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Nik’s body drapes over mine like a blanket, the body heat emanating from him like a furnace as he pulls me into him until he’s spooning me. I try to peer back at him but he holds me tighter.
“What were those coins for, Nik?” I whisper, unable to speak louder for fear of my voice cracking yet again. This is not the time to be strong. I have to learn when it’s time to be vulnerable and that time is now.
Nikolai takes such a deep breath, his exhale lasting forever. “My punishment for…your brother.”
“What is it?” I lick my lips. “Your punishment.”
“Killing fifty people that fucked with The Elite.” I don’t know much about the Table, but this sounds like something they would do. “I’ve completed my assignment.” Nik scoffs, “I’m assuming Leo didn’t like that little detail.”
“Why does he care?”
“Because he wants me dead, but The Elite wouldn’t give it to him.” What the fuck are the rules of this game? This shit has too many to keep up with. “If I lose my coins before my meeting with the Elite, then I have to start over.”
Leo truly is a vindictive asshole and I don’t know how I’ll face him from now on knowing this truth. I have to talk to Papà about this. I cannot marry the man who killed my brother. He’s the reason it happened; he is at fault. Even if Nikolai fired the weapon, that bullet was never meant for my baby brother.
“I can’t marry him, Nik.” We look into each other’s eyes and he brushes a strand of hair away from my face, then tucks it behind my ear. “Help me.”
“What do you want me to do, princess?”
“I don’t know?” I say honestly, my face scrunching up again when the urge to cry renews. “But I can’t do it.”
“So marry me instead,” Nikolai whispers, his voice cracking on the last word. “Marryme.”
I remember his promises, the ones that gave me hope. The ones he made me when I was seventeen.
“I’m getting us out of this, one way or another.”
“Out of what?”
“I’m going to marry you.” His eyes twinkle when he says it. “I promise you, I’ll make it happen.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” I whisper.
“Have I ever failed you, princess?”
“Never.”
“And I never will.”
I search his silver eyes rapidly and I can’t stop doing it. He looks like he’s in pain, but above all, he seems like he means it. Is he serious right now?
“Are you serious, Nik?”
He grabs my hand and brings it to his chest. “Serious as a heart attack.” My lips twitch at that and I chuckle, which makes him join in. “So will you?”
“What’s in it for me, baby?”
“I’ll worship the ground you walk on, for one.” He smiles. “And freedom.”
“Freedom?” What is that? I’ve never had it before. Never heard of it.
“I won’t limit you, Camilla.” I tighten my hand on his chest, my nails digging in. “You can be…you.”
My heart flips in my chest at those words. It’s enticing, to say the least, to be offered freedom in exchange for something that sounds like shackles. The forbidden fruit is always the one you want the most. And oh, is he forbidden. And I want him more than I’ve ever wanted anyone. But is this what I need? What I should do?
“I’ll…think about it.”
“Well, don’t take too long,solnyshko.” He smiles. “The offer will only stand until tomorrow.”
