Free A Shade of Kiev 2 by Bella Forrest

longer have to be subordinate to any Elders. You’re completely free to do whatever you please. With no consequences.”
    A darkness flickered in her eyes as she licked blood from her lips. It disturbed me deeply that my innocent little sister had become a creature like me.
    By the time we’d finished talking, the sun was in the sky—I could see the ocean glistening beyond the spell’s boundary.
    “Well, I’m exhausted,” Erik said. “I think we should all get some rest.”
    Julisse tugged on his shirt. He stood up and they both walked out of Helina’s chambers. I stood up and Helina wrapped her arms around me, wishing me a good sleep.
    As I lay in my bed, I had no hope of sleeping. My mind was too alive. Whirring with questions. With doubts. With fears.
    But most of all, the promise I had made to Matteo echoed in my ears.
    “I’ll be back in a few days with a witch. I promise.”

Chapter 12: Mona
    H earing Rhys say my name sent shivers down my spine. That deep voice I’d known so well almost felt like a stranger’s voice. I hadn’t heard it in years.
    I’d sworn to myself that I’d be dead before I heard him say my name again.
    He reached for his hood and lowered it, releasing dark curls that framed his pale face. His pitch-black eyes glinted in the moonlight.
    “No,” I breathed. “No.”
    I shut my eyes tight and, pulling my knees against my chest, buried my head in my arms.
    I’m still dreaming. This is just a nightmare. I just need to wake up.
    Wake up, Mona. Wake up.
    The floorboards creaked as he neared me, and his heavy leather boots thudded.
    Wake up. Please, God, let me wake up.
    His deep breathing came directly above me. I dared not open my eyes and look up.
    “Don’t you miss having purpose to your life?” His voice rumbled through the night air. Each syllable was a dagger in my wounded soul.
    I remained silent, my rasping breathing filling my ears.
    “Or have you convinced yourself that you find pleasure in this wretched life you’re living?”
    I felt him bend down to my level. I trembled as he reached out a hand and placed it on a bare patch of shoulder that the blanket wasn’t large enough to cover.
    “You’re freezing.”
    He removed his thick black cloak and motioned to wrap it around me. I jerked backward, struggling to keep the blanket covering me as I moved.
    “Leave me,” I whispered.
    “Leave you?” His voice had become dangerously quiet. “To perish here in the ocean? For a ship of ogres to find you once day breaks? Sometimes I think you don’t realize what a gift you’ve been given. The honor that’s been bestowed upon you just by being born as one of our kind. You take too much for granted.”
    I couldn’t find words to respond. All I knew was that, no matter what, I couldn’t let myself fall back into his arms.
    “I can fulfill your every need,” Rhys continued, pacing up and down in front of me. “I can show you a life most can’t even dream of. Is surrender such a big price to pay in return for that? Pride always was your greatest weakness. It blinds you from seeing what’s good for you. What’s in your best interest.”
    I bit my lip, keeping my mouth shut. I wished I could cover my ears from his poison, but doing so would mean the blanket falling away from me. I tried to bury my head against my arms, but his words still leaked through.
    Before I could react, he reached around me and fastened the cloak over me. Then, taking hold of the damp blanket beneath it, he pulled it away from me. I held on tight to the cloak to not reveal myself to him. But he didn’t stop at the removal of the blanket. His hand crept up to my thigh where he rested it for several seconds. The area became instantly warm. I realized what was happening. Looking down in horror, I gasped.
    I’d tried to forget the brand—a thorny pitch-black rose—was ever imprinted on my body. I’d thought it had finally disappeared from my years of scrubbing away at it.
    But now that Rhys’