Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 93463 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93463 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Of course that’s it. It has to be.
But I’m shaking. I don’t know what to do next.
He reaches for my hand, warm and steady, even as his voice is cold as steel. “Stay in your house tonight. Do you understand me?”
His eyes lock with mine, full of something desperate and raw. “Zoya,” he says again when I don’t answer.
I nod, swallowing the lump in my throat. It feels like a rock. “I understand,” I whisper.
And when I stand, he does something unexpected. He grabs the back of my neck, pulls me in, and kisses me like it’s the last time. Like he doesn’t know if we’ll survive this.
“Next Thursday,” I whisper against his lips. But my voice trembles. “Right?”
“Yes,” he replies. “Next Thursday.” But he won’t meet my eyes.
When I’m home, I make a call.
I dial Aria Romanova with shaking fingers. Polina’s brother’s wife.
She’s good. I trust her. There aren’t many I do.
It’s early evening in America. I pray she answers. I’ve only spoken to her a few times, but after what happened with our families… we all know each other now.
“Hello?”
“Aria?” I whisper. “It’s Zoya Kopolova.” I swallow hard. “I need a favor,” I say, my voice cracking.
“Zoya? Are you okay?” she asks gently.
“I… I don’t know. I saw something I shouldn’t have. And I need details.” I take a breath. “It’s about someone Irish. A message… It mentioned my family. It said they were going to be destroyed.”
She’s silent. Then her voice turns icy.
“And why come to me, Zoya? Why can’t you tell your brothers?”
Heat flares in my chest. I’m feeling desperate.
“Because you know what they’ll do. You know if they think they’re under attack, they’ll burn the whole world down. They don’t have the resources right now.” My voice breaks. I’m telling the truth. “They’d go to war… and lose.”
I can tell she’s warring with herself before she finally blows out a breath and answers.
“Okay,” she says with a groan. “I’m on it. But I need everything you know.”
“All I know is his name is Seamus. He’s Irish. And I think… I think he’s trying to protect me.”
She goes still. Her breath catches. “Seamus,” you say. “And he's Irish.”
“Yes.”
Sometimes you don't ask questions—because the truth is, you're not ready to hear the answers. Because the moment you do, everything becomes real. Tangible… and irreversible.
“And you were with him,” she says.
“Yes.” My voice shakes, just slightly. But enough. Enough to make it real.
“Okay. All right.” Her tone is softer now. “I got you. Now… what did you see?”
“A text,” I tell her. “A message sent to this… man named Seamus. I saw a message on his phone that my family is going to the Wolf and Moon. The text to him said… destroy them.”
She goes silent for a beat. Then, “All right. I need a few minutes. I’ve got a mountain of hay and a thousand needles buried in it, okay? But tell me, what did this Irish guy you know say to you? What does he think you know?” she asks. She isn’t speaking sharply anymore. She sounds knowing… wise.
“He told me to go home,” I say quietly. “Said I’d be safe there.”
I want to cry.
“I see.”
Does she though? Fuck my life.
“I think you should probably do what he said and stay home. It sounds like the wisest choice, doesn’t it?”
I swallow… hard. My throat is tight, feels like there's barbed wire wrapped around it.
“Yes,” I manage.
Aria sighs. “Stay home, Zoya.”
She whispers it like a secret she doesn’t want the world to hear.
I pull out the tracking app, my fingers trembling. It’s basic, but it works. We all have them, though Rafail’s is leagues beyond. His is wired into something ten steps ahead of the rest of ours.
I look for every one of them.
Yana, my sister, is in her home in South Africa.
Rodion and Ember are at their place.
And it looks like Vadka and Ruthie are together.
I track the rest of them—Rafail, Polina, Semyon, Anya, Matvei, and Anissa.
Then, a few minutes later, my phone rings.
It’s Aria.
My hands tremble, and my stomach bottoms out like I’ve just stepped off a cliff.
“Okay. All right,” Aria says. Her voice is flat now, not emotionless but controlled. Brutally steady.
“This is where the shit hits the fan, Zoya. The Irish rivals have ordered a hit on your family.”
The Irish rivals. The Irish fucking rivals.
I knew I shouldn't have been with Seamus.
I knew it. I knew it. But I still went. I still spoke to him, touched him, trusted him.
I still let myself fall in love.
And he never gave me a single reason to think he was my enemy. Not one.
But he got a message. A message that said he needed to destroy my family.
So what does that make him? My enemy? Or just another puppet in this godforsaken war?
Am I just lying to myself again?