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PROLOGUE
“When you throw a challenge at a powerful and cunning being, be ready for the consequences.
For they have a lot of things.
But one thing they lack?
Forgiveness toward those who crossed them.”
Isla
Isla
Fisting the skirt of my heavy wedding dress, I rush out of the room, my heels clicking loudly on the marble and echoing through the halls of the cursed mansion that I wish would burn to the ground. Voices bellow after me, one more panicked than the other, laced with fear and agony that speak volumes about the monsters roaming within these walls. “Isla!”
Ignoring their pleadings, I scrunch my eyes and shake my head because they mean nothing.
They don’t care about my well-being. They only care about him, who rules them all and makes them dance to his tune. Anyone who refuses to listen to him faces horrible torture.
And as such, none of them deserves my pity or sacrifice, even if I brought this doom on myself by daring to do the unthinkable.
I forgot one crucial thing.
Never attack a hunter on their hunting ground because they will retaliate when you least expect it.
I should have known better.
After all, he’s the king of manipulation, hiding behind the facade of goodness and sainthood bordering on insanity. His gaze alone has the power to freeze people on the spot and send them to an early grave.
Mercy, compassion, empathy.
He has no idea what these concepts mean, making him the most dangerous man I’ve ever met. Unfortunately for me…he showed me in full glory how he punishes those who cross him.
I cascade down the stairs, my heavy breathing filling the hallway and not letting me fall into the abyss that’s my desperation and misery.
“Isla!”
Trapping the sobs between my lips, I use all my strength to run to the double doors and then fly through them, getting outside. I welcome the frigid air slapping my cheeks and sinking coldness into every bone in my body.
Coldness that grounds me in the present and reminds me I’m on borrowed time because the only thing I can do right now is survive.
An owl hoots in the distance when the powerful boom shakes the sky lit by thousands of stars, shining brightly and announcing the upcoming storm when dark clouds gather.
A tremor rushes through me.
Even Mother Nature seems to be on their side and never mine. Isn’t that just tragic?
The moonlight glows in all its magnificent glory, opening up the enormous garden to my view and all the ways to get lost in it. The thick trees with long, dangling leaves brushing the ground almost invite me to find sanctuary among them and hide me from him.
My feet burn, the pain travels from my calves to my thighs, and I’ll probably have blisters for days. However, I ignore my hurt, focusing only on one goal.
To escape from this prison so I still have a chance because anything is better than being trapped here with him.
“Isla!” A seductive yet sinister voice calls my name this time, sending chills down my spine and breaking goose bumps on my skin.
The voice is straight from my nightmare as it belongs to a devastatingly handsome man, despite an angry and red scar marring half of his face, with a soul so cruel and rotten, even hell has no place for him for all the atrocities he’s committed.
My hold on the cloth tightens as desperation fills every cell in my body, which only causes me to push myself harder and add more speed when one of my heels breaks, making me stumble a little.
