Page 14 of Onyx Realm

She’s not for you....I clenched my jaw. It might be temporary, but for now, she was safe. I would have to hammer it into Iosif’s thick skull to keep things that way. Yet as I resolved to do that, a voice whispered that he wasn’t up to the task. He was a soft kid, with a too-kind heart. That wasn’t enough to protect her.

No, he would need to blacken his soul to do that.

I stepped out into the night, swallowed by darkness. The moon hung heavy in the sky, casting silver light across the small village that most maps forgot. The sea’s rhythm pulsed in my ears as I walked the familiar path toward the shore.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. Theos, I hated the damn thing, but it was necessary. The message said the meeting had been rescheduled for the next few nights. Iakovos was dealing with dock patrol.

Thanking whatever saint was looking down on me, I shucked my shirt and hurried to answer the call of the waves. A moonlit swim was just the thing I needed to clear my head.

Chapter 6 – Serena

The next morning, a loud banging woke me from the sleep I only just had fallen into. It had been a night of tossing and turning. Every time I closed my eyes, a steady roar filled the night air. Even once I’d closed the windows, the rhythmic pattern continued. And then the air grew thick and stifling, so I woke again in a sweat, being chased by cackling fiends who were determined to shove me in another truck, while the ones drunk and stinking of sour wine guffawed from the edge of the piazza.

I lay there, breathing and listening, while my mind scrambled to force the nightmares back into their stone coffin. But it was growing full in there. The trauma of being kidnapped at fifteen should have been something I opened up and told someone about. Instead, I kept it locked tight, too scared of what my brothers would do if they found out. And now, I had to force the newest kidnapping into the sepulchre. The odds of this incident going unnoticed by Sandro and Leo was non-existent.

They’ll never let me leave again.

Screw them, I would get myself out of this mess, and then they’d have no legitimate reason to forbid me continuing my adventures.

Groaning, I pushed from the bed and padded to the kitchen. While my half-awake brain expected to find my nocturnal host, the person making a ruckus was a pleasant surprise. It was a matronly woman in a long peasant skirt, with hair hidden under a kerchief. She puttered around, putting away fruits, breads, and a small crockery of something in the fridge.

“You’re up! Good,” she observed, her tone raspy like a smoker’s. She shot a quick glance, taking me in from head to toe.

Still in my shimmery clubbing halter and faux leather pants, I no doubt looked as bad as I felt. I didn’t need a mirror to know my face was a mess.

“Hungry?” She didn’t wait for an answer but began to slice a loaf of bread from the box, smeared it with a creamy yellow butter, and dumped a red preserve over the top.

I didn’t want to offend her by telling her that I didn’t eat breakfast, usually sticking with celery juice infused with olive oil and spices.

“Thank you,” I murmured, accepting the food.

“Don’t mention it. Can’t have you working on an empty stomach.” She brushed crumbs into the sink.

Working.... I frowned. That sounded ominous. When my host told me that I was staying as aguestfor the time being, I immediately decided to escape. However, exhaustion coupled with the lack of knowledge as to my whereabouts helped me delay another attempt. I failed to get the much-needed sleep, but at least today I would be able to explore. As soon as I figured out where I was, I would have a better idea how to leave this place.

The fact that I had a delirious little rush of excitement when I thought about my mysterious host made me want to see him one more time. But I told myself not to get any air-headed ideas. Boys were trouble, and men were worse. My only summer romance ended in a shattered daydream, while my crush on my brother’s enforcer would make anyone, including Dante himself, think I was ridiculous.

No, I would not fall head-over-heels and create a hero complex around my host.

For now, I’d play their game and then leave quickly, before my head—or inner sex goddess—got any wild ideas. “What’s on the agenda for today?”

Scuttling over, she pinched my arms. “Strong muscles, but from one of those fancy workout classes, no doubt. Plus, Bosssaid you weren’t to be put on the fishing rotation until we had a chance to test your sea legs. So it’s land work for you.”

I blinked. My mysterious host hadn’t been joking. These people weren’t allowing me to leave, but they were putting me to work? No way. Nofreakingway! I hadn’t worked a day in my short life, and now I didn’t have a choice.

Within twenty minutes, I realized just how exotic the situation actually was! The matron was Dorothea, and she owned a huge garden and orchard, but her pride and joy was the olive grove. Her house was right next door to the one I spent the night in, but behind it was acres of land dedicated to agriculture.

If it felt like a fairytale before, today I wandered deeper into the heart of a mythical experience.

“How do I know which are weeds and which sprouts?” I deadpanned, pointing at the garden, my first task for the day.

The old woman gaped at me. Her dove-grey eyes nearly popped out of her weather-worn face. “Evangelia!”

I cringed at the shrill shout.

A woman about my own age with an equally rustic ensemble, although the skirt was to her knees instead of ankles, tripped through the whitewashed gate. She looked me over, curiosity flashing through her eyes. But I didn’t miss the note of pity there as she tried not to stare at my face. At least the bandages hid the worst of it.

Dorothea rattled something in a foreign language before throwing her hands in the air and waddling away.

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