The walk to the training room felt longer than it should've been.
Robert said nothing as we passed corridors I was pretty sure didn't exist yesterday. The floors changed from marble to stone, the light from gold chandeliers to flickering bulbs. If I didn't know better, I'd say we were going underground.
Correction: we were going underground.
"The training area is this way, Madam," Robert said, stopping at a large black door that looked like it was made to keep monsters in—or people out.
He pushed it open, and I walked in… instantly regretting it.
It wasn't a room. It was a dungeon disguised as a dojo. One side had a full combat arena, the other was more... refined, like something out of a finishing school for mafia wives. There were weapons on one wall and wine glasses on the other.
Balance, I guess.
Three people were already inside.
A tall woman with sharp cheekbones and colder eyes nodded stiffly at me. "I'm Selene. I'll be teaching you etiquette, diplomacy, and how not to stab someone with the wrong fork."
Well that sounded promising.
Next was a man built like a tank, tattoos crawling up his neck. "Name's Viktor. I'll teach you how to fight. And survive." He said it like the two weren't the same thing.
The last was a soft-spoken man with silver glasses and a sly smile. "Luca. I'll teach you how to read people. Lies. Body language. The art of silent warfare."
Great. A murder Hogwarts. Just what every girl needs.
I tried to act normal, tried to play the part of the girl-who-isn't-secretly-falling-apart-inside. But the moment Viktor tossed a training knife to me, it was like my heart short-circuited.
"Let's see what you've got, principessa," he said, gesturing me forward.
I held the knife. Heavy. Cold. Familiar.
Wait.
Familiar?
He lunged. My body moved before I even thought. I sidestepped, twisted my wrist, disarmed him like I'd done it a hundred times.
Everyone froze. Including me. I don't remember taking any lessons in the Carringtons house. Papà never allowed me although Bridget had tons of Trainers.
"Where did you learn that?" Viktor asked, brows furrowed.
"I... I didn't," I said, breath catching.
And then it hit.
A flash. Not a dream. A memory.
⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆
Blood on a white floor.
A man shouting, "Lilly, behind you!"
My small hands holding a real knife. Swinging it.
A voice in my ear whispering, "Never let them see your fear."
A scream.
Silence.
⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆
I stumbled back, the room spinning. I heard Selene's voice echoing something about sitting down, but it was muffled, far away.
Then—
"Enough."
His voice cut through everything like a blade.
Dante. Why was he here? Didn't he have something to attend to?
He was there. Leaning against the wall like he'd been watching the whole time. Hair down. Suit perfect. Eyes locked on me like I was the most interesting puzzle in the world.
"She's not ready," Selene said.
"She's remembering," Dante replied calmly more like a whisper one I heard very clearly.
His gaze didn't leave mine.
"What do you mean by remembering?" I whispered, stepping toward him. I felt like he knew something I didn't something I so desperately wanted to know.
He didn't say anything.
Instead, he walked over slowly, leaned down so we were eye to eye.
"They took everything from you, Amore Mio. I'm just giving it back—one nightmare at a time."
I just stood there dumbfounded trying to figure out what to say. However, nothing seemed to be coming out.
"Who am I really?" I asked, voice cracking.
He reached up, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear.
"You're mine."
And then he walked away. Leaving me with the millions of questions running rampant in my head.
"Okay if you're feeling better now we will continue the lessons" I heard from behind me it sounded like Luca.