Glistening water cascaded down Azarios's bronze physique as he reclined against the lakeside rocks, his powerful frame relaxed, onyx eyes shut in serene repose. "Your surveillance accomplishes nothing, young tulip." His dark gaze snapped open, pinning my trembling form in place. "What drives you? This single opportunity awaits—flee while you can." His eyes tracked my every breath, predatory and precise. "I am captive, sire. I know the whispers—tales of war prisoners executed without mercy. Survival means everything because someone depends on me. I will sacrifice anything to protect them." "Anything?" His voice dropped to a chilling whisper. I nodded, throat tightening as tears blurred my vision, haunted by memories of violation against my eighteen-year-old body. The lagoon erupted as he rose to his full commanding height, eyes locked on mine, advancing until the distance between us vanished entirely. "Azarios." The name escaped my lips in shock as recognition flooded through me. That name—whispered through dynasties, feared across nations. Killer. Commander. Beast. The legendary Gladiator of Ambrose. The warrior who commanded legions. "You will become my bride." "You represent everything I despise—my enemy, my rival, a soul I loathe utterly." Her voice trembled with fury. "Then our fate is sealed... because you are everything I cherish with relentless devotion." *Non-toxic relationship*