Chapter 17
Emerald
The sound of metal groaning against metal filled the room like something alive.
Nikolai’s restraints rattled violently every time he threw himself against them, the heavy chains locked together straining under the force of his rage.
Blood streaked down one of his forearms where the cuffs had already torn skin open, but he didn’t seem to notice, or maybe he simply didn’t care. His entire focus was on me.
“Emerald.” His voice came out rough, sharp enough to cut through the suffocating air in the room. “Run.”
I couldn’t move. The command hit me, but my body stayed frozen exactly where I stood.
Malrik sighed beside me like Nikolai was becoming exhausting. “You keep telling her to run as though she has somewhere to go.”
Nikolai lunged again so violently the chain snapped taut with a brutal metallic crack. “I will kill you. ”
“You’ve said that several times now.”
Malrik sounded almost bored by the threat, which somehow made everything worse. The calmness unsettled me more than screaming would have. Nikolai looked feral. Furious. Desperate in a way I had never seen before. Malrik looked composed. Controlled. Like he already knew how this ended.
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to look away from the blood running down Nikolai’s wrist. A few days ago I probably would’ve made some sarcastic comment just to keep from completely falling apart.
I would’ve thrown an insult at Malrik. Rolled my eyes.
Pretended this was all some sick inconvenience instead of the reality it had become, but the fight had started draining out of me piece by piece.
Like someone peeling layers away until all that remained was exhaustion underneath.
I was tired. Tired of running. Tired of being dragged between monsters who claimed they were protecting me while destroying everything around me in the process. Tired of pretending I wasn’t terrified every second of every day. And God, I was so tired of watching Nikolai bleed.
“Emerald?”
This time Nikolai’s voice broke slightly when he said my name. That hurt more than the chains did.
My eyes lifted back to him, and something inside me twisted so violently I nearly lost my breath.
His dark hair was damp with sweat, his chest rising unevenly beneath the ruined black shirt stretched across his body.
Fury burned in his expression, but underneath it sat something far worse.
Fear. Real fear. Not for himself. For me.
“Don’t do this,” he said quietly.
Malrik adjusted the cufflink on his sleeve before speaking. “I believe we’re beyond negotiations.”
I hated how elegant he always looked. Even standing inside a room that smelled like blood and violence, he looked untouchable.
Perfectly pressed black suit. Silver watch glinting beneath the low lighting.
Calm posture while chaos unraveled around him.
Like this was simply another business arrangement.
“You said you wouldn’t hurt him,” I whispered.
Malrik’s gaze moved toward me slowly. “And I haven’t…yet.”
Nikolai laughed then, but there was nothing human in the sound. “You chained me to a fucking chair.”
“You’re alive.”
“You took her.”
“I’m protecting her.”
The room exploded with another violent pull of chains as Nikolai lost what little restraint he had left. “You are out of your fucking mind.”
Malrik ignored him completely .
His attention stayed on me instead, steady and unreadable. “I’ve allowed this situation to continue far longer than I should have because I understood your attachment to him. I even found it entertaining for a while.” His expression hardened slightly. “But I’m done entertaining it.”
A cold feeling crept through me. The words settled heavily in my chest because I understood exactly what he meant. No more games. No more pretending I had choices.
“The wedding will happen tonight .”
The room went silent. Even Nikolai stopped fighting for half a second. I stared at Malrik, trying to process the words, but my brain felt slow suddenly. Foggy. Like survival itself was exhausting me too much to think clearly anymore.
“No!” Nikolai said immediately.
The sheer force behind the word made my pulse jump.
Malrik barely glanced at him. “You do not have authority over what happens here.”
Nikolai’s breathing turned uneven. “Emerald, look at me.”
I didn’t want to, because I knew if I looked at him for too long, I would break. Still, my eyes found his anyway. The desperation on his face nearly destroyed me.
“Run,” he said again, quieter this time. “Please. ”
Please. Nikolai never begged. Not for anything. The sound of it shattered something inside me completely.
My throat burned as I shook my head slightly. “I can’t.”
“You can.”
“I can’t,” I repeated, this time barely above a whisper.
Where was I supposed to go? Even if I somehow got out of this estate alive, what then? Every path led back to blood. Violence. Men killing each other over power and revenge and secrets I still didn’t fully understand.
And now there was something else. The baby in my arms shifted softly against my chest, her tiny fingers curling into the fabric of my dress like she already trusted me despite the nightmare surrounding us. The movement shattered something inside me completely.
She had no idea what this place was. No idea what kind of men stood in this room.
No idea someone had already decided her life could be bought and sold before she was even old enough to speak.
My hold on her tightened. Tiny. Warm. Innocent.
The thought of letting Malrik hand her over to strangers made me feel physically sick.
Nikolai’s entire body tensed against the restraints again. “Emerald…”
Rage burned through every inch of him so violently it almost felt alive. Malrik stepped closer beside me, calm and composed while the world around us collapsed. I hated how observant he was.
“She’s a child,” I snapped quietly. “Not a fucking shipment.”
“She was purchased for a purpose.”
The baby startled softly at the sharpness in my voice before pressing closer into me.
Instantly I lowered my tone, gently brushing my hand over her back while something protective twisted painfully through my chest. I couldn’t let him take her.
Couldn’t let her disappear into whatever horror waited for her in two days.
Nikolai stared at me like he already knew exactly what I was thinking, and judging by the look of absolute panic crossing his face, he hated it.
“Don’t,” he said roughly.
Malrik’s attention shifted toward him with mild curiosity. “Interesting.”
“Emerald,” Nikolai warned again, more desperate this time. “Do not do this.”
What choice was left anymore? Running wasn’t possible. Fighting wasn’t possible. The only innocent thing in this entire nightmare was currently asleep against my chest trusting me to keep holding her.
“I’ll do it. ”
The room went still.
Nikolai went pale beneath the fury. “No.”
“I’ll marry you,” I whispered to Malrik, every word tasting like poison. “But you can’t kill Nikolai and she stays with me.”
The baby made a sleepy little sound against my shoulder. Malrik studied me carefully. He was trying to figure out whether this was manipulation or genuine emotion. Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t entirely sure anymore either.
“You would trade yourself for a child you met today?” Malrik asked softly.
I looked down at her tiny face. No name. No family. Maybe I was completely losing my mind, but somewhere between hearing him call her merchandise and feeling her tiny hand wrap around my finger earlier, something inside me had already decided.
“Yes.”
Nikolai snapped. The chains slammed violently against the chair as he threw himself forward hard enough the metal groaned. “Absolutely fucking not.”
The baby jerked awake with a frightened cry.
Instantly I held her closer, trying to soothe her while my own breathing turned uneven. “It’s okay,” I whispered shakily. “It’s okay, sweetheart… ”
Malrik watched the entire thing unfold with terrifying calm.
“And if I agree?” he asked.
I lifted my eyes toward him again. “Then she stays with me. Permanently.”
One of his eyebrows lifted slightly.
“You wish to keep her?”
“Yes.” The answer came too fast to take back.
The answer settled over the room. Nikolai looked like he wanted to kill everyone breathing.
Malrik, somehow, looked fascinated. The second the words left my mouth, Malrik nodded once toward the guards.
That was it. Just a business arrangement being accepted like he’d purchased another piece of property.
“Take her upstairs,” Malrik ordered calmly.
“No!”
Nikolai’s voice ripped through the room so violently the baby startled in my arms again.
The chains crashed against the chair as he fought them with enough force to tear skin from his wrists.
Blood streaked down the metal restraints while rage twisted across his face so darkly it barely looked human anymore.
“Emerald, don’t you fucking walk away from me! ”
Two guards moved toward me carefully, almost hesitant now that I was apparently important again. One reached for my arm before stopping himself when the baby shifted against my chest. Smart man. I would have bitten his hand off.
“I’m not hurting her,” I whispered, though I wasn’t even sure if I was speaking to Nikolai or myself anymore.
“You think this ends well?” Nikolai snarled. “You think he’s going to let you play fucking house with him?”
“Enough,” Malrik said coldly.
Nikolai ignored him completely. His eyes stayed locked on mine with terrifying intensity while the guards began escorting me backward toward the doorway.
“Run,” he said again, his voice rough now. Desperate. “Please, Emerald. Take the baby and go. Don’t worry about me. Don’t look back.”
God. I’d never heard him beg before. Not once. But this? This broke him.