The Prey

Rara's sobs had reverberated for hours before fading, leaving a silence so loud it swallowed everything.

The Romanovskis were gone now, off to Moscow and then Italy, leaving their son and his chaos behind. I wondered if they’d ever truly come back—or if Judas would let them.

I stood in the middle of the hollow living room, staring at nothing and hearing everything: the faint creak of wood, the distant shuffle of the guards, and the relentless pounding of my own heartbeat. It felt wrong. Judas wasn’t here, but his scent refused to fade.

I told myself to let it go.

To shove the hollowness of his pale...