Gianna's POV

I stood at the center of a grand throne room—dark marble floors gleamed under the dim lights, and gold adorned every corner like a testament to power. Warriors clad in black cloaks encircled me, their faces twisted in sneers, their whispers too faint to discern. My gaze drifted across the room, landing on Stefano as he moved toward me.

"Don’t come any closer!" I cried, the warning spilling from my lips without a clear reason.

A flicker of pain crossed Stefano's face. "Gianna, don't do this. There has to be another way."

But something within me had already shifted, a heat surging through my body, intense and consuming....