Page 93 of The King's Pawn
At the last moment, I stop myself.
Testing what little rapport I’ve managed to nurture wouldn’t be wise. At this stage, anyway.
Nikolai exhales slowly, the sound harsh and unyielding as though he’s locking something back inside himself. “I see.”
He rises from the couch with fluid ease and turns away from me, moving toward the dark, unlit fireplace. The stone hearth looms behind him, more ceremonial than comforting. He rests one hand on the mantel, staring at nothing in particular, his back to me.
“Stay here for a while,devushka. Your captor will not be pleased when he realizes you are missing or where you’ve decided to strand yourself. Better to let him cool down before you see him again.”
I blink. My mind scrambles to catch up with the words.
What?
I straighten immediately. “Are… you not taking me up on my offer?”
He glances over his shoulder then, and the faint curve of his lips tilts up in an almost smile. “I will certainly think about it.”
Before I can ask what that means, the doors behind me swing open without warning. I jump and spin around as two guards stride into the room, their presence sudden and overwhelming. Nikolai gestures to one of them without looking away from me.
“Prepare a guest room,” he says smoothly. “She will be joining us temporarily.”
My heart stutters.
Guest room?
Confusion rockets through me, but I clamp my mouth shut. Every instinct tells me not to argue, not to ask questions while I’m still in Nikolai’s good favor. One of the guards steps forward and inclines his head, indicating I should follow.
I do.
I spare Nikolai once last glance over my shoulder, finding he’s already turned away again and crouching down to light the fireplace. As I’m guided from the study and deeper into the cold, immaculate hallways of the Malyshko estate, I finally release a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. My lungs burn as air rushes back in, my thoughts tumbling over one another in frantic disarray.
What the hell just happened?
As my footsteps echo softly behind the guards, I wonder whether I’ve just made the best decision of my life or the worst.
Perhaps both.
One thing is certain, though, as the doors close behind me and I’m ushered farther from the world I know. I have the terrifying feeling that I’ve just started something I absolutely will not have the power to handle.
My only hope is that I will make it out alive on the other side.
20
SASHA
Nikolai’s call comes only half an hour after my body finally gives in to exhaustion.
It drags me out of sleep with brutal efficiency, the vibration of my phone rattling against the nightstand echoing through my bedroom loudly. For a fraction of a second, I don’t know where I am. My mind is still tangled in half-formed dreams and the lingering absence of Alina’s body beside me.
I’ve spent hours staring at the ceiling, replaying my conversation with Lena until my thoughts turned circular and useless. Every word she said, every pause between them, every look she gave me had been horrible. Her disappointment in me, in my choices, hurt more than any threat Nikolai has ever made could.
Yet still, I didn’t relent.
I can’t.
I’d rather feel the cold kiss of a gun barrel pressed to my forehead and hear the click of the trigger than drag Alina any further into this mess. I’ve already pulled her into the crosshairsof it enough as it is. I won’t let her become the price of my defiance.
If anyone is to die by Nikolai’s hand, it should be Viktor Morozov.
