Natalia’s POV
I woke to the sensation of a horrible pain in my head. It throbbed and ached like I was being drilled in the skull with a jackhammer, and I felt immediately sick from it, like I might retch at any moment.
Swallowing down the bile that began to bubble up in my throat, I tried my best to wrack what was left of my mind to remember what had happened before now.
It took me a moment, but finally, I remembered… a man standing in the bedroom. A man I didn’t recognize; not a rogue… A Bloodmoon civilian, perhaps? I couldn’t recall. I had never seen his face.
Then, I remembered the next moments. I had tried to scream for help and reached for my knife, but it happened before I could make a sound. The ruby in the man’s hand pulsed. A flash of light blinded me, and something cracked a
