All Chapters of FURY OF THE HEART: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Elara’s POV My breath seized in my throat as I fixed my gaze on Dmitri, the guy who had been everything, now before me brandishing a revolver. Every sound in the room was muffled save for the pounding of my heart in my ears; it felt as though the world had stopped. My chest clenched and I felt as though I may be crushed by the weight of all that had happened. The air was heavy with anxiety. Dmitri's voice sliced through the quiet like a dagger, his tone icy, but there was something more there—something more threatening. "You made a mistake." I couldn't speak or move. My head was whirling, my ideas disjointed and fractured. How had things turned around? Standing there with that lethal weapon squarely leveled at me, the man I once loved had become my prisoner. Leo was still standing next to me; his presence was like a rock, yet I could sense strain in his body. His jaw closed and his fists were curled at his sides, poised for attack. He was not slowing down. He refused to let Dmi

Elara’s POVThe gun was still pointed at me; the cool barrel glinting in the low light as the woman's finger tightened just slightly on the trigger. The weight of the occasion seemed to be crushing down on me. Every breath was a fight; every idea blurred. Though there was no time, my brain was racing attempting to make sense of all that had happened before this point.Now, only now.Silent beside the woman, the man in charge of managing the game—the one believing he possessed all the cards—stood with his icy eyes never leaving me. Leo also stood like a rock in front of me, his body tense and his eyes fixed on the rifle pointed at me. There was something more too, something like sorrow, like he had failed somehow, even as I could see the rage in his eyes and the attempt to shield me.I kept from letting him experience that. I refused to let him bear such weight.Leo's voice broke through the stillness, low and full of urgency. "I won't let them inflict harm upon you."I stared at him,

Elara’s POVFor a single second all I could do was stand there, paralyzed in shock as the man's grip tightened around my arm and his fingernails dug into my skin. The world around me seemed to slow down, and I couldn't take my eyes away from the man's icy face. His palm was firm, uncompromising, and there was no softness in it—only the cold finality of someone who had decided and wasn't about to allow anything or anyone interfere.Leo was standing next to me, his eyes shining with a brightness not seen in years. As he locked eyes with the man who had dared to touch me, his jaw closed and his muscles tightened. I could feel the anger in his look."Let her go," Leo growled, his voice low yet lethal. His tone suggested no space for compromise. He wasn't seeking. He was exacting.The man had no hesitation. His icy look never changed as he tightened his hold on my arm, dragging me toward him like a puppet on a thread."You believe I should listen to you?" The man spoke softly, almost conte

Elara’s POVLike a ticking bomb, Viktor's gun weighed against the air between us. Every muscle in my body clenched as my breath froze in my throat and my heart accelerated to help me make sense of the unfeasible circumstances playing out before me. Viktor had thrown everything into anarchy while standing across the room sporting that deliberate smile. His gun's cold steel pointed straight at me, and I could feel its icy chill encircling my chest."Don't move," Viktor urged, his voice fluid and as though he were savoring every moment of this. "One mistaken action will cause me to trigger something. You also know I won't hesitate.Though the panic tore at my insides and my breath came in short gasps, I couldn't let it rule me. Not today. Not when every action I took in the next few seconds determined everything.Leo's posture next to me was rigid; his mouth closed in wrath, but I could see the struggle raging in his eyes. He was also fighting for survival. He was standing in for me. For

Elara’s POVFear's cold, metallic taste swept across my mouth as the masked man's words resonated around the room, smothering all hope. then you both die.The weight of the phrase hung thick and suffocatingly against my chest. A consistent cadence of fear, my pulse hammered in my ears. But within the anarchy of the circumstances, I could hear Leo's breath next to me—deep, consistent, like he was the only solid object remaining in this craziness.Trying to calm the growing panic in my chest, I tightly grasped his palm but it was insufficient. My eyes strayed to the man wearing the mask, seeking to decipher his intentions, but his posture revealed nothing that suggested his next action. He was cool, under control, and at that one instant he possessed all the power."Leo," I said, hardly able to control the words. "What do we do right now?"His palm tightened around mine, his words a deep growl felt through my very bones. "We battle." Our fight has always been constant.I could see the f