Dante's chamber was suffocating with silence. Isabella sat stiffly on the edge of the bed, but Dante did not allow distance. His arm was locked around her waist, his head resting against her shoulder, as though she were both his solace and his prisoner.
"Do you know, Isabella…" Dante's voice was low, dangerously soft, like a serpent whispering in the dark. His fingers traced circles on her wrist, cold yet possessive. "Theodore and I… we share more than blood spilled in battle. We share a mother."
Her breath caught. He smirked at the stiffness in her body, his eyes dark with twisted delight.
"Yes, my darling," he continued, his tone shifting, heavier, like the weight of an old curse. "My mother was promised to another. Promised to my father. She loved him… I was born of that love, legitimate, rightful. But on her wedding night, she was stolen. Stolen by the man you call Theodore's father."
His voice hardened, a tremor of hatred breaking through his calm. "He branded her as his own. Stripped her of everything. And from that violation, Theodore was born. He is the son of theft… while I… I am the son of truth."
He tightened his grip on Isabella's wrist until her pulse raced against his touch. His lips brushed dangerously close to her ear as he whispered, "Do you understand now? He ruined me before I could even speak. He ruined my life before I had a chance to live it. And I… will return the favor."
Isabella shivered as Dante's gaze sharpened, a flicker of madness gleaming like a blade.
"You see, my sweet little captive, Theodore has never known the torment of watching his blood ripped away, of being forced to swallow betrayal until it rots inside you. He has never bled the way I have bled. But he will. I will make sure of it."
Dante tilted her chin, forcing her to meet his fevered eyes. A smile curled at the edge of his lips, sharp, predatory.
"And you, Isabella… you are the key. The pain I have carried for decades—he will taste it through you. You will not bear him a child. You will not give him joy. You are mine. Entirely mine. The ruin he dealt me, I will carve into his soul, until Theodore learns what it means… to lose everything."