Page 136 of The Blade in the Ashes
The room was oddly devoid of any scent, as if someone had meticulously kept it clean. A chill hung in the air, noticeably icier than the portrait room had been. Nikolai scanned over it all clinically, darting between the raised podiums that displayed the stolen artifacts and goods on delicategolden pillows. Crystals, jewels, weapons, scrolls. Half of them were tagged and ready for auction, while others seemed untouched, covered by a thin coating of dust.
It was a private collection unlike anything I had seen.
Although I’d never seen the extent of Nikolai’s full collection.
“Will you show me your secret room?” The question escaped before I could think to stop it.
He turned to me with a raised brow. “My secret room?”
Blushing, I waved an arm around us. “You know, the place where you keep all of this stuff.”
He laughed lightly under his breath. “I will take you to whatever secret rooms or places you wish to see when this is over, little bird.”
I covered my smile by scratching my nose as he returned to searching each of the cases. When his steps quickened as he made his way to the corner of the room, I knew he had found them.
“There are two here!”
Eagerly, I marched towards where he stood, and sure enough, he stared happily down at two long daggers, both with matching ruby-encrusted hilts. Perfect pairs to the one currently strapped to my thigh that he had given me all those months ago.
“I had been hoping for more, but two is better than nothing.”
He shot me a crooked smile, that dimple in his cheek appearing briefly enough to steal my breath. “Beggars can’t be choosers.”
The urge to launch myself forward and throw my arms around him struck me.
“I almost can’t believe it,” I mused to him, trying to crush down the emotions bubbling inside of me. “We did it. We actually found them.”
Nikolai’s grin grew, the whites of his teeth beginning to show. “Did you doubt me?”
“Never,” I answered honestly and without hesitation.
He blinked, a considering look falling over his features before he gave me a single nod. I watched the lump in his throat bob as he swallowed.
“Well, it all worked out in the end.”
The end.
Finding the blades meant that our mission was over. We would return to his estate—back to Clay and back to the war. I would return my focus to protecting my kingdom and defeating Hyrax, while Nikolai would return to...well, whatever it is he did with his days.
There would be no more nights spent sleeping next to one another, pretending I wasn’t deeply aware of every time he inhaled and exhaled.
There would be no more teasing smiles or flirtatious jokes.
No more nicknames or kisses given without realizing their significance.
My time with Nikolai was ending again, just as it had before.
That’s what I had wanted, though. It’s what I had demanded, in fact. I had insisted on it day after day. He’d made his interest in me clear, and I’d been just as clear that there was nothing between us but old memories.
That was all I could allow for there to be because anything more would end with me heartbroken again.
So, why did the knowledge that we’d finally found the blades now have me feeling oddly disappointed?
“You got some place to hide these?” he asked me softly, his voice as withdrawn as I felt. With a sigh, he lifted the lid on the case that held the blades and avoided my gaze.
My heart twinged with an unexplainable ache, but I ignored it, falling instead into a new role—one where I was just happy that we had made this contribution towards the war effort. I painted a fake smile onto my face and winked as I pulled up my skirt.
“Hand them over.”
