed in sickening waves, each pulse making it harder to think, harder to breathe, harder to stay conscious.
Soone was behind .
I tried to look over my shoulder, but my neck scread in protest and my vision swam again, black spots dancing at the edges.
"W–wait—" The word barely made it past my lips.
Another wave of dizziness crashed over , stronger this ti. The pressure on my shoulder ca suddenly, strong fingers digging in, hauling upright before my body was ready to obey.
A sharp cry escaped as my feet slid uselessly against the floor. Pain shot up my spine, my head pounding so hard it felt like it might split open.
I was yanked around to face them. For a split second, everything blurred—light, shadow, motion—then my vision steadied just enough for to see a face.
Or rather... the absence of one.
A mask covered them completely. Dark. Smooth. Featureless. No expression. No markings. Nothing except the hollow cuts for their eyes, which gave nothing away.
No emotion. No hesitation. Just stillness.
My breath hitched violently. "W-what did I do to you?" I whispered, my voice trembling despite my effort to steady it.
No answer.
They didn’t even tilt their head, didn’t react to my question at all, as if my voice hadn’t reached them.
It was like I wasn’t speaking to a person but to a wall. Fear crawled up my spine, colder than the pain already burning through .
My thoughts spiraled wildly, grasping for sothing—anything—that made sense.
Is this... Roo?
The idea struck hard enough to steal my breath.
No. No, this wasn’t him.
But... it could be his doing.
After all, I hadn’t seen him in so long. And after everything—after Marina’s maid, after the blood, after how close she’d co to dying because of —
My stomach twisted violently.
But why now? Why tonight, after Nonna’s kindness, after the quiet comfort of the cinema room, after I’d let myself feel normal for just a few hours?
Was this punishnt?
So sick reminder of who held power over ? Of how easily a good day could be taken away?
My chest tightened painfully as the masked figure’s grip shifted, cold fingers clamping around my arm with bruising force.
"No—wait—please," I gasped, panic finally breaking through as they began pulling backward, toward the door.
I tried to resist, planting my feet, but my legs were unsteady. I struggled, twisting in their grasp, my free hand clawing at their sleeve, reaching for their face, anything my fingers could find.
What if this wasn’t Roo?
I an... this wasn’t his style of punishnt. He didn’t need to hide to make my life a living hell.
What if this was an intruder—soone trying to kidnap one of the Salvatores? I was literally staying in the room ant for their Donna. They could have mistaken for Marina.
"Please—wait—I don’t understand," I pleaded breathlessly. "There must be a misunderstanding—"
Still nothing.
No voice. No explanation.
Just relentless silence as they dragged out of my room, my feet slipping against the floor, the door left yawning open behind us like a wound that would never close.
The hallway lights flickered faintly as we crossed the threshold, spilling across the hand gripping my arm.
tal.
Not skin.
Not fabric.
Cold tal.
My breath caught so hard it felt like my lungs forgot how to work. The fingers were articulated, jointed, unnaturally precise as they tightened when I faltered.
No. No, no, no—
My mind raced, slamming violently into a mory I didn’t want to acknowledge.
Adelasia.
She was the only person I knew with a tal hand. The only one.
The realization burned instantly, sharp and unforgiving.
Shit.
If this was her... then I was in deep, irreversible shit.
My heart hamred violently against my ribs as fear sharpened into sothing worse—recognition.
"Adelasia?" I whispered, the na barely more than breath, like saying it too loudly might seal my fate.
The grip on my arm tightened. The masked figure stopped. Slowly, their head turned back toward .
My thoughts shattered all at once. If this was Adelasia, then why the mask?
Why the silence?
Why sneak through Roo’s house like this?
My head throbbed viciously, pain and panic tangling together until I couldn’t separate them anymore.
Nothing made sense.
And everything made too much sense.
My knees nearly buckled again as they resud dragging forward, harder this ti. I stumbled but sothing in snapped.
What the fuck was I doing?
Begging. Begging soone who had already decided to drag out like luggage in the middle of the night.
Am I stupid? The thought cut through the fog in my head, sharp and furious. Whatever waited for beyond this hallway wasn’t rcy. It wasn’t negotiation. It wasn’t survival.
And suddenly, fear wasn’t the strongest thing in my chest anymore.
Anger was. No. I wasn’t going quietly. I wasn’t going crying.
If I was going to die, it wouldn’t be on my knees.
With a broken sob that turned into a curse, I twisted hard, throwing my weight backward and sideways at the sa ti.
My elbow drove back blindly, my heel stomped down, my nails clawed for anything that wasn’t air.
The masked figure clearly hadn’t expected it. Their grip loosened just enough. I lunged.
My fingers caught fabric, then plastic, then sothing solid at the edge of the mask. I pulled with everything I had left in , screaming wordlessly as my vision swam.
††
Thanks for reading and gatron93 thanks for the golden tickets and I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I love writing it.
Thanks to y’all for the support
User Comments
0 comments from readers