“What is the Blood Pit?” I asked in trepidation. “What happens there, besides rearing children to be monsters?”

“Fighting. Death-match fighting. It is the ultimate death ring. Master makes his money through the gambling. He runs secret underground gulags all over the world. Every few months he brings the champions to the Blood Pit to check who is the most brutal death-match fighter.”

I sat up, a sickening feeling stirring in my stomach. Valentin saw me move. Looking into his eyes, I said, “You can’t take Zaal from me. I live to find him, once more to be with him. I was about to knock on his door when you stole me off the street.”

I heard the trembling of my voice. But I was desperate.

“Shh.” This time Valentin soothed me and, with his hand on my wrists, brought my chest back to his. He wrapped me in his arms and said, “I will not kill your brother. He is your Inessa.”

My body melted against Valentin’s and my eyes began to close. I never spoke anymore, nor did he. What else was there to say? He needed to save his sister and I needed to save my brother. I had no idea how we would progress from this mess, but right now we both needed rest. I was content to lie in his arms.

I was content to comfort the monster.

Because this monster deserved my care.

He needed to be loved.

By me.

* * *

I was ripped from Zaal’s arms by the guard. I screamed and held out my arms for my sykhaara to save me. But a guard was holding him back. He was shouting, his green eyes wide as he tried to get back to me. I looked to Anri, who also was fighting to get back, but neither could get free.

The guard put me on the floor. I tried to run, but my grandmama kept hold of my shoulder. I stopped when I felt her cold hand shaking. I glanced up at her. Grandmama’s face was white.

Hearing a scream, I turned my head and saw the man, Levan Jakhua, forcing my twin brothers to face us. I sought out the rest of my family. We were lined up against the wall.

I frowned, but I didn’t know what was happening. Then I heard my mama sniff. My papa put his hand on her shoulder. I heard her whisper, “They are going to kill us all, but my boys. Baby, they’re going to kill us all.” My papa didn’t say anything in response, but I was scared. I was so scared.

I looked back to the Jakhua man. I wanted Zaal; I knew he would save me. I moved my foot to run toward him. Just as I did, loud noises filled the air like cracks of thunder. I screamed at the sound; then something hit me in my shoulder. I tried to cry out as hot pain sliced down my arm. Then something else hit my waist, and something else went into my hip. My vision blurred and blurred, until I fell to the floor. I tried to get up, I tried to scream, but someone fell on top of me. I couldn’t move, I was cold, so so cold, then something choked my lungs, and everything faded to black—

I gasped awake, but someone was holding me in his arms. Cold was seeping into my bones, but strong arms were warming me up. They rocked me back and forth, and the scent of dark spices filled my nostrils, adding to the warmth. Painful memories began to fade, then completely disappeared when a soft pair of crystal blue eyes moved before me.

“Valentin,” I said through a tight throat.

“You were sleeping,” he said, and rubbed at my arms. “You were screaming. You were screaming for someone to save you, then saying you couldn’t breathe.”

Water filled my eyes, like it always did when this nightmare struck. I went to lift my hand to wipe the tears away, but Valentin beat me to it. We had been resting and healing for four days. And every day, we would tell each other a little more about ourselves. He told me of his life with a drug-addicted mother, then his and Inessa’s life in the orphanage. My blood chilled when he spoke of the Night Wraiths that would come every few months for the children—the Georgians that bought the children from the orphanage to add to their death-match or sex slave pits.

I told him about my years in hiding. My years of never leaving my house. My days reading and learning how to fight torture if our enemies ever found me.

Valentin told me he was proud of me. He called me his kitten, his little kotyonok. It never failed to make me feel safe.

“Kotyonok, are you okay?” Valentin pushed, but I wasn’t. My body needed to feel alive. After remembering the thick scent and heavy feel of death, I needed him in my arms more than ever.

I wanted him to take me. I wanted him to make me his, all his.

Valentin’s hands were still on my arms. I glanced up at his neck. The holes from the collar were closed. The skin was still sore and tender, but he was healing, and he was strong. Since he removed the collar from his neck, since the drugs had left his system, the color of his skin had returned to a natural tone. And his ripped and broad body was fit and strong.

I needed him more than I needed to breathe.

I saw no reason for us to wait.

“Kotyonok?” Valentin asked again. Looking into his concerned blue eyes, I lifted my hand and ran it down his chest, straight to the bottom of his abdominals. My skin flushed as I felt the hard muscle ripple beneath my touch. An involuntary hiss escaped through his clenched teeth.

Valentin’s hands dropped from my arms, and he sat back on his haunches. He watched as I rose to my knees, edging closer, to slowly lean in and press my lips to the center of his chest.

“Zoya,” he said through a thick tight throat. But I stayed silent. I moved up his body, my warm breath causing his fair skin to bump in my wake. Reaching the bottom of his neck, I glanced down to see his manhood hard and stiff against his stomach. Heat built in my core. Feeling overcome with the need for this man, I leaned in and licked under the permanent scar on Valentin’s neck, the scar that years and years of wearing the metal collar had caused.

Valentin’s body stilled. I heard him trying to control his hard breathing. I saw his hands clench into fists by his sides. But as I laid a final kiss on the side of his neck I heard a strangled groan rip from his throat as he pushed me back on the mattress.

In seconds, Valentin was crawling over my body, towering over me with his huge size. His eyes were lit with hunger as he stared at my lips. I licked along the seams of my lips as my hands lifted to lightly stroke down his waist. Valentin’s neck tensed, and he said roughly, “I’m going to steal another kiss.”

A wave of heat crashed over me and I replied, “Good.” Valentin went to move in when I stopped him with a hand on his chest.

He immediately stilled and frowned. “Zoya?” he questioned.

Swallowing back any nerves trying to creep into my heart, I said, “I want this with you.” Lifting my head to move into his personal space, I added, “I want you, Valentin, to steal the rest of me.”

The muscles on Valentin’s shoulders bunched, and on a loud roar he crushed his lips to mine. His mouth was hot and searing, and I gripped the hard muscles of his back with my desperate hands.

He groaned low as he pushed his tongue between my lips, immediately dueling against mine. My hand lifted from his back and wrapped around his neck, trying to pull him even closer. I needed him as close as he could get. I wanted him to feel wanted. I wanted him to feel loved.

Valentin’s hard body pressed down on mine. As we did not once break from the kiss his thick thigh nudged my legs apart.

My head snapped back at the feel of his length running against my core. My nails dug into the hard flesh of his shoulders. But Valentin’s attention never wavered. His mouth pressed kiss after kiss to my cheek and jaw. His hips rolled, pushing himself farther between my legs. A deep flush overtook my body. Valentin’s tongue slipped from between his lips, and he began licking at my neck, a hungry rumble echoing in his chest.

Shivers ran down my spine, before splintering apart and chasing through my veins. My hands moved to hold on to his shaven head, the rough feel of his black stubble tickling my palm.

His mouth ravaged my neck, nipping and grazing his teeth against my flushed skin. “Valentin,” I cried, my hips beginning to roll in search of the release that was building in my thighs.

Valentin broke from my neck and dragged the tip of his nose over my cheek, until he hovered just above me. His blue eyes were sparkling in need. As our gazes met, we stilled, suspended, just staring at each other.

Valentin’s hot breath blew in short pants over my face. My hand fell to cup his beautifully scarred face. “You are so beautiful,” I found myself confessing.