Marcus' POV:

My room was silent.

Uncomfortably so.

So many things have happened in such a short amount of time and it didn't feel like I had caught up to all of these new changes.

And the result of that left me laying at the foot of my bed and staring up at the ceiling.

Nico and Khloe were gone for the day, and I hadn't seen Carlo since that incident with the Lord.

And now with Nico's sudden panic, Khloe and I were set to be free from this castle within a couple days.

According to Nico, freed into a fully furnished house with enough money to last us more than a lifetime.

Which itself seemed like a dream come true, but something still didn't sit right with me.

Whether it was just nerves of shifting from a slave my whole life to a normal citizen, or some other underlying worry I wasn't quite sure yet.

One thing I was definitely sure of was the sorrow that sat unmoving in my chest at this news.

Knowing that I might never see Doe or Carlo again, and not even having the ability to tell them what was happening.

But if it meant safety for both Khloe and I...

I released a long breath, effectively sagging deeper into the bed.

Time seemed to be going by a lot slower ever since this news was given to me, yet I couldn't do anything but sit and wait for something to happen.

My body instinctively shot up into a sitting position at the sound of a knock at my door.

It was familiar... It was Carlo.

I practically bolted to the door, opened it, dragged him in, and closed it within a matter of seconds.

He didn't have time to express his surprise before I spoke.

"Nico would kill you if he spotted you on this floor!" I scolded in a harsh whisper, despite the fact that I knew that he wasn't even here.

Carlo didn't know that.

At least I hope he didn't.

"I know, I know," He responded through heavy breaths.

It was then that I noticed his hard breathing and slumped at all.

"Did you run here?" I questioned, my voice softening from what it was previously.

"A little bit, yeah," he spoke, clearing his throat before he straightened himself, " I just wanted to make sure you were, y'know, okay. I hadn't... heard or seen you since the Lord... and I got scared that maybe he did something to you. He's still using you as leverage but I just didn't know if you were uninjured." His usually carefully controlled voice slipped a few times.

It made that sorrow in my chest get worse.

If it had only been days since then, what would he think when I completely disappear without a word?

"Carlo..." I began, but any other words escaped me for a moment.

Part of me wanted to take this moment to be sentimental, but deep down I knew it wouldn't change anything.

And him setting his hand on my shoulder didn't exactly help.

I just needed to make it through these last days without incident.

"He already has you on another death mission?" I asked.

Lord Vanderwood did say he expected Nico to find out about what was happening, so I guess it was only expected for him to have another plan right off the bat.

Carlo let out a half-hearted laugh.

"Yeah. I guess you could call it that."

That was exactly what I was calling it because that was exactly what I saw it as.

Nico was on edge already, so who knows what he'd do to Carlo if he caught him in the act of somehow getting to Khloe.

I only barely managed to keep Carlo's life with him the first time, and something told me the odds of that happening again were dangerously low if there at all.

I just needed him to not put himself in that situation and hope that Khloe and I can get out before he makes a move.

"Why are you still doing this?" I asked.

His brows rose at the pleading tone of my voice, "I told you already. Lord Vanderwood is still using you as leverage."

"He was using me as leverage before, but you backed down once Nico promised my protection." I tried to reason.

"That was before this situation got worse."

"Nico's offer still stands, Carlo," I explained, my bottom lip beginning to tremble at the thought of this situation's worst-case scenario, "He told me that."

"He could be lying."

"He's not."

"How can you be so sure?"

I drew back a minute, suprised by the sudden venom in his voice.

"Because I trust him!"

"Well I dont!"

"Then trust me!" I begged.

If anything I just needed him to sit tight for three more nights, then Khloe and I will be out of harm's way.

He looked me over for a few moments, hopefully listening to what I said.

Although my hope for that vanished as he looked off to the side with a small sigh.

"I want to," He admitted, "I want to trust you. I know that he can ensure your safety better than I can and I want to trust your words that he will, but it's hard to trust you about your safety when all you've done so far is try to sacrifice yourself."

His words stung more than they probably should have.

But I couldn't exactly say that he was wrong.

That was my intention at first, yes.

"Things have changed since then." I choked out, "That was back when I was trying to make sure this situation didn't reach Nico. Back when I was constantly trying to keep you and Khloe out of harms way."

I guess saying it out loud, this situation dosnt seem much different.

The only difference was tht Nico knew and had a solution.

But still the threat was there, and the previous stress that I had been relieved of was finding itself within me again.

The frustrated and worrisome tears that were flooding my eyes fell as tears of panic.

"There's no way in Hell that Khloe will be unguarded and at this point I know that if cached even a fragment of your scent any where near her he will kill you and I can't stand the thought of that knowing that you died because of me when I was protected to begin with!"

It's like this whole thing started over but this time the stakes were so much higher and the time limit was so much shorter.

I barely even realized that Carlo had pulled me towards him before I found my head on his shoulder and my hands grasping the back of his shirt.

The small jesture of comfort caused me to lose it entirely.

Though, I'm guessing part of it was the sorrow before hand bubbling over with the rest.

"I can't do this again, Carlo," I admitted.

"Then don't," He began, " I know there's a miniscule chance of me succeeding, I know it's basically a lost cause."

"Then why try? Why risk it?!"

He breathed out a small laugh, still trying to keep that cheerful demeanor I adored.

"Why risk your life protecting the heir's pet when you don't know what the Lord wants with her?" He countered.

I stayed silent, knowing that we were both too stubborn to quit.

I couldn't argue with him when our reasoning were so similar.

"Because we fear the worst possible outcome," He answered for me,"we fear the thought of the worst happening, knowing that we could have possibly stopped it if we tried."

God how much I wish I could tell him what was happening.

That I would be safe if he just waited.

Yet somehow I doubt even that would stop him.

"Can you at lease hold off? Just for a little bit?"

"Hold off?"

I sniffed, leaning back to meet his eye.

"Promise me that you won't attempt anything... For at least the next three days. Just so I don't have to constantly stress about this for a short bit. Your deadline isn't for a while, right?"

His eyes strayed from mine as he chewed the corner of his bottom lip.

"As much as I want to give you at least that, I'm afraid that I can't. Lord Vanderwood actually... shortened my deadline."

My breath just about stopped in my throat.

"To when?" I managed to get out.

He hesitated, debating whether or not to actually tell me.

Then against all previous odds he actually answered me.

"The end of this week."