Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 79211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
My heart beats faster. “And you wear your arrogance like a crown, Your Majesty.”
Polina chuckles beside me. “I like you, Harper. Oh, I like you very much.”
Aleksandr scowls at her. “Stay out of this.”
“Not on your life,” she answers sweetly, batting her eyelashes at him.
“Behave yourself,” he says in a low voice in my ear. He may have no control over his sister, but apparently needs to exercise control over me. My skin heats, the small hairs on the back of my neck standing up.
“Or what? You’ll break off the engagement?” I whisper back. I lean toward him, so I’m pressed against his bare arm, my breasts flush up against him. I lay my hand delicately on his chest. “I don’t seem to remember you having a readily available lineup of women ready to marry you, do you?”
Aria gasps. I look over to see her hand on her belly.
Mikhail leaps out of his chair so quickly he upends it.
Polina grins. “You okay?”
“Was that a contraction?” Aria whispers, her eyes wide.
“You’ll have to wait and see,” Polina says, ever the calm one. She looks over at Mikhail, who’s on his feet and white as a sheet. “Relax, Mikhail, it’s her first. You have plenty of time.”
“You have a crystal ball?” he snaps, his eyes flashing at her.
She waves her hand at him. “Aria, let’s make sure you have everything in your bag if you need it. It’s good to walk if you’re in early labor anyway.”
I remember the flash of pain, the trickle of water. The tearing of flesh and the fresh wail.
I close my eyes as a stab of pain hits my chest. I only give myself a few seconds before I open them and reach for a glass of water. They’re leaving. I don’t want them to leave.
My hand trembles and I nearly knock over the pitcher. Wordlessly, Aleks reaches for the pitcher and pours me a glass.
“Thank you,” I whisper, trying to soothe my racing heart with sips of the icy cold water.
Miss High and Mighty.
Filthy piece of trash.
Fucking whore.
I sip the water until my chest burns. Pile food on my plate, even though right now it’s all tasteless. Gratefully lift the cup of coffee and welcome the scalding burn of it down my throat.
If Aria’s in labor, it could be a good distraction… an opportunity.
I could escape here forever. I could maybe escape the inevitable horror of our wedding night.
CHAPTER SIX
Aleksandr
The sun shines brightly on the crowd of guests, stark in winter without the shade of leaves. I lift my hand to shade my eyes and scan the crowd.
Ever vigilant. Ever watchful. Other than the handful of my family members, I don’t really and truly ever trust anyone. Someone could be here ready to kill. We all know that being engaged to a Romanov is a death sentence. Mikhail’s lineup of fiancées could attest to that…if they were still alive.
Something isn’t right. I scan the crowd over and over again, looking for a clue, but unlike reading a computer screen, reading a throng of people isn’t as cut and dried.
The sun feels too bright, the brisk wind too cold.
Strains of music begin to play, a Russian classic I can’t quite identify. Everything seems a bit hazy and disoriented. I’m hyper-focused on a threat in our midst.
“Aleks.” I look to my right to see Nikko, dressed in all black. Why is he dressed in all black? It’s a wedding, not a funeral.
Is there a difference in my family?
“Someone’s gotten past our guards. There’s been a breach in security.” He continues telling me details, but my brain is buzzing with the first words he said.
We have to warn the girls. Polina and Aria are with Harper. We have to get to them.
I’m walking down the aisle, the eyes of our guests following me when I see her — Harper. Dressed in dreamy white, a veil covering her face. I have to get to her. I have to protect her. Someone’s here with the intent to destroy my family, and she’s practically got a bullseye on her.
I open my mouth to tell her to go back for cover when someone screams behind me. Deafening gunshots ring out. I reach for my gun when I hear another scream. I can’t find the shooter. I can’t find who’s the enemy.
I’ve been here once before, unable to protect the people I love, as helpless as a child.
“Aleks! Aleks!” Polina’s shrill voice, on the edge of hysteria, brings my gaze swiveling back to hers.
No.
No!
Crimson blood against white fabric. Harper’s doubled over, clutching at herself as if she could staunch the blood with her own bare hands. Blood flows and flows, over the lace and pearls, staining the ground, staining her shoes, staining my own hands when I finally get to her.
No.
I cradle her to my chest, the memory of doing this very thing in a past life as vivid as the pain. I failed. I failed to protect her.