Eva’s mind wandered back to a time long before the weight of the crown settled on her head. A time when her mother, Georgina, was locked up in Danielle’s dungeon with her and Tiana. But there was another figure in her life—one who remained a dark and elusive presence in the shadows of her memories. That figure was Vladymyr.
In a flash, Eva was transported to the past, to the stories her mother had shared with her. She had heard of him—Vladymyr, the vampire who had once been a royal, banished for his actions.
He had once been a part of the powerful vampire court, until the moment he made the choice that shattered everything: he turned Danielle into their kind.
The act that had changed everything. Danielle had never fully understood why he had done it, nor had she ever truly forgiven him for it. Vladymyr had always believed that love could redeem him. But it was a love Danielle could never return.
In the memories that floated through Eva’s mind, she saw her mother’s eyes, filled with anger and confusion. She remembered the sharpness in her voice when she spoke of Vladymyr, the bitterness that lingered with every mention of his name.
“He thought he could redeem himself through love,” Danielle had said once, her voice soft with a sorrow Eva could never fully grasp.
“But he never understood that love isn’t something you can force. It isn’t something you can take.”
Eva blinked, the present rushing back to her. She was standing outside the pack’s borders, just beyond the gates, where the trees seemed to whisper in the dark. She could feel the pull of something—someone—lurking in the shadows. And then, there he was. Vladymyr. Watching her.
From a distance, his dark eyes fixed on her with a strange intensity. His expression was unreadable, but there was something in his gaze—something familiar. Eva’s heart skipped a beat as she took a step forward, her hand instinctively resting on the hilt of her blade. But Vladymyr didn’t make a move. He simply stood there, his form a shadow among shadows.
“I never got Danielle,” he murmured, his voice low, almost like a whisper to the night. “But I’ll have her daughter’s legacy.”
Eva’s grip on her blade tightened, a wave of anger washing over her. She knew exactly what he meant. It wasn’t just her power he was after. It wasn’t just her connection to the prophecy. He wanted everything her mother had left behind, everything that had come with her name. He wanted Eva, just as he had once wanted Danielle.
“Stay away from me,” Eva said, her voice steady but filled with fury. She had no room for someone like him in her life. Her mother’s past was her own, and she would never let Vladymyr rewrite it.
Vladymyr let out a low laugh, his eyes never leaving hers. “You think I want you, Eva? No. I want what you will become. What you are becoming. The legacy of your mother, the power that courses through your veins. That’s what I want.”
Eva’s heart pounded in her chest as she took another step forward, her voice colder now. “You want nothing from me. You have nothing left to take. My mother was right about you—love doesn’t redeem people. It just destroys them.”
For a moment, silence hung between them. Vladymyr’s gaze softened, just a fraction. “Perhaps,” he murmured. “But you don’t understand. I never wanted her to be my salvation. I only wanted to show her that I was more than what they made me. I wanted her to see that I was capable of change.”
Eva didn’t know whether to feel pity for him or to feel disgusted by the sheer audacity of his words. His actions had ruined her mother’s life. He had broken her, just as he had broken countless others.
“You broke her,” Eva said, her voice sharp. “And now you’re trying to use me to fix your mistakes. But I won’t let you.”
Vladymyr’s face hardened, his eyes narrowing with a cold fire.
“You’ll understand soon enough, Eva. You’ll see that your path is already set. You may fight it now, but eventually, you will realize that the legacy of your mother isn’t just something to carry—it’s something to claim.”
Eva felt the chill in the air deepening as he spoke, as if the very words he spoke were wrapped in shadows. She refused to be intimidated. She wasn’t Danielle. She would never be the woman who had allowed Vladymyr’s twisted love to manipulate her. But there was something inside of her, a quiet dread, that gnawed at her—what if Vladymyr was right? What if, somehow, the legacy of her mother’s mistakes would become her own to bear?
Before she could respond, Vladymyr turned, fading into the darkness as quickly as he had appeared.
“You’ll find me when the time comes,” he said, his voice barely a whisper. “And when you do, you’ll know the truth. The truth of your power. The truth of your legacy.”
Eva stood there for a long time, her breath coming in shallow bursts as the weight of his words settled over her. She didn’t know what to make of him, but she knew one thing: she wouldn’t let him control her. She wouldn’t let him use her mother’s past to manipulate her future.
“I’ll never let him win,” Eva muttered to herself, the words a promise. “I’ll never be his pawn.”
And with that, she turned and walked back into the heart of Silverstone, her heart heavy with the knowledge that Vladymyr’s games were far from over.
“I never got Danielle. But I’ll have her daughter’s legacy.”
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
Summary & Review: Comrade
