The sun was barely a promise on the horizon when Raven arrived at his base.
Inside, Raven set Amelia down gently on a cold bed and went to grab a drink to cure his fatigue.
Just as he returned, Amelia's eyes fluttered open, heavy due to sleep and confusion. She blinked at the bare walls, then met his gaze.
"Where am I?" she whispered, voice rough and fragile.
"And who the hell are you?"
Raven didn't answer right away. His dark eyes were something unreadable and unsettling.
But as her mind cleared up, she arrived at the only plausible answer. "Wait... It's you, you bastard."
She tried to activate her magic in a hurry, but to her dismay, nothing at all came out of it.
"You're safe," he said, simply ignoring what seemed to him like a childish tantrum. "Here, at my base."
She sat up, muscles aching, anger flaring despite her weakness. "You call this safe? I'm your prisoner."
His lips twitched, almost like a smile. "If you want to call it that. But you're here because I saved you."
Amelia laughed, bitter and hollow. "Saved me? You killed my father."
"That's over," Raven said quietly, "and it's in the past now."
"Nothing's over until I kill you."
"You can try," Raven smirked
She looked away, jaw clenched. "Then why am I still here? Why haven't you killed me, too?"
His gaze sharpened. "Because I don't kill without reason."
For a moment, silence stretched between them, thick and uneasy.
Then Raven said, "You hate me. I get it. But if you stay here..."
"How about I help you get stronger?... Strong enough to stand on your own. Maybe, strong enough, to one day get your revenge."
Her eyes shot back to his, wide and disbelieving.
"You expect me to believe that? After everything?"
"Believe it or not," Raven said, leaning back slightly. "Makes no difference. I'm offering you something no one else will. Strength."
He wondered if she'd actually try.
If she'd train and level up in dungeons every day, just to find out one swing wouldn't even scratch him. The thought almost made him laugh.
'Still, something was interesting about keeping her around.'
Amelia spat with both amusement and anger. "So I can use it to kill you? That's your plan?"
Her father's voice echoed in her head — lectures about strength, about duty, about the family name.
She clenched her fists.
If he had been half as strong as Raven, maybe none of this would have happened. The thought made her chest ache with both anger and shame.
Instead, he had been weak. And because of that weakness, he was gone. And now she was left with this monster.
"That's your choice," Raven said. "I'm not scared of you. If one day you're strong enough to try, I'll face you."
Her chest felt tight. She wanted to curse him, spit in his face, anything to wipe that calm look away. But she couldn't ignore what she'd seen at the Kremlin. That kind of power didn't care about her hate.
"You think I'd take your help?"
"You already have," Raven said. "You're alive because of me. If you were anyone else, I'd have left you in the ruins."
She hated that he was right. She hated more that he was so sure she'd realise it eventually.
The silence stretched. The low hum of the base's power systems filled the gap. Raven tapped his fingers on his knee, eyes still on her.
"Fine," she said. "I'll take your offer. But I will kill you."
A faint smirk pulled at his mouth. "Good. Hate makes you move. Just make sure it doesn't break you first."
He stood up and headed for the door. "Stay here. I'll get food."
When the door closed, Amelia sat there, staring at the wall. She should be thinking about how to escape. Instead, she was thinking about what he said.
What am I even doing? I should be planning to run, not training under him. But where would I even go? And what strength do I have now?
Her hands shook. She clenched them until they stopped. Hate was supposed to make her stronger, not leave her like this.
She lay back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.
'Fine. I'll take what he gives me.'
'I'll train.'
'I'll get stronger.'
'And when the time comes…'
'I'll bury him in the ground myself.'
But sleep didn't come. Only the image of Raven's smirk stayed with her.