Nyx's POV
I didn't sleep.
How could I? Every time I closed my eyes, I heard his voice through the darkness, cold and sharp, promising to cut off my mother's fingers one by one if I showed even a hint of stalling.
I lay there for hours, feeling him breathe beside me while my mind raced through every possible excuse I could give him, every way I could make my lie sound convincing.
When gray light finally started seeping through the windows, he was already up and dressed in dark training clothes.
"You have ten minutes to get ready. Then we start." His voice was flat, no acknowledgment of the threat he'd made last night, just cold commands.
I changed quickly into one of the dresses from the wardrobe, painfully aware of him watching even though he pretended not to.
When I finished, he wa
