ARIEL’S POV
“Run… and I’ll enjoy hunting you.”
Something inside me snapped.
Hands shoved me forward, rough and unyielding, forcing my knees onto the same cold floor where the smell of blood still lingered.
My breathing turned uneven.
This wasn’t mercy.
This was a performance.
And I was the prey.
A test… or an execution.
Fine.
If I was going to die, then I wouldn’t go quietly.
My body trembled on cue. Shoulders shaking. Breath hitching.
“P-please…” My voice cracked, perfectly fragile.
But inside, I was counting—distance, angles, timing.
Lucian stood in front of me, calm and composed, untouched by the chaos around him, as if none of this mattered.
I stumbled forward just enough to close the gap. My fingers brushed the floor right where I had fallen earlier. Still there—the da
