The sun was beginning to go to sleep, casting long, skeletal shadows across the stone paths of the Valak estate.

 I walked faster than usual, my breath hitching in my chest.

 Regina said that I was free to roam and roam about, I did.

 I turned away from the main gardens, seeking a bit of true silence.

 Anywhere that was furtherest from the main house was a welcome idea.

 I followed a narrow, gravel path that sloped downward, hidden behind a thicket of towering cypress trees.

 That was when I saw something that intrigued me.

 A low, concrete building sat huddled in the shadows. It looked nothing like the rest of the estate.

 It was nothing but gray walls, a heavy steel door, and a single, high window barred with iron.

"What is this place?" I whispered to myself.

 I took a step closer, my curiosity momentarily overriding my fear. It looked like a bunker.

 I wonder what they kept in here.

 "You're a long way from the palace, little princess." I jumped, a small gasp escaping my lips as I spun around.

A guard was leaning against a tree just a few feet away.

He wasn't one of the silent, professional ones that usually flanked Bane.

This man was younger with a cruel, lazy smirk playing on his lips while he tossed a small pocketknife into the air and caught it.

"I... I was just walking," I said, my voice trembling. I started to back away. "I didn't know this area was off-limits."

 "Everything is off-limits if I say it is," he said, pushing off the tree.

He started to circle me, his boots crunching loudly on the gravel.

"The Boss has everyone on edge because of you. We're pulling double shifts, missing sleep... all to watch over a girl who doesn't even look that pretty"

 "I'm sorry," I managed to say, my eyes fixed on the knife in his hand. "I'll go back now."

 "Not so fast." He stepped into my path, blocking the trail back to the main house. "I've been hearing stories about you. The girl who was worth a massacre. Raul's little widow."

He reached out, his fingers rough as they caught a lock of my hair.

 I flinched, my heart hammering against my ribs. I felt trapped. This felt like that night with Raul all over again.

"Don't touch me," I whispered.

 "Or what?" he chuckled, his eyes dark and mocking. "You going to tell Bane? He's a busy man, Princess. I think you're a bit of a brat. All this luxury, and you still look like you're at a funeral."

He leaned in closer, his hand dropping from my hair to my shoulder, his grip tightening until it hurt.

 "Maybe you need someone to remind you. You aren't family. You're a spoil of war and spoils are meant to be shared"

 "Let go of me!" I cried out, shoving at his chest with all my strength.

 He didn't budge. Instead, he laughed, the sound harsh and ugly.

"Feisty. I like that. Raul probably didn't know how to handle you, but I'm a better........"

I didn't wait for him to finish. I drove my foot into his crutch as hard as I could and he fell to the ground in pain.

"You little bitch!!!"

 I took off running, my lungs burning as I scrambled back up the gravel path.

 I could hear him cursing behind me, his heavy footsteps echoing for a few seconds before they stopped.

 I ran until my legs felt like lead, until the wild greenery gave way to the manicured lawns once more.

I was sobbing by the time I reached the stone fountain near the conservatory.

My dress was snagged, my hair was a mess, and my shoulder throbbed where he had gripped me.

"Amaya? My God, what happened?"

 I looked up through a blur of tears.

Regina was standing near the fountain, a glass of wine in her hand.

Her bright, cheerful expression vanished instantly, replaced by something sharp and lethal.

 "Amaya!" She rushed to me, grabbing my shaking hands. "Talk to me. Who did this?"

"The... the guard," I choked out, my chest heaving. "By the gray building... the one in the trees. He... he grabbed me. He... had a knife, Regina. He wouldn't let me go."

Regina's eyes turned to cold fire. The "preppy", giant woman I had gotten used to was gone.

 In her place stood a Valak.

 A woman who lived in a world of blood and knew exactly how to navigate it.

"He touched you?" she asked, her voice dangerously low.

"He... he grabbed my shoulder. He wouldn't let me pass. He was saying such horrible things"

I buried my face in my hands, my body racking with fresh sobs.

"I just wanted to walk. I didn't do anything wrong."

Regina pulled me into a firm embrace.

 "Shh," she murmured, stroking my hair, but her gaze was fixed on the path I had just run up.

"You didn't do anything wrong, honey. You're safe now."

"Is he going to come after me? He knows where I sleep". I whispered into her shoulder.

 "No," Regina said.

 "He isn't going to do anything ever again." "As much as I hate to say this," Regina said quietly.

 "You belong to my brother. And anyone who forgets that is a liability we don't tolerate."

 "Regina, please... don't tell Bane," I begged. "He'll... he'll kill him. I don't want more blood on my hands."

Regina looked at me for a long moment.

 "Amaya, you're so sweet"

 "Please," I repeated.

 Regina sighed and tucked a stray hair behind my ear.

"Fine. I won't tell Bane. Not yet, anyway."

 "You promise?"

 "I promise I will make sure it's taken care of," she said.

 She looped her arm through mine, turning me back toward the main house.

 "Now, let's get you inside. You need a bath and a drink"

 I walked beside her, my heart finally slowing down, but I couldn't shake the look in her eyes.

 It was the same look Bane had.

 She was definitely pissed off.

 This was far from over.

The girl was shaking so hard I could feel the tremors vibrating through my own bones.

 I kept my arm hooked firmly through hers, guiding her toward her room.

 Poor thing was so fragile she reminded me of a fine porcelain doll ready to shatter.

 "Breathe, Amaya. Just breathe. You're inside now. The walls are thick, and the locks are solid," I said, my voice pitched in that soothing tone I used when I needed to disarm someone.

"He was going to hurt me," Amaya whispered.

Her eyes were wide, the pupils blown out with terror.

 "I know. I know." I led her to her room, taking both of her cold, clammy hands in mine.

 "Look at me. Look at my eyes, Amaya."

 She lifted her gaze, her lower lip trembling.

 "You are a Valak guest. In this house, that makes you sacred. Do you understand? That man was an error. And I promise you, on my life, it will never happen again"

 "Okay" she said quietly.

 I signaled to the two maids hovering near the door.

They moved instantly, like shadows responding to a candle.

"Maria! Sofia!" I barked. The girls jumped.

 "Take Care of Miss Amaya while I'm away. Prepare a lavender bath and stay with her. If she so much as whimpers, I want to know about it. If anyone tries to enter that room without my express permission, you scream loud enough to wake the dead. Clear?"

 "Yes, Signora Regina," they chirped in unison.

 I stood up and headed for the exit.

 I looked back at Amaya and gave her a sharp, encouraging nod and then I left.

 The second she was out of sight, the smiling mask I wore disintegrated.

 I turned toward the hallway leading to the west wing.

My blood was boiling and rightfully so.

I didn't knock when I reached Bane's study.

I threw the heavy mahogany doors open with such force they slammed against the interior stoppers with a crack that echoed like a gunshot.

Bane was sitting behind that monstrous desk of his, a cigar in one hand and a fountain pen in the other.

 Nathaniel was standing by the window, his arms crossed, unlike Bane, he looked surprised.

"Get out, Nathaniel," I snapped, not even looking at the young man.

Nathaniel stiffened.

"I'm in the middle of a briefing, Aunt."

 "I don't give a damn if you're in the middle of a coronation," I hissed, turning my glare on him.

 "Out. Now. I need to yell at your uncle"

Nathaniel looked to Bane who only gave a curt, infinitesimal nod.

Nathaniel shrugged, said nothing more, stood up and excused us.

As soon as the door clicked shut, I marched straight to the desk, slamming my palms down on the polished wood.

 "Is there a reason you're trying to break the furniture, Regina?" Bane asked with a bored tone.

"You're men," I spat, the words tasting like acid. "You're indisciplined, absolute gutter trash imbeciles!!! That's the reason!!"

 Bane set his pen down slowly. He finally looked up, his dark eyes narrowing.

"Explain what you're on about. Quickly please, I have a shipment in Livorno that needs my attention."

 "Oh, to hell with your shipment! One of your guards just spent his afternoon harassing Amaya near the isolation block."

The temperature in the room seemed to drop twenty degrees.

Bane's hand, which had been reaching for a document, froze mid-air.

 "Which Amaya?" he asked.

The question was a razor blade.

"YOUR Amaya!" I said, "That bastard grabbed her, pulled a knife on her and said she was spoil of war and spoils should be shared"

"Spoils of war should be shared....."

Bane repeated the phrase under his breath and went unnervingly still.

 It was the kind of stillness you see in a predator right before the killing blow.

 "Who was it? The guard?"

Bane asked.

"I don't have a name yet. All I know is he's some stupid asshat with a pocketknife. He was stationed near the gray bunker. Amaya is upstairs right now, shaking so hard she can barely speak. She's terrified, Bane."

 I paced the length of the rug, my hands flying as I spoke.

"What the hell are you doing, brother? You bring her here, you tell her she's safe, and then you let your dogs off the leash? Is this how we run things now? Are we letting these men terrorize women in our own gardens?"

Bane stood up.

  He was a tall and massive man and right now he looked angry.

He walked around the desk, his presence filling the room until it felt like the walls were closing in.

 He stopped inches from me.

 I looked him eye to eye.

As a big woman who was 5'11, I too, was an imposing figure myself.

 It was a family trait.

"Is she hurt?" he asked.

 "Bruises on her shoulder. A few scratches on her neck from where he pulled her hair." I poked a finger into his chest, hard. "If a man touches what belongs to a Valak, what happens, Bane?"

Bane's face was a mask of cold, unadulterated fury.

The veins in his neck were corded, and his eyes were so dark they looked like pits of charcoal.

Bane's voice was a low vibration that I could feel in the floorboards.

"If one of my own thinks he can touch what I have marked as mine... he has forgotten who I am."

 I stepped back.

"Remind him then"

Bane walked over to the intercom on the wall.

He pressed the button with enough force to crack the casing.

"Captain," Bane barked.

"Yes, Boss?" the voice crackled back, sounding startled.

 "Assemble every guard on the grounds. Every single one of them. In the courtyard right now! If a single man is missing, I'll have your head on a spike next to theirs."

 "Right away, sir."

 Bane turned back to me.

The rage was still there, but it was being funneled into a singular, lethal purpose.

 I smiled and nodded approvingly.

 "That's my brother"

The sunlight streaming through the windows of my suite felt offensive.

It was too bright, too cheerful for the way my skin crawled. I hadn't slept all night.

 Every time I closed my eyes, I felt the phantom pressure of rough fingers of that guard digging into my shoulder.

 Regina had told me that all would be well and I suppose it would.

I just needed time to get over it. Besides, it all happened the previous evening.

It was a new day and I had to be strong and push through.

 I was staring at my breakfast; a plate of fruit that and pancakes when a knock sounded at the door.

It wasn't the soft, rhythmic tap of Maria or Sofia or Elena that I had become accustomed to over the past few weeks.

 It was a sharp, military strike.

 "Miss Vancouver," the strong voice came from behind the door, "The Boss is requesting your presence in the courtyard."

My heart plummeted. Bane was the last person I ever wanted to see.

 "Now?"

I asked hoping I would have time to mentally prepare myself to face him.

 "Immediately."

I didn't even have time to change.

I was still in a cotton robe, my hair falling in loose, unbrushed waves.

I followed the guard down the stairs, my mind was screaming.

 Did Regina tell him? She said she wouldn't...... at least, not yet.

As we neared the heavy oak doors that led to the central courtyard, I felt it.

Silence.

A thick, suffocating silence that felt heavy enough to drown any scream.

The doors opened, and I went cold.

"Oh, God," I whispered, my hand flying to my mouth.

The courtyard was lined with men.

At least forty guards.

 The entirety of them were on their knees on the stone pavement. Their heads were bowed, their hands clasped behind their necks.

 It looked like an execution.

Bane was seated in a high-backed iron chair at the head of the formation, looking like a dark god presiding over a sacrifice.

He was dressed in a black suit, his legs crossed, a glass of water on the small table beside him.

Regina was seated to his left, her face a mask of cold, regal indifference.

It was not the look that I had come to associate her with.

But it was Nathaniel who held my gaze.

He was pacing behind the kneeling men, a silver handgun glinting in the morning sun.

He looked like he was waiting for a movie to start.

 "Princess. Come here," Bane said.

His voice wasn't loud, but it commanded immediate obedience.

I walked forward, my legs feeling like they were made of water.

 I stopped a few feet from his chair, my gaze darting between the row of kneeling men. I recognized some of them.

Bane didn't look at the men.

He only looked at me.

 "My sister tells me a member of my staff forgot his place yesterday. She tells me a man here thought he could lay hands on what is mine."

"I... I told her it was fine. I don't want this,"

 I begged, looking at Regina.

 She didn't blink. She just stared straight ahead.

"It is not fine," Bane snapped, his eyes flashing with a sudden, sharp heat. "Identify him."

 I looked at the row of men. I saw him. Third from the left.

The man with the rumpled collar and the cruel eyes.

He was shaking now, sweat dripping off his chin onto the stone.

Our eyes met for a split second, and the sheer, pathetic terror in his gaze made me sick.

"I... I can't," I whispered, shaking my head. "Please, just let them go."

"That isn't how we do things here," Nathaniel's voice cut in.

He stopped pacing directly behind a guard near the end of the row a man I knew had done nothing but nod to me respectfully.

"Amaya," Bane said, his tone dropping to a warning low. "Identify the man. Now."

"No," I sobbed, clutching my robe shut. "It was a mist......"

BANG!!!

 A gunshot rang out and the sound was deafening.

 I screamed, throwing my hands over my ears as the smell of gunpowder filled the air.

The guard Nathaniel had been standing behind collapsed, clutching his thigh as blood began to bloom through his trousers.

He didn't scream.

He just let out a low, wet groan, his face going white with shock.

 "No! NO! PLEASE STOP" I shrieked.

Nathaniel looked at me with those cold, hollow eyes.

He calmly, adjusted his grip on the gun.

 "If you don't point him out in the next ten seconds, I move to the next man. And I won't aim for the leg this time. I'll keep going until the courtyard is painted red, or until you find your voice."

Nathaniel pointed his gun at another guard and began to count.

"Bane, stop him!" I begged.

"He's innocent! That man didn't do anything!"

Bane didn't move.

"Then point out the one who did. Save the others, Amaya. The clock is ticking."

 "Nine," Nathaniel counted.

 "Eight. Seven..."

"Stop!" I cried. My vision was blurring with tears.

 I looked at the man third from the left.

He was weeping silently now, his shoulders heaving.

If I didn't say it, Nathaniel was going to kill everyone.

I could see it in his face. He was itching to do it.

"Six. Five..."

"Him!" I pointed a shaking finger at the man who was guilty. "It was him! The one in the middle!"

The silence returned, sharper than before.

Nathaniel stopped counting.

He walked over to the man I had pointed at and grabbed him by the hair, hauling his head back.

"Is this the one, Princess?" Bane asked, standing up slowly.

 "Yes," I choked out, the word feeling like a betrayal.

 "Yes, just... please don't hurt anyone else. Please."

 Bane walked over to the guard and looked down at the man with a disgust so profound it was visceral.

 "You were given a simple task," Bane said, his voice a low vibration of pure rage.

"Guard the perimeter. Protect the assets. Instead, you thought you were a king because I gave you a badge and a paycheck."

"Boss, please!" the man blubbered, snot and tears covering his face.

 "I was just joking around! I didn't hurt her! I swear!"

 Bane looked up at the Captain, who was standing by the door.

 "Take him. I will come pay him a visit myself later tonight. And captain?"

"Yes, Boss?"

 "Make sure he is kept busy before I arrive"

 Two large men stepped forward and grabbed the guard under his arms.

 He began to scream.

 "No! Please! Amaya, help me! Boss, forgive me! Please! I'm sorry!!!"

 I watched, frozen in horror, as they dragged him across the stone, his heels kicking uselessly against the pavement.

 His screams grew fainter as they pulled him through the heavy iron gates.

 I knew then that this was going to be last time I ever saw that man alive.