Aria's POV

The door rattled again-harder this time.

My breath hitched as I gazed at him. His face transformed instantaneously. The ache didn't disappear, but something colder slid its place. Sharper. Deadlier. The man beside me wasn't just injured anymore-he was ready.

"Stay behind me," he murmured gently.

The command wasn't loud, but it wasn't a request either.

I nodded, heart thumping, leaning myself against the wall as he reached inside his coat. The glitter of metal made my stomach drop. A gun. My palms trembled as reality struck in-I wasn't hiding with a stranger. I was hiding with a man who knew how to murder.

The door blasted open.

A person raced in, shadowy, swift. The roar that followed was deafening. I yelled, clamping my hands over my lips as the man in front of me moved like a force of nature. Precise. Efficient. Terrifying.

It was over in seconds.

Silence fell, thick and stifling.

My knees buckled, but he held me before I struck the ground. His arms closed around me, firm and powerful, holding me upright like he was the only thing keeping me together.

"Look at me," he murmured softly.

I did-and flinched. There was blood on his hands. Not all of it his.

"I'm sorry you saw that," he mumbled, voice scratchy. "You weren't meant to."

My throat stung. "Who... who are you?" I whispered.

For a minute, he didn't answer. His stare probed my face like he was memorizing me, like this moment mattered more than it should. Then his forehead lay against mine, breath unsteady.

"My name is Dante," he said. "And if you stay with me tonight... your life won't ever be the same."

Fear twisted in my chest. So did something else-something frightening, hurting, obvious.

Sirens sounded in the distance.

His jaw stiffened. "We have to go. Now."

He grasped my hand again, fingers lacing with mine, grounding me. I should have pulled away. I should have run.

Instead, I followed him.

We snuck out the back into the night, the city unknowing that my universe had just ripped apart. As we reached a waiting black sedan, he hesitated, turning to me one more time.

"There's something you need to know," he added quietly.

"What?" I asked.

His eyes clouded. "They didn't come for me."

My heart stopped.

"They came for you."

Aria's POV

The automobile rushed across the city like it was running from the night itself.

I sat stiffly alongside Dante, my fingers gripped in my lap, heart still rushing.  The leather seat was cold beneath me, but his presence burned-close, solid, threatening.  He hadn't let go of my hand since we exited the alley, his thumb caressing over my knuckles as if telling me I was still real.

"They came for me?"  I eventually whispered.  "Why?"

His jaw stiffened.  Streetlights slid across his face, revealing tiredness beneath the control.  "Because someone wanted you seen," he added.  "And now you have been."

A chill crawled up my spine.  "Seen by who?"

He didn't answer immediately.  Instead, he leaned closer, voice low.  "Tell me something, Aria.  Has anyone ever cautioned you to stay away from particular people?  Certain names?"

My breath hitched.  My aunt's voice echoed in my head-Some doors should never be opened.

"I... I don't know," I responded.  "My parents died when I was little.  No one ever explained anything."

His hold tightened, not harsh, but possessive.  Protective.

"That's what I was terrified of."

The automobile slowed, pulling into an underground garage buried behind a quiet building.  The doors closed behind us with a final, echoing thump that felt my chest tighten.  No way out.  No witnesses.

Dante went out first, examining the shadows before helping me out.  The instant my feet touched the earth, I felt it-eyes watching, danger humming beneath the silence.

Inside, the room was gloomy and simple.  Safe, maybe.  But safety felt like an illusion.

"You'll remain here tonight," he said.  "No windows.  No phones.  No one knows this location exists."

"That's meant to make me feel better?"  I asked quietly.

He drew closer, towering now, his voice falling.  "It's the only place I can protect you."

Protect me.

The word settled somewhere deep, weighty and menacing.  "You barely know me," I said.

His gaze focused onto mine.  "I know enough."

He stretched out, fingers brushing my wrist, then paused-hesitation blazing over his face.  "May I?"

I nodded before I could think.

He rotated my wrist carefully, displaying a small, crescent-shaped mark just beneath my skin.  I'd had it my whole life.  I believed it was a birthmark.

His face went still.

"That's not a birthmark," he remarked gently.

My heart stuttered.  "Then what is it?"

His eyes lifted to mine, dark and unreadable. "It's a mark," he replied. "One that binds you to a family older and deadlier than mine."

A knock boomed suddenly through the flat.

Sharp.  Controlled.  Deliberate.

Dante grabbed me behind him swiftly, revolver already in his hand.

"No one knows this place," I muttered.

His voice was ice.  "Someone does now."

The knock came again.

And this time, it wasn't asking.

Aria's POV

The knock emerged again-slow, deliberate.

Not rushed. Not afraid.

Dante didn't move. His body was a wall in front of me, firm and uncompromising. I could feel the tension in him, the barely contained violence waiting to be unleashed.

"Stay here," he muttered without turning back.

My heart hammered so loudly I was convinced whoever stood on the other side could hear it. "Dante... who is it?"

He didn't answer.

The door clicked open just enough to reveal a man standing in the corridor. Tall. Well-dressed. Calm in a way that made my skin crawl. His gaze slid passed Dante-straight to me.

A smile curved his lips.

"Aria Moretti," he said smoothly. "You're harder to find than I expected."

My breath fled. "You... know me?"

Dante stepped forward, rifle raised. "You shouldn't be here, Bellini."

Bellini chuckled, unaffected by the weapon pointed at his chest. "Still so dramatic, Dante. Relax. If I wanted her dead, she wouldn't be standing."

That didn't help. My knees felt weak.

Bellini's eyes softened-too contrived to be real. "You look just like her mother," he added. "Same eyes. Same stubborn fire."

My chest clenched uncomfortably.

"You knew my mother?"

His smile vanished.

"Very well."

Dante's voice fell, murderous. "Say what you came to say and leave."

Bellini sighed, as if bored. "Fine. I came to warn her." His attention returned to me. "You don't belong to yourself, Aria. You never have."

My stomach twisted. "What does that mean?"

He tilted his head. "It indicates your life was guaranteed long before you were born. And now that you've been seen with him..." He glanced at Dante. "...every powerful family will come knocking."

"Liar," I murmured, but terror gripped tightly around my chest.

Bellini leaned closer. "Check the mark on your wrist. Ask him what it genuinely means."

Dante stiffened.

That silence-sharp and telling-terrified me more than Bellini's remarks.

Bellini straightened, satisfied. "Enjoy your night, Aria. Choose carefully who you trust." He halted at the door. "Because love is the fastest way to die in our world."

The door closed behind him.

I turned slowly to Dante, my heart breaking and rushing all at once. "You knew," I said. "Didn't you?"

His jaw stiffened. His eyes clouded.

"Yes," he admitted gently. "And if you stay with me..."

He went closer, lifting my wrist carefully, his thumb stroking the mark like it scorched him.

"...they'll never stop coming."

My voice shook. "Then why save me?"

His answer was quick. Honest. Terrifying.

"Because I already selected you."