Page 70

SISI

M y soul hurts for Vlad as I see his expression filled with confusion. The way I'm sure he's beyond happy to have found his sister, but unable to show the sentiment.

A myriad of emotions cross his face, as if he doesn't know which one to settle on, the feeling wholly unfamiliar.

My hand in his, I do my best to comfort him, let him know I'm there for him with my presence.

Everything we've seen so far has been gut-wrenching, but there is light at the end of the tunnel, and as I look at Katya, her features so like Vlad, I know that we'll get through this. She might be the last piece to heal his fractured soul.

After the people we'd found are handed over to Enzo and his team, we silently continue to the arena where Bianca and Adrian are waiting for us.

I don't even know what to expect anymore.

Not after what I've witnessed since stepping off that boat, the torture and suffering housed in here beyond anything I could have ever imagine.

The images of those dead children being covered in flies and devoured by maggots had remained stamped on my retina, and I don't think I'm likely to forget them anytime soon.

For that reason alone, I hope that Vlad gives Miles what he deserves.

The worst death possible.

Taking advantage of the fact that my brother is ahead of us, I quickly lean into Vlad to whisper.

"You did great," I praise gently, knowing he hadn't exactly known how to react, the hug he'd shared with his sister was stiff and uncomfortable.

"She didn't look bad," he replies, almost mechanically. "She looked way better than I expected to find her."

I nod in agreement. I, too, had been surprised to see her looking so healthy.

"She's pregnant," I comment. "Do you think that man is the father?"

It hadn't been hard to guess that there was something between the giant and Katya, not with the way he was ready to defend her with his life. But the entire premise of captivity seems antithetic with a budding romance.

"I'm not sure," Vlad replies. "I don't know for sure what the purpose of that area was, especially since the other prisoners were all under twelve. But I do have an inkling," he adds grimly.

"You think he was breeding them," I say what he'd already theorized months before. Because while Katya didn't have Vlad's condition, she might have been a carrier for it.

"Yes. And it's much more plausible if Nero's brother was used as a sperm donor, since he has the condition."

"But that would mean…" I trail off, the thought horrifying.

"Yes. That would mean this isn't her first pregnancy."

It's been almost ten years. I don't even want to imagine what she's been through and how many children she's lost because of that monster.

Having gone through something similar myself, I know how much of a hole the loss of a child produces in one's soul.

But there's a world of difference in comparing our situations, and my heart weeps for what she must have been through.

Going over potential theories, it's getting increasingly clear why Miles would resort to carriers of the gene for his human incubators instead of people who actually had the mutation.

"Because they are so rare, Miles wouldn't waste their potential like that. Not when he already had a shortage of people to include in his experiments to begin with," Vlad explains.

Miles would keep the girls with the mutation for his experiments and breed the ones with the carrier gene.

It would also explain the differences in how the former were treated versus the latter.

Because for all the trauma Katya nonetheless had endured, the conditions in which she was living could be considered luxurious compared with the others.

This should be a crime against humanity.

I can't help but shudder the more I think of the horrors these walls have seen, and all the suffering they've absorbed from all the innocent children who've lived and died here.

It doesn't take us long to reach Bianca and Adrian, both of them waiting outside a door.

"You didn't go inside?" Vlad asks.

She shakes her head.

"We didn't know what to expect since it's a huge open area," she grimaces. "I threw in a mini mobile camera to get some footage, though."

She removes a small tablet from her bag, showing us the video feed from inside.

"There are cameras everywhere," I point out with my finger, surprised to see it's not just CCTV. No, these are big, professional cameras fully equipped with ring lights and speakers.

There are stairs on each side of the room, leading down to the main field. All around, I see a seating area for spectators, and I realize that this is exactly like a stadium.

"He's broadcasting the events," Vlad comments. "Smart." He smirks in spite of himself. "Since these are life and death trials, never mind the fact that it's mostly children competing against each other, a lot of people on the dark web would pay good money to see it."

"How are we going to go inside, though? Bianca is right that it's too open. They could hit us from all sides," Marcello asks, pursing his lips.

"Leave that to me."

Vlad doesn't even wait for us to reply as he pushes the door open, almost flying down the stairs and striding inside the stadium until he's in the middle of the field.

"Long time no see, Miles," he shouts.

I don't even think as I follow after him, my brother and the rest are hot on my trail.

And just as we reach Vlad's side, the entire stadium comes to life. The big lights we'd seen earlier flash, light infusing every corner of the stadium.

"Welcome, welcome," a chuckle resounds from the speakers.

Vlad turns his face toward a big booth on the right, a twisted smile playing at his lips.

"I'm guessing you know why I'm here," Vlad challenges, his chin raised high, his eyes two slits as he focuses on that particular spot.

"I would have preferred for this meeting to happen under different terms," Miles' voice booms, "but I'm nothing if not adaptable."

"You might find it hard to adapt to my fists," Vlad mutters dryly.

"Ah, but how I’ve missed that wicked sense of humor, Vlad. I've been anticipating this meeting for years. You've turned out to be just like I predicted. Invincible, " he proudly quips.

"Not quite." Vlad smirks. "You did whatever you could to take away every bit of humanity I had. Sadly, it didn't quite work out. I am here after all."

"It took you long enough though," Miles remarks through the speakers.

Vlad's fists are clenched by his side, and I know Miles struck a chord in him.

"I'll refer to my initial assessment, Vlad.

Your specs are impressive, but there's always been one thing keeping you back from achieving perfection," Miles continues, "your puny attachments.

I thought your sister was the key to breaking that, and for a while I really saw my success in you.

But you had to continue on the path of no return," he tsks.

It's odd, but his manner of speaking reminds me a lot of Vlad. And I'm not the only one to notice, as the others regard Vlad with an odd look on their faces.

" Vanya ," Vlad stresses the name of his sister, his jaw locked tight with tension. "What did you do to her?"

More laughter.

"What I did to her?" Miles chuckles. "Wouldn't you want to find out? Who knows…" he trails off, amusement clear in his voice. "I might even have the video."

"Vlad." I feel compelled to go to his side.

Because I know how to read him better than anyone. I can see behind his polished facade and into his tortured soul. And I know that right at this moment, there are turbulent seas behind his dark eyes, his control threatening to snap.

"Breathe," I urge him, my voice soft as I lay a hand on his arm. "Breathe," I repeat when it doesn't seem he's heard me.

But slowly—ever so slowly—his breathing does regulate, the tension gradually relieved as he brings the world into focus again.

"Thank you," he whispers low, his gaze still stuck on the illuminated booth.

"I have a deal for you," Miles bursts out, and a screen flares to life behind us.

Turning, I gasp when I see the image on the screen.

Vlad and Vanya.

They're both huddled in a small, dirty cell, their eyes defiantly looking at the camera.

"What do you want?" Vlad grits his teeth.

"Simple. I want to watch you fight my best soldier. One last trial." There's a sick amusement in his voice. "If you win, the video is yours. If you don't… Well, you don't."

Vlad frowns.

"That's it?"

"But…" Miles trails off, a mischievous quality to his voice. "No weapons for you. No bulletproof equipment either," he continues and I still.

No weapons? Nothing?

"You have a deal." Vlad is quick to reply, already working the buttons of his shirt before throwing it to the ground. He does the same with the bulletproof vest. He's effectively taking everything off but his boxer briefs.

"No weapons." He raises his arms to signal.

"Vlad." I take his hand in mine. "It's too dangerous. You don't even know who you're fighting against," I try to plead with him.

Because one thing is clear. This is another one of Miles' tests. And I fear that it may be too much.

"Don't worry about me, hell girl. You know there's no one out there who can beat me."

"No weapons, Vlad. For you. That means he can have weapons. How is that fair?"

"Miles is anything but fair. Trust me that I'll be fine," he says, taking my hand off his.

"Take care of her." He nods to Marcello before striding away.

I can only watch stupefied as he openly courts death. And for what? A video to open his wounds raw again?

"Vlad. Sisi is right. This is madness. Do you really need that video? You know he killed her. It should be enough," Marcello tries to argue.

A lopsided smile appears on Vlad's mouth, half his face obscured by the play of shadows.

The white of his teeth gleams, his canines even more emphasized by the skewed lighting. The change is immediate.

The predator is back.

"I need to know," Vlad answers curtly, the danger reflected in his eyes unmistakable.