Aria's POV
The room felt smaller following his words.
I already choose you.
They resonated in my chest, scary and intoxicating all at once. I pulled my hand back gingerly, my fingers curling into my palm as if I might cover the mark, hide myself.
"You don't get to choose for me," I said, though my voice lacked the firmness I wanted it to have.
Dante's stare softened-not weaker, just... human. "I know," he responded gently. "But the instant they saw you, your choices narrowed."
"That's not fair."
A sour smile reached his lips. "Nothing in my world is."
Silence stretched between us, heavy with everything unsaid. I wanted to shout. I wanted answers. Instead, I asked the thing that worried me most. "What happens if I leave?"
He didn't hesitate. "You won't make it through the night."
My breath hitched. Fear wrapped along my spine, cold and ruthless. "And if I stay?"
His eyes clouded. "Then I become your shield."
The way he said it-low, absolute-made my pulse race. I should have been afraid. I was. But underlying the fear was something else. A hazardous attraction toward the one person who refused to lie to me.
"Show me," I whispered.
He frowned. "Show you what?"
"The truth."
Dante pondered, then nodded. He led me down a small hallway into a room crowded with maps, screens, and names attached to walls like trophies. Powerful names. Blood-stained legacies.
And at the center-mine.
My name circled in red.
My knees nearly gave out. "You've been watching me?"
"Protecting you," he corrected quietly. "From a distance. Until tonight."
I glanced at him, chest aching. "Since when?"
"Since the day your aunt tried to disappear you."
The earth tilted. "She what?"
Before he could answer, his phone vibrated sharply. He peered at the screen, then swore under his breath.
"What is it?" I inquired.
"They made their move," he added. "One of the families just claimed you."
Claimed.
The word settled in my bones like a sentence.
"What does that mean?" I muttered.
He stepped forward me, hands bracketing my face, his forehead resting against mine. His voice fell, raw and threatening.
"It indicates they're coming to abduct you."
A distant explosion rattled the structure.
The lights flickered.
Dante grabbed me into his arms as alarms began to shriek.
"And this time," he added, clutching me hard, "they won't knock."
