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Was this the end of me? Was this how I was going to go?

No. No. No.

I didn’t come this far just to give it all up in the hands of two lousy Surmans. The thought, for some reason, made me smile like a crazy person. The next kick landed me right on top of a Surman that I had already killed, my knife jutting out of his ribcage. Conjuring every last bit of my strength into my right arm, my fingers closed around the hilt, and with a cry I yanked the blade out and forgot the pain in my body. Spinning, my blood-laced vision only saw my target, and the blurring tip of my blade made two deep slices across their necks in one swift motion. It lasted for six seconds. The men’s eyes gaped in disbelief, but it was too late. Only the sound of loud gurgles and their severed cartilages hitting the floor filled the air. They soon followed, their bodies hitting the same place.

And then I lost it all and collapsed into nothing.

I didn’t know how long I lay there as darkness weighed on my veins when, somewhere in the distance, someone hushed in a pained voice, “Bella?”

“Bella, baby. Wake up, please,” a soft, familiar voice repeated in my ear, and all I felt was heat. Heat and pain. In every inch of my bones. “Give me those eyes. It’s okay, you’re fine.” I could feel rough hands cradle my cheeks, softly rubbing back and forth. This touch felt nothing like worms. It felt nice. It felt good.

“Look at me, please,” the voice told me.

I tried to open my eyes, but my vision was pitch-black. I couldn’t see anything. All I felt was warm blood streaming down my face and pressure in my lungs.

“Is she going to be fine?” I could hear Ella ask somewhere in the distance.

“She’ll be fine,” the voice firmly responded to my sister. I’ve heard that deep voice before, heard it a lot in my dreams. I liked that voice. No, wait, I loved that voice.

Arkane? Was it him, or was this a dream?

But he was the only person who called me Bella.

What was he doing here?

“Bella, come on,” he whispered in my ear. “Open those beautiful eyes for me.”

I lifted my heavy lids once again, and the darkness in my vision faded, and the first thing they focused on was a pair of storm grays that had their entire attention on me. Eyes that were filled with concern and worry and something more; only I didn’t know what.

“Arkane?” I croaked through the heaviness in my chest.

“It’s okay. It’s okay,” Arkane whispered, a small smile on his lips. “You’ll be fine. Don’t move.”

“Okay,” I whispered as he carried me and settled me carefully on the couch. Soon, two doctors were on me, and so was Ella, with shiny eyes and wet cheeks.

“You okay, Bellebelle?” she asked in a shaky tone.

“Yes.” I tried a smile, only to fail as the doctor flashed her torch in my eyes, asking me a bunch of questions. Thankfully, they assured me that nothing was broken, only that I was heavily bruised with several contusions and needed lots of hydration and rest. I was handed pain pills, which I gratefully downed.

Just as she left, my gaze went back to my sisters. Ella was rubbing Ari’s back as she made her drink some water. Ari still hadn’t moved and was almost like a statue with a slight glaze in her eyes, but she seemed physically fine. They both looked outright confused and terrified at all the men crowding our apartment. I could see their eyes swimming with questions as they regarded me, but I was too tired for anything.

Arkane and his brothers stood in the corner, speaking to Mikhail, while his men cleared the bodies, which were starting to stink up the air.

Every now and then, Arkane’s eyes would find me, almost as if to make sure I was doing fine, and this time, when he noticed that the doctors had left, he came to my side.

“Are you okay?” he whispered.

“Hmm.”

“It’s best if you stay at my place.”

I nodded.

I was too tired to even speak. All I tried to do was assure my sisters that Arkane would keep us safe. With our lives, at least. I couldn’t say the same for hearts. My heart.

Hours later, I blinked my eyes open as a pounding headache split my head in half. The familiar surroundings of Arkane’s loft room wrapped around me like a comfortable blanket. But it didn’t last long after I realized that I no longer belonged here. Not like I ever did.

“You should lie down. You hurt your head.”