Aria’s POV
The tension in the abandoned church was thick enough to choke on. Every creak of the wooden beams above us, every subtle shift of weight on the ancient floorboards, felt magnified. Damon stood close to me, his warmth a silent promise of protection, but it wasn’t enough to stop the icy unease creeping through my veins.
When Demitri stepped from the shadows with Ezra beside him, his bitter smirk was the first thing I noticed. It wasn’t playful, nor was it as calculated as usual. It was hollow.
“Well, well,” Demitri drawled, his gaze flicking from me to Damon, then back again. “I suppose congratulations are in order.”
The air in the room shifted, charged with Damon’s irritation before he even spoke. “We didn’t come here to trade pleasantries, Demitri,” he said, his voice low an
