Chapter 51 Anya
I was shaken awake by rough hands.
My eyes flew open. A stranger stood over me. He was tall, muscular with cold eyes.
"Get dressed. You are leaving this place. Now." His voice was ice.
"Who are you?" I tried to scramble back. "Get away from me!”
"Get up,” he said coldly.
My heart raced. Was this one of Nikolai's men? Had he found me?
Was he taking me back?
Relief and terror flooded through me in equal measure.
"I... I need to get my brother. Dmitri. I am not leaving without him."
"He is already being taken care of. Now move."
I grabbed a robe and threw it over my pajamas. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely tie the belt.
The man grabbed my arm, firmly.
He led me out of my room. Into the hallway. Other guards were there. Moving quickly.
"What is happening?" I asked. "Is it Nikolai? Did he find me?"
The man did not answer. He just kept walking, pulling me along.
We went down a different hallway and through a hidden door.
We emerged in an underground garage. Cars were waiting with their engines running.
Dmitri was already there, being held by another guard. His eyes were wide with fear.
"Anya!" He called out. "What is going on?"
"I do not know!"
They pushed us into the back of a car and slammed the doors.
The car took off immediately going fast.
"Where are you taking us?" I demanded. "Tell me what is happening!"
The driver's eyes met mine in the rearview mirror. "Master Alexei ordered us to keep you safe. There is an intruder in the estate."
My heart sank.
Nikolai.
"An intruder?" Dmitri asked. His voice was shaking. "Who?"
"Unknown. But Master Alexei will handle it."
It had to be Nikolai.
He had come for me.
And now Alexei knew and they were taking me away.
"Please," I begged. "Please turn around. Take us back."
"I cannot do that, miss."
"But my brother does not need to be involved in this! Let him go!"
"We are keeping you both safe. That is all."
The car drove for what felt like hours, through the city, into the countryside.
Finally, we stopped at a small house in the middle of nowhere.
"You will stay here," the guard said. "Until Master Alexei sends for you. There is food. Water. Everything you need."
They pushed us inside and locked the door from the outside.
I heard the car drive away.
Dmitri and I stood in the middle of the small living room, staring at each other.
"Anya," he said slowly. "What is going on? Who is the intruder? Why are we running?"
How would I explain myself?
"I do not know," I lied. "Maybe business or rival families. You know how it is."
"No. I do not know how it is." Dmitri walked closer. "You have been sad and distant for days. And now this. What are you not telling me?"
"Dmitri, please..."
"The truth, Anya. You owe me that much."
I sat down heavily on the bed. Tears burned my eyes.
"The intruder," I whispered. "I think it might be... him."
"Him who?"
I looked up. My eyes met my brother's confused eyes.
"Nikolai Markov. The man who killed our father."
Dmitri's face went white. "What? Why would he be here? How would he even know where to find you?"
"Because..." I took a shaky breath. "Because I was with him. Before Alexei took me."
"You were with the man who killed our father?" Dmitri's voice was rising. "How? Why?"
"It is complicated."
"Explain it to me then! Make me understand!"
"The Petrov family gave me to him as an offering!" The words burst out. "I was his Blood offering… tithe, whatever. He made me a slave in his house. I did not have a choice!"
Dmitri staggered back. His eyes were red.
Tears streamed down my face. "I was a maid. A servant. Less than nothing."
"Then why is he looking for you now?" Dmitri was crying now.
"Because..." I could not say it.
"Because what, Anya?"
"Because I fell in love with him!" The confession tore out of me. "Because despite everything, despite the pain and the fear and the hatred, I fell in love with the man who destroyed our family!"
The silence was deafening.
Dmitri stared at me like I was a stranger.
"You love him," he said flatly. "You love our father's murderer."
"I know it is wrong. I know it is sick. I know I should hate him. But I cannot help it."
"And Alexei? Where does he fit into this?"
"Alexei took me, showed me you were alive and he gave me a choice. You or Nikolai." I wiped my tears. "And I chose you. I chose my brother. My family."
"But you regret it."
"No. Yes. I do not know." I stood up. "I am grateful to Alexei for saving you, for bringing us together. But he is using you to control me. And I am trapped."
Dmitri was quiet for a long moment. Then he said, "If Nikolai is here. If he found you. Does that mean he cares?"
"I think so, maybe. I do not know."
"And do you want to go back to him?"
The question hung in the air.
Did I want to go back? To the man who killed my father? To the darkness and the danger and the chaos?
Or did I want to stay? With my brother? In this gilded cage Alexei had built?
"I do not know," I whispered honestly. "I do not know what I want anymore."
Before Dmitri could respond, the door swung open. We both froze. A guard walked in and took Dmitri out.
"Where are you taking him?" I shouted. But they didn't even look at me. The door shut behind them.
And now I was alone in the small room.
I cried my eyes out.
I tried to speak to Dmitri at dinner, but he ignored me. He ate in silence, then went to his room and closed the door. The wall between us was solid now.
That evening, after a quiet meal, I went to bed. The small house was silent. I stared at the dark ceiling, my mind racing. The brother I had chosen all this for was now ignoring me.
I was about to fall asleep when I heard the sound of cars approaching.
My heart jumped. I sat up in bed.
Doors slammed heavily. The sound of fotsteps on the porch were heavy.
Had Nikolai found me again?
The front door burst open with a crash.
I got out of bed, pulling my robe tight around me.
Then, I heard Alexei's voice. "Bring him in.”
I opened the door slightly and peeped into the living room, two guards were dragging a man, loodied and beaten. He was arely conscious.
My heart stopped when I saw the face.
It was Nikolai.
"Look what I found," Alexei said, cheerfully. "Breaking into my house again. Some people never learn."
He threw Nikolai to the floor. Nikolai groaned.
"Nikolai!" I screamed, running out of my room.
Alexei held up a hand and stopped me. "Ah, ah. Do not touch. He is dangerous.”
"What did you do to him?" My voice broke.
"Just taught him a lesson about respecting other people's property." Alexei smiled. "But I thought you should see him one last time before I kill him."
"No!" I fell to my knees. "Please! Please do not kill him!"
"Why not? He broke into my home, twice. He tried to steal what is mine. He deserves to die."
"I will do anything! Please! I will stay! I will never try to leave! I will be whatever you want! Just please do not kill him!"
Alexei tilted his head. "Anything?"
I nodded.
"Anya, no," Dmitri said behind me. He stood in his bedroom doorway. "Do not do this."
But I ignored him.
"I will be yours," I said to Alexei. "Completely. Just let him live."
Alexei's smile widened. "Deal."
He pulled out a gun and pointed it at Nikolai's head.
"Wait!" I screamed. "You said..."
"I said I would not kill him. I never said I would let him go." Alexei's finger moved to the trigger. "Say goodbye, Anya."
He pulled the trigger with a dark smile on his face.
And then everything went black.