Regina Valak didn't move like any other person that I had come across in all my time here.

She moved the same way that her brother did; like she owned the air she breathed, and for a second, I felt a sharp pang of envy so strong it made my stomach ache.

She was free.

She was the definition of what I wanted to be, of what I should have been.

 Instead I was traded from dangerous man to the next.

Regina stood in the center of my new, gilded cage, her red hair looking like a splash of blood against the cream-colored walls.

Her smile stayed fixed on her face.

It was wide, bright, and entirely too much for a room that had rested within the walls of a mansion so utterly depressing.

"You're quieter than I expected," Regina said.

She didn't take her eyes off me as she walked over to the velvet armchair near the balcony and dropped into it, crossing one long, silk-clad leg over the other.

"Bane said you were a beautiful young lady but I must say he was greatly under exaggerating"

I stayed standing.

My hands were still knotted together at my waist, my knuckles white.

 "I appreciate the compliment. Thank you"

Regina tilted her head.

Her eyes were sharp, scanning me with an unnerving level of perception.

"You're hate it here don't you, Amaya? You despise my brother too on some level. I'd be shocked if you didn't"

I didn't answer.

I didn't know how to tell her that being alive now felt like a chore.

That every breath I took felt like I was stealing it from this evil man who had already decided I was his property.

 I didn't know how to tell her that if I had the chance I would kill her brother and then I would kill her for being what I could not.

"Look," Regina said, her voice softening. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees.

 "I know how you ended up here, Amaya. I know about your father. I know about the wedding night. And I know about the cell."

 I winced.

Hearing her say it out loud made it feel realer, dirtier.

"I'm sorry," she said, and for the first time, the smile vanished.

 Her expression turned solemn, almost grieving.

 "I'm truly sorry you had to get caught in the crossfire of a stupid cartel war. Men like my brother and Raul... they play for keeps, and they don't care who gets stepped on while they're moving their pieces. You were just a casualty of a territory dispute that had nothing to do with you."

The room was still silent.

 I still had nothing to say to this woman.

I could only look down at the Persian rug, tracing the intricate patterns with my eyes.

What was I supposed to say to that?

 "Oh, thank you for acknowledging I'm a victim? Thank you for the apology on behalf of the man who currently holds the keys to my life?!!"

The words felt stuck in my throat, dry and useless.

 I wanted to believe her.

I wanted to reach out to that warmth because it was the only thing in this house that didn't feel like ice.

But then I remembered the guards. I remembered the rules.

I remembered the way Bane had turned me into his little property.

I remembered he was HER BROTHER and I said nothing.

I don't think I even wanted to look at her in that moment.

 "You don't have to say anything," Regina said, sensing the wall I was building.

She stood up, the movement fluid and effortless.

 "I wouldn't trust me either if I were you. In this house, trust is a luxury we usually can't afford."

She walked toward the door, then stopped, looking back over her shoulder.

 "Bane's rules are... specific," she said, a small, mischievous smirk returning to her lips.

"He's not a jailer in the way you think. You're free to roam the estate grounds, Amaya. As long as you stay inside the walls, the guards won't touch you. Go outside. Get some sun on that pale skin of yours before you start looking like one of the ghosts in the hallway."

 I blinked.

 "I can go outside?" "Within the walls," she clarified.

 "Think of it as a very large, very beautiful yard. I spend most of my time in the conservatory or the gym. I hope to run into you soon. Maybe we can find something to talk about that isn't my brother's brooding."

 She winked at me. "See you around, Amaya," she said.

 Then, she was gone.

The door clicked shut behind her, leaving me alone in the silence.

 I stood there for a long time, staring at the spot where she had been.

 I walked over to the balcony doors and pushed them open.

 The Roman air was warm, smelling of ancient stone and blooming jasmine.

 Below me, the gardens stretched out in a sea of green and floral colors. I saw the guards, their black suits stark against the flowers.

 Regina was warm. She was welcoming.

 She was the first person who had looked at me like a human being instead of a contract or a conquest.

 That was something nice that I could try to get used to.

 But as I watched her red hair disappear around the corner of the stone path below, I felt a familiar shiver.

 She was a Valak.

 She had the same blood as the man who had stolen me.

 I wanted to believe she was a friend. I wanted it so badly it hurt.

 But as I gripped the cold marble of the balcony railing, I knew I couldn't afford to be naive.

 I was in the lion's den, and even if one of the lions was offering me a smile, I was still the prey.

The sun felt like a foreign object against my skin.

 After weeks of recycled air and the scent of expensive floor wax, the garden air was almost too much to take in.

 I walked slowly, my fingers brushing against the heavy, damp petals of red roses.

 I was told that the gardens were a sight to see but this was not what I had expected.

 It was a grand piece of art.

Whoever the gardener was, they were extremely talented.

 I could stay here forever if I had the chance.

 It was so silent.

 So peaceful that even the screaming voices in my head seemed to rest whenever I came to this spot.

 It was one of the few good things associated with that horrible monster.

 Regina had said I was free to roam within the walls, but every time a guard shifted their weight or adjusted the strap of their rifle, I flinched.

I turned a corner near a high stone hedge, my mind lost in the impossible task of planning an escape.

I couldn't get too comfortable.

Whatever I chance I got should be used to plan an exit but while my head was still in the clouds, I slammed into something solid.

It wasn't a hedge. It was a chest.

"Oof-" The air left my lungs in a sharp wheeze.

I stumbled back, my heels catching in the soft grass.

I waited for the impact with the ground, but a pair of strong hands shot out, gripping my upper arms with a strength that felt like iron bands.

"Careful," a deep voice rasped.

I looked up, my breath hitching in my throat.

The man standing over me was tall.

He was not quite as hulking as Bane, but leaner, more athletic.

He was handsome in a way that felt dangerous, his jawline sharp enough to cut.

But it was his eyes that stopped my heart.

 They were so familiar but I could not make out where I had seen them before.

Dark, deep, and filled with a cold intelligence that made me feel like I was standing in front of a firing squad.

 Or a very aggressive interrogator.

"I... I'm sorry," I stammered, my voice barely a squeak.

"I didn't... I wasn't looking..." I tried to pull away, but his grip didn't loosen immediately.

He looked down at me, his gaze tracing the line of my throat, then the pale lavender of my dress.

He didn't look at me with the possessive heat Bane had.

He looked at me with something closer to confusion.

Like he didn't understand what I was doing in his world.

 Like I didn't belong.

 I obviously didn't and that was why I was trying my best to escape it as soon as I possibly could.

"You must be the girl," he said.

His voice was younger than Bane's, but it carried the same weight of authority.

"I... I don't understand," I managed to say, my heart hammering against my ribs.

 "Sorry... I didn't mean to run into you... I'll be on my way"

"Was I done speaking to you?"

"Nathaniel! Stop terrifying the poor girl!"

The voice was like a bucket of cold water dumped over a fire.

Regina appeared from behind the hedge, her red hair catching the sun as she strode toward us.

She still wore a wide, preppy smile that seemed entirely out of place in this den of killers.

The man, Nathaniel finally let go of my arms.

I stumbled back a step, my hands going to the spots where his fingers had been.

"I didn't see you there, Aunt Regina," he said. His voice shifted when he spoke to her.

 The edge was still there, but it was tempered with a grudging respect.

Regina reached out and looped an arm through mine, pulling me close to her side.

 I could feel the heat of her skin, the scent of her spicy perfume.

Oddly enough, it was the only thing keeping me upright.

"Amaya, meet Nathaniel," Regina said, her voice bright and cheery. "He's my nephew. I know he looks older but that's because I'm the youngest Valak sibling."

 "Aunty....." Nathaniel sounded tired already by Regina.

" Nathaniel is my nephew which makes him Bane's nephew, too." Regina carried on, "Though sometimes I think he's just a smaller, grumpier version of my brother."

I looked up at Nathaniel.

Up close, I could see the family resemblance even more clearly.

He had the same brooding intensity as Bane, the same way of standing that suggested he was always ready for a fight.

"Hello," I whispered.

Nathaniel didn't say anything. He just looked at me.

It was a long, slow scan that made me feel like I was a problem he wanted gone immediately.

There was no warmth in his gaze, no curiosity either . Just a cold, flat indifference that was almost worse than Bane's obsession.

 "I'll be taking my leave, Aunt," Nathaniel said, turning his attention back to Regina.

He didn't even acknowledge that I had spoken.

"I have a meeting with Uncle. I'll see you at dinner."

 "Don't be a stranger, Nate!" Regina called out as he turned and walked away, his stride long and purposeful.

 I watched him go, my heart still racing.

 "He doesn't seem to like me."

 Regina laughed as she patted my arm gently.

 "Oh, don't worry about Nathaniel, honey," she said, her smile returning in full force.

 "All the Valak men enjoy being broody. It's like a hobby for them. They think it makes them look more imposing. In reality, they just need a good nap and someone to tell them 'NO' once in a while."

 I looked back at the empty path where Nathaniel had disappeared.

 He didn't look like he needed a nap.

 He looked like a man who was waiting for the world to burn.

"Come on," Regina said, pulling me toward the conservatory.

"Let's get you away from the scary men for a while. I have some new orchids I want to show you."

 I followed her, but I couldn't shake the feeling of Nathaniel's cold eyes on me.

The door to my study clicked shut, but I didn't turn around.

 I have always known the soft, rhythmic step of Maria, one of the five heads of the domestic staff.

 She had worked with me for as long as I could remember and knew any and everyone who went in and out of my estate.

 "You asked to see me, Sir" Maria began.

 "The princess that I brought back. Do you know where she is at the moment?"

 I asked even though I already knew the answer.

"She's in the garden, sir," Maria said quietly, her voice at a respectable volume as she stood behind me. "Madam Regina is with her."

 "How is she adjusting?" I asked.

 I kept my eyes on the horizon, the cigar between my fingers smoldering.

 "She's quiet. She eats very little, though we try to tempt her with the things she may like. I believe that her appetite will change in time."

"And what else should I know?"

"She spends most of her time at the piano or staring at the walls." Maria paused, her voice cautious. "She's very silent and isolated, Mr. Valak."

 I did not expect anything else.

Especially since I had isolated her myself.

"Has she asked about anything? Has she... has she asked for me?"

 The silence that followed was a second too long.

Why did I care if she asked about me?

 "No, sir," Maria replied softly. "She hasn't asked for anyone."

 I felt a strange, sharp pang of something I didn't want to name.

It shouldn't have mattered.

She was a captive not some honorary guest.

 I had killed her husband and upended her world; it was a ridiculous thing to expect her to seek me out.

 And yet, the confirmation felt like a cold weight settling in my chest.

"I see," I said, my voice dropping an octave.

I flicked a stray ash into the air.

"Anyway," I continued, trying not to sound bothered, "Make sure she is well taken care of. Anything she wants, she gets. Don't let her lack for anything."

"Yes, Mr Valak"

"You're dismissed."

"Yes, sir."

The door closed behind Maria as she left, leaving me alone with the silence of the room.

 I turned my focus back to the window.

The smoke from my cigar curled toward the ceiling, a gray shroud that matched the haze that settled in the back of my mind.

 I stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows of my study, the glass cold against my forehead as I looked down at the sprawling gardens of the estate.

From this height, the world looked orderly and under my control. Exactly the way I liked it.

 Until my gaze found the bright, pale skin covered in purple moving near the rose hedges.

 Amaya.

She was walking beside Regina, her movements hesitant, like a bird that wasn't sure if the cage door was actually open.

Even from three stories up, I could see the way she flinched when a guard walked too close.

 I could see the fragile line of her neck and the way the wind caught that perfect dark hair I hadn't been able to stop thinking about for weeks.

 I took a long drag of the cigar, the heat burning my throat.

Why was I standing here like some desperate stalker?

Why did I care if she ate?

Why did I find myself checking the security feeds just to make sure she was sleeping?

I am Bane Valak.

I had dismantled empires and executed men without a flicker of hesitation.

 I was the apex predator in a city filled with wolves.

 And yet, I found myself paralyzed by the sight of a twenty-five-year-old girl who looked like she'd break if I breathed on her too hard.

It was supposed to be simple.

Amaya Vancouver was a spoil of war.

In our world, when you kill a king, you take his crown, his land, and his women.

Taking Raul's brand-new bride as my concubine was intended to be the ultimate spit to his memory.

The ultimate, final, crushing blow that I could ever deliver.

She was meant to be a trophy.

A body to use and discard until the message was sent.

And yet, every time I stood in the same room as her, my hands stayed at my sides.

 I couldn't bring myself to touch her.

 Not because I didn't want to, God, the hunger was a constant, roar in my loins.

I wanted nothing else.

But there was something about the raw terror in her eyes that stopped me.

 It made me feel like a common street rapist.

I didn't want to be seen as someone like that.

Not even by my prisoner.

 I wanted something else.

Something darker.

 I wanted her to look at me without the shaking.

I wanted her to recognize that I was the only one who could make her feel things she never imagined possible.

 I knew she hated me.

 I could taste it in the air during those long, silent piano sessions.

She saw me as the man who murdered her husband and stole her freedom.

 She wasn't wrong but I didn't care much. I was simply content with having her in my orbit.

As long as she was within these walls, she was mine.

 A sharp knock at the door broke my train of thought.

I didn't turn around.

 I already knew he was on his way.

"Enter."

The heavy doors groaned open and then clicked shut.

The air in the room shifted, growing heavier with the presence of another soldier...... the heir to the Valak empire.

 I finally turned away from the window and Amaya's distant figure and turned around.

He stood in the center of the room, looking like a younger reflection of myself.

 He was sharp, lethal, imposing and burdened by the weight of our name.

A true Valak in every sense of the word.

 "Uncle," Nathaniel said, his voice level and respectful. "You asked to see me."