Page 175 of Dark Night of the Soul

She was with the Quiet Watch now.

And somewhere between Istanbul and Munich, between that first kiss and the moment she’d threatened to kill me if I died, I’d stopped trying to protect her from this life.

Because she’d already chosen it.

Chosen me.

The realization settled—not with dread, but with something close to relief.

She could handle this.

She’d already proven it.

Now I had to survive long enough to tell her.

Chapter 46 | Anna

Sleeping on the sofa was like sleeping on a bed of rocks.

Did I wake up rested? No.

Did I wake up not in pain? Also, no.

When Ludwig forced me to the sofa, there was already a pillow and blanket ready for me. He’d changed the bandage on my arm without having to ask. He’d also told me to stay there until I slept for at least six hours. I smarted off and told him I’d do it in two.

I woke up twelve hours later. My body had forced the issue.

My days and nights were all mixed up. When my eyes blinked open, I stared at the ceiling.

One light was on—the kitchen, I think. Bleeding into the shadows of the rest of the place. I heard no movement. The silence felt fragile. Like it could shatter at any time. And for a moment, I thought I was alone.

But then the faint shuffle of… cards? At the dining table. And briefly I wondered if someone had washed off all the blood.

Morbid.

As I lay there, I thought about everything. I hadn’t cried. Hadn’t fallen apart. Not when he was shot. Not when the blood wouldn’t stop. Not even when the doctor said for now like a warning flag. I’d... kept moving. Kept functioning. Kept breathing.

I wondered when that bill was going to come due.

Because right now, I couldn’t afford to crack. I had other things to worry about.

Neither Ulrich nor Ludwig had said, but I knew we weren’t safe here. The epic failure at the facility was like waving a red flag in front of the Knights and the Brotherhood and daring them to find us. Because Decker had been there.

I was only now processing that.

I lifted my hand, felt the slight weight of the necklace still resting on my chest and wondered if I had bruised fingerprints on my neck. I hadn’t looked. It hadn’t occurred to me. He’d choked me so hard, and my vision started to gray, I thought for sure I was dead. That I would suffocate right there in that server room.

Touch her again and I kill you.

He’d sounded so… savage. There was only one other time he sounded like that—when we discovered the photos on Vormund’s laptop. It was terrifying and vindicating at the same time.

I sat up, swung my legs over the edge of the cushion and paused. In front of me, the coffee table with various weapons scattered across the top. I read that as preparedness. Not caution.

And it hit me then.

My hands started to shake. My chest tightened. I had the distinct feeling the first fissure had formed.

I got to my feet. I stood there a long moment, taking a deep breath. Trying to quell the rising panic.