Natalia’s POV
The ruby pulsed in my palm, black veins dancing within the crimson stone. It felt warm in my fingers, hungrier than my knife had ever been, like it had a sentience of its own. Just holding it made me uneasy, but it also made me feel powerful, untouchable.
The Winter King stared at the stone. I supposed I expected to see shock on his face, perhaps even horror or fear. That was wishful thinking.
He lifted his brows in a way that was too much like Andrei for comfort.
“You wouldn’t do that,” he said slowly, calmly, in a voice that was my husband’s and yet… not.
I tightened my fingers around the stone. “I would. And I will.”
He c****d his head, first to one side, then the other. The way he studied me, like a bird of prey inspecting a terrified rabbit before going in for the
