Aria’s breath hitched, the words lodging like glass in her chest. The ones I tried to love.

She stared at Damien, searching his face, but all she saw was shadow and silence. The cell seemed to shrink around them, the cold concrete pressing in on her as his confession echoed between them.

Her voice trembled. “You mean they’re dead?”

His gray eyes flickered, but he didn’t answer right away. Instead, he sank onto the bench, the chains on his wrists dragging against the floor with a metallic groan. For a moment, he looked less like the unshakable billionaire everyone whispered about and more like a man carved from grief.

“Yes,” he said finally, his tone low, weighted. “Every one of them.”

The air rushed from her lungs. “And you” she swallowed hard, “you think that’s your fault?”

He looked up at her then, his gaze raw, unguarded. “It wasn’t a coincidence. Being close to me has always been a death sentence.”

Aria shook her head, pacing the small room, her chest tight. “No. No one can carry that kind of blame. It can’t all be you.”

Damien’s lips curved into a bitter smile. “That’s what I told myself, once. Until the bodies kept piling up.”

The words struck her like a blow. She turned away, her hands trembling. The Council’s threats, Vivienne’s venom, Marcus’s warningit all spun together until her head ached.

“You should’ve left me alone,” she whispered.

His chains rattled as he stood, crossing the space between them in two strides. His handcold, roughened caught her wrist, stopping her in place.

“I tried,” he said, his voice hoarse. “That night at your bar, I tried to walk away. But you” his jaw tightened, “you looked at me like I wasn’t just a monster.”

Her throat tightened. She wanted to pull back, to break free from his grip, but part of her couldn’t.

“I don’t know what you are,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “But I’m terrified it’s going to kill me.”

Something flickered in his eyes then, sharp and desperate. “Then run. While you still can.”

Aria yanked her wrist free, her heart racing. “Don’t put that on me. Don’t act like this is my choice when you’ve already dragged me into your world.”

The silence between them stretched, heavy and suffocating.

Finally, Damien spoke again, quieter this time. “I buried the last woman with my own hands.”

Her knees nearly gave out. She pressed her back against the wall, the breath tearing from her lungs. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because you need to know what I am,” he said. “So when the Council comes at dawn, you understand what you’re choosing.”

Her chest ached. “Choosing?”

“Yes.” His voice hardened. “Marcus wasn’t lying. They’ll force a decision. And if I claim you, Aria you’ll never walk away from me again. Not alive.”

Her pulse thundered in her ears. Claim her? The words should have frightened her, should have sent her begging for release. Instead, heat and dread tangled in her chest, pulling her toward him even as every instinct screamed to flee.

She turned her face away, blinking hard. “I don’t want to die, Damien.”

He stepped closer, so close she could feel the warmth of him despite the cold chains. “Then don’t stand near me.”

The door rattled again. Voices outside, hurried. A guard shouted an order, footsteps retreating down the hall.

Aria’s heart leapt. “What’s happening?”

Damien’s head tilted, listening. His entire body went still, alert. “Something’s wrong.”

The lock clanged, but this time it wasn’t Vivienne stepping inside. It was one of the guards, panting, his uniform streaked with sweat.

“The Council” He glanced around, lowering his voice. “There’s been a breach. Someone’s broken into the compound.”

Aria’s eyes widened. “Broken in?”

The guard nodded sharply, fumbling with the key to Damien’s chains. “They sent me to move you before it reaches this wing.”

Damien’s eyes narrowed. “Who sent you?”

The guard froze.

The silence stretched, and suddenly Aria understood. This wasn’t a rescue. This wasn’t protocol.

Damien lunged forward, his chains rattling as he grabbed the guard by the collar. “Answer me!”

The guard stammered, “It was Marcus. He said”

Damien’s fist connected with the man’s jaw before he could finish. The guard collapsed to the floor, groaning, keys clattering free from his grip.

Aria’s breath caught. “Damien!”

He scooped the keys up, his movements sharp, efficient. “Marcus doesn’t want me taken to safety. He wants me moved off the board.” He unlocked one cuff, then the other, the heavy chains clanging to the ground. For the first time since she’d seen him, Damien stood unbound.

He tossed the keys to Aria. “Lock the door.”

She scrambled, slamming the cell shut from the inside, her hands shaking. The guard lay unconscious at their feet.

Damien turned to her, his eyes burning with intensity. “Listen to me. If this breach is real, we have one chance to escape. But if it’s a setup, Marcus just handed us to the Council on a platter.”

Her chest tightened. “And what about me?”

He stepped closer, his voice rough. “You’re the only reason I’ll fight to get out of here.”

Her breath caught, heat flaring beneath her fear. “Damien”

The lights overhead flickered, plunging the cell into momentary darkness. A sharp boom echoed from somewhere above, dust falling from the ceiling.

The compound was under attack.

As the lights snapped back on, Aria frozethe unconscious guard was gone. Vanished. And the cell door was slowly unlocking from the outside.

The metallic click echoed in the silence, deliberate and slow. Aria’s breath snagged, her pulse hammering as the heavy door creaked inward.

Damien pulled her behind him, his stance coiled and ready. Unchained now, he looked every inch the predator, even in a cage.

The door opened wider, and a shadow slipped inside tall figure cloaked in black, face hidden by a hood.

Aria’s nails dug into Damien’s arm. “Who is that?” she whispered.

The figure raised a gloved hand, signaling for silence. Then, in a low, urgent voice, they spoke. “If you want to live, come with me. Now.”

Damien didn’t move. “Names first.”

The hood tilted, revealing sharp features, lips curved in a faint smile. “Call me Gabriel.”

The name meant nothing to Aria, but Damien’s entire body tensed. “You’re supposed to be dead.”

Gabriel’s smile deepened. “So are you. But here we are.”

Aria’s stomach twisted. Another ghost from Damien’s past. Another secret she didn’t understand.

Gabriel’s eyes flicked to her, sharp and assessing. “She’s the one? Interesting.”

Damien stepped forward, menace radiating off him. “Don’t look at her.”

Gabriel only chuckled softly. “You’ll need me if you want to get out before the Council decides your fate. But make it quick. The walls are already closing in.”

The ground shook violently, another explosion ripping through the compounddust showering them as Gabriel reached out his hand. “Choose, Damien. Me or the Council’s chains.”

The floor trembled again, a jagged crack splitting across the concrete wall. Sirens wailed faintly in the distance, their shrill cry bleeding through the compound.

Aria’s heart pounded. Smoke and dust stung her eyes, but all she could see was Gabriel’s outstretched handsteady, patient, daring.

“Don’t,” she whispered to Damien, clutching his arm. “We don’t even know him.”

Gabriel’s gaze flicked to her, sharp as a knife. “You don’t know me. But you’ll know death if you stay here.”

Damien’s jaw tightened, his silence heavy. He didn’t trust GabrielAria could see it in the rigid set of his shoulders hesitation was a luxury they didn’t have.

Another boom shook the walls, a deafening crash reverberating through the floor. The unconscious guard from earlier was still gone, vanished like a ghost.

Aria’s voice trembled. “Damien, we can’t stay.”

He turned to her, his gray eyes burning with conflict, with calculation. Then, without a word, he caught Gabriel’s wrist in a grip that was both warning and acceptance.

“Lead the way,” Damien growled. “But if this is a trap, I’ll tear you apart before they get the chance.”

Gabriel’s lips curved, unbothered. “Fair enough.”

He pushed the cell door open wider, the hallway beyond bathed in flickering red emergency lights. Shadows stretched long against the walls, broken only by the pounding of boots and the distant echo of gunfire.

Gabriel stepped into the chaos, but Aria’s breath hitched because she swore she saw the Council leader’s silhouette waiting at the far end of the corridor, watching them through the smoke.