LIES THAT BINDS

Elara's POV

Dmitri's fingers sank into my skin, each second stretching longer than the last, and I could sense his heat on my wrist. Though every muscle in my body screamed at me to break free, the room was tense and I couldn't move. I felt caught.

Leo's look stayed fixed on Dmitri; his expression was incomprehensible. Benevolent on the surface, though, I could see the storm building in his eyes—one I had been too terrified to confront. Dmitri, on the other hand, was like a beast captured, his resentment boiling just under the surface.

"What the heavens is going on here?" Dmitri's voice was a low growl full of the kind of fury that made the room feel smaller. "You think I should let you pick her, Leo?"

Leo did not reply straight away. Rather, he shifted his slow attention toward me, his eyes locked with mine, and momentarily all else vanished. My stomach tightened as the raw feeling in his eyes hammered in my chest.

Though I realized this was a risky game, in that brief second I paid no attention. It worried me to be on the brink of something I had no control over. But considering allowing Leo to vanish once more? That was even worse.

Dmitri's hold tightened around my wrist, and the acute agony returned me to reality. "Let her go, Leo," Dmitri spat, his voice icy. "She is mine."

I pulled my arm free from Dmitri's hold and stepped back using the force I had not known I still possessed. Hissed, "I'm no one's," my words like fire. "not yours." Not among him. not anyone's."

The room stilled for a time. Dmitri's expression contorted in incredulity, as if he couldn understand the concept of me turning away from him. But Leo, Leo merely stood there, his lips twisting into a little, lethal smile.

Leo answered softly, his voice thick with something I couldn't define. "You're right," he murmured. Elara, you are not someone else's. Not of his. Not among mine. That does not, however, mean you are free."

My hands shaking at my sides, I glared at him. I wanted not to fall back into this lethal network of falsehoods and power games, not to believe him. I didn't want him. Still, I could be beginning to feel that tug once more. That irresistible charm that had felt like a burden previously.

Dmitri moved forward, his eyes flaming with anger. "You think you could just show up here, following all you have done, and leave with her? Leo, you are only a shadow of what you used to be. And you cannot get away with this."

Leo did not, however, flinch. He was tall and his posture was perfect. "You are correct on one point, Dmitri. I have done things I cannot undo. I have, however, learnt to live with my blunders. Are you able to say the same?"

The remarks hit like a gut punch. Dmitri's expression clouded but he said nothing. Rather, he looked at me and for a time his wrath dissolved into something softer—almost needy.

"Elara," Dmitri whispered, his voice soft but charged with feeling. "You are entering into something different here. Leo... he's dangerous. He brings liability.

I shook my head and laughed bitterly. "You think you could guard me, Dmitri? After all you have accomplished?" My voice was sharp, like the sting of treachery. You believe you could influence me? I'm done; you and your family have been playing me in your small game like a pawn. I'm over being your property.

Dmitri's eyes were wide at what I said, but before he could reply, Leo moved forward and his presence was overpowering. He stretched out, his fingers just grazing my arm to cause me shivers down my spine.

"Elara," Leo replied gently, almost tender in voice. "I am aware of my hurting of you." You are not, however, working alone here. You are free to stop battling them on your own.

I was taken aback by his rawness and the genuineness I had not heard from him in years. I could virtually believe him for a short second. Nearly. Then, though, the truth of the circumstances struck me once more.

"No," I said, backing away from him and my heart hurting with every syllable. "I don't require your assistance. Not quite anymore.

Leo's face stiffened, the delicate sensitivity in his eyes replaced by the cold, merciless stare I too often knew. He straightened and clenched his teeth as he examined Dmitri and me.

"You think you might walk away from this?" Leo asked, his voice low and lethal. You think you could simply ignore everything? Your household? Your future? Elara, you do not have a choice. Not now.

Dmitri laughed, the strain in the room became more pronounced every second. "This is ridiculous," he mumbled, staring at Leo and me alternately. You two are engaged in a deadly game. And I refuse to let you pull me into it."

I could see the storm building in his eyes, the mix of wrath and terror driving him erratically. Leo was not, however, backing down either. Locked in a quiet struggle for dominance over me, over the circumstances, over everything, the two guys stood facing one another.

My heart was thumping in my chest, the weight of the occasion dragging down on me. This transcended love now to include more. It pertained to power. On control. And I found myself trapped in the midst, divided between two worlds and two men each yearning something from me.

I was not going to allow them, nevertheless, control my life anymore. I had decided which to do. Or so I assumed.

I said, my voice quivering but firm: "I'm leaving." "I have done all of this."

Turning to leave, Dmitri reached out and grabbed my arm, whirling me around to face him before I could get a stride.

His voice strained as he urged Elara not to do this. "You cannot just turn away from all we have created. From myself.

I stared into his eyes and for the first time I saw the guy behind the mask. The man who had first assured me everything turned on me. The man clinging to me now was desperate rather than loving.

"I don't need you, Dmitri," I replied softly, my voice consistent even in the tempest within me. "Not now."

The words really got to him more than I had anticipated. His eyes sparkled with wrath, then something darker flashed across his face.

Dmitri said, his voice low and ominous, "You'll regret this, Elara."

I stared back at him unwavering. "Dmitri, I already have. But I won't let you run my life anymore."

Heart thumping in my chest, I turned and headed toward the door. What would happen next eluded me. Outside that door, I had no idea what was ahead.

But I knew one thing: caught in this lethal game, I could not stay here. No more.

Footsteps behind me greeted me as I entered the hall. Leo..

Leo cried out, his voice commanding, "Wait," but I continued.

I continued to walk, my ideas whirl-around until I came across the steps. And then, before I could even descend, I heard the clear sound of a gunshot.

My blood chilled.

My heart stopped, I spun around to find Dmitri at the top of the steps clutching a revolver. And far away I heard someone yell.

"Elar!" Leo's voice was hysterical, but I had no time to consider it.

The rifle Dmitri's hand held pointed straight at me seemed to slow down the world around me.