Chapter 71 Anya
When I woke up everything was white.
White ceiling.
White walls.
White sheets.
Everything hurt.
My body felt like it was on fire.
My hands throbbed.
My throat was raw.
"Anya?" A familiar voice. Nikolai's.
I turned my head.
Slowly.
Painfully.
He was sitting beside my bed.
Bandages covered his chest.
His face.
One eye was swollen shut.
But he was alive.
"Nikolai," I whispered. My voice was barely there.
"Thank God. You are awake." He grabbed my hand gently. Careful not to hurt me.
"What happened? Where am I?"
"Hospital. You have been unconscious for three days."
Three days?
"Viktor. He was going to..."
"I know. But Dmitri saved you. He got you out."
Dmitri. My brother.
"Where is he? I need to see him."
Nikolai's face fell. And I knew. I knew something was wrong.
"What happened? Where is my brother?"
"Anya, there is something you need to know."
"Where is Dmitri?" My voice rose. Panic set in.
"He is alive. He is safe. But he is not here."
"Where is he?"
Nikolai took a deep breath. "He made a deal. To save us. He went to Alexei Ivanov for help."
My blood ran cold. "No. No, he would not."
"He did. Ivanov had the resources to find us. To track down Viktor's locations. But in exchange..."
"In exchange for what?"
"Five years. Dmitri sold himself back to Ivanov for five years."
The words did not make sense. Could not make sense.
"No. You are lying. Dmitri would not do that."
"He did it for you. To save you."
"No!" I tried to sit up. Pain shot through my body. "No, no, no!"
"Anya, please. You need to stay calm. Your injuries..."
"I do not care about my injuries! Where is he? Where is my brother?"
"He is gone. Ivanov took him three days ago."
Tears streamed down my face. "This is my fault. All of this is my fault."
"No. None of this is your fault."
"I should have stayed away from you! I should have chosen differently! Then none of this would have happened!"
"Anya, stop. Please."
"My brother is a slave again! Because of me! Because I fell in love with you!"
"Dmitri made his own choice. He knew what he was doing."
"He was scared! He had no one else to turn to! You were captured! Where was Mikhail? Where was anyone?"
Nikolai flinched. "Mikhail was searching. He was trying to find us."
"But he did not! So Dmitri had to go to the one person he knew could help! Even if it cost him everything!"
I was sobbing now. My whole body shaking.
"I want to see him. I need to see him."
"You cannot. Ivanov will not allow it."
"Then I will go to Ivanov! I will make him release Dmitri!"
"Anya, you are in no condition to..."
"I do not care!" I ripped out my IV. Tried to get out of bed.
Alarms went off. Nurses rushed in.
"Ma'am, you need to stay in bed!"
"Let me go! I need to see my brother!"
They tried to hold me down. But I fought. Screamed. Kicked.
"Anya, please!" Nikolai grabbed my shoulders. "You are going to hurt yourself!"
"I do not care! Dmitri is suffering because of me!"
"And he will continue to suffer if you kill yourself trying to save him!"
The words hit me like ice water.
I stopped struggling. Looked at Nikolai.
"What do you mean?"
"If you die, if you hurt yourself, Dmitri's sacrifice means nothing. He gave up five years of his life to save you. Do not throw that away."
I collapsed back on the bed. Sobbing.
"This is not fair. None of this is fair."
"I know. But we will get through this. Together."
"How? How can we get through this when my brother is paying for our happiness?"
"We will find a way to free him. I promise you. We will break the contract. We will..."
"You cannot break the contract. Ivanov will come after us."
"Then we will deal with Ivanov when the time comes."
I looked at him. At his battered face. His determined eyes.
"You really think we can save him?"
"I know we can. But not today. Not while you are still recovering."
The nurses finished re-inserting my IV. Gave me something for the pain.
I felt myself drifting. The drugs taking effect.
"Nikolai?" I whispered.
"I am here."
"Promise me. Promise you will get him back."
"I promise. I will move heaven and earth if I have to."
"And Viktor. He escaped, didn't he?"
Nikolai's jaw tightened. "Yes. But we will find him too. And when we do..."
"When we do, I want to be there. I want to watch him pay for what he did to us."
"You will. I swear it."
My eyes were closing. Sleep pulling me under.
But just before I lost consciousness, I heard the door open.
Voices. Angry. Tense.
"You cannot be in here!" A nurse said.
"I have business with Nikolai Markov," a smooth, cold voice replied.
I knew that voice. Alexei Ivanov.
I forced my eyes open. Saw him standing in the doorway.
Tall. Powerful. Smiling.
"What do you want?" Nikolai demanded.
"I came to see how the patient is doing. After all, I did help save her life."
"You helped yourself to my family. That is what you did."
"Dmitri came to me willingly. I simply accepted his offer."
"You took advantage of a desperate boy!"
"I gave him what he asked for. Resources to save his sister. In exchange for his service. A fair trade."
Nikolai stood up. Moved between me and Ivanov. "Get out. Before I throw you out."
"Come now, Markov. We are all civilized people here. I simply wanted to deliver a message."
"What message?"
Ivanov pulled out an envelope. Handed it to Nikolai.
"From Dmitri. He wanted his sister to have this."
Nikolai took the envelope. His hands shaking with rage.
Ivanov smiled. "I will leave you to it then. But remember, Markov. Dmitri is mine now. For five years. Try to interfere, and the contract stipulates that I can extend his service. Indefinitely."
"You bastard."
"Perhaps. But I am a bastard who keeps his word. Unlike some people."
He left.
Nikolai stood there. Staring at the envelope.
"What does it say?" I asked weakly.
He opened it. Read silently. His face crumpled.
"Nikolai? What did he say?"
He handed me the letter. His hands trembling.
I read it through blurry eyes:
Anya,
By the time you read this, I will be gone.
Do not try to find me.
Do not try to save me.
I made this choice willingly.
I know you are blaming yourself.
Stop.
This is not your fault.
This is my choice.
My sacrifice.
I spent years as a slave.
Five more will not kill me.
But losing you would have.
Nikolai loves you.
I see that now.
And you love him.
That is enough for me.
Be happy, sister.
Live the life I could not.
Love the man I could not accept.
And when my five years are up, I will come home.
And we will be a family again.
Until then, do not waste your tears on me.
I am stronger than you think.
I love you.
Always.
· Dmitri
The letter fell from my hands.
And I broke completely.
Sobbing so hard I could not breathe.
Nikolai held me. His own tears falling on my hair.
"We will get him back," he whispered. "I promise you. We will get him back."
But even as he said it, I heard the doubt in his voice.
Because Ivanov was powerful.
More powerful than Nikolai.
More powerful than anyone.
And he had my brother.
For five years.
Unless we found a way to break the contract.
Unless we found a weakness.
Unless we were willing to risk everything.
Again.