NIKOLAI
HIS LIPS PARTED like he wanted to speak. He stepped forward—once, then again—until Ava’s voice cut through like a blade dipped in venom.
My gaze snapped to her. Then down—to the swell of her stomach.
“What is going on here?” she asked, voice high and trembling, layered in forced confusion. “My mate and I were brought over from our home and…” Her words died mid-sentence.
She saw me.
Her eyes locked on, widened—recognition like a blade to the gut. She wasn’t looking at a man. She saw the devil. Good. I tilted my head slightly, expression unreadable as I looked at her.
“A human is here?” she spat, like the word tasted wrong in her mouth. Her lip curled, and she scanned the room as if the joke would reveal itself.
One of the twins—the councilman seated second from the right—arch
