Page 96 of Unholy Tsar

“You know, we didn’t completely hate your guts,” Rian teases Gabriel. “Only a little.”

“Isn’t that nice,” Gabriel replies dryly.

For the first time in days, I find myself smiling. They banter like this every time they’re in a room together. And I realize that’s just their way of lightening the mood.

“I can’t imagine you didn’t completely hate my guts,” Tytus remarks, looking from Rian to me. “Imagine my shock when I woke up after a near-death experience in this asshole’s house.” He nods back at Rian, “And I was still alive?”

“Only because you almost died to save my sister—I mean, even though it was your fault she needed saving in the first place.”

“My angel needed to spread her wings, and you were suffocating her,” Tytus smirks. That earns a glare from Rian.

Roz and I somehow lock gazes, and she slowly shakes her head. “Men.”

I chuckle at her expression, but my heart swells with gratitude as I take in the faces around the room. Once strangers, but in the span of just two days, we’ve learned to get along because of our shared love for Maksim. Though not bound by blood, they are his family. And they’ve welcomed me into their circle, too. They’ve made me feel like I’m one of them.

Still, my smile fades as I look down at Maksim again. None of this means anything without him. Leaning in close, I press my lips against his ear and whisper, “Wake up already… who knew you could be so dramatic.”

As I pull back from him, I swear his fingers entwine with mine. My eyes fly to our hands, and sure enough, he’s holding onto me. “Maksim?”

The room goes silent and everyone jumps to their feet. We all wait with bated breath. Are his eyelids twitching? His hand tightens around mine, and then, just like that, he’s awake, those beautiful brown eyes shining like they haven’t missed a beat.

“Maksim!” I cry out in joy.

“Dramatic?” he muses, lips lifting in a labored smile. “You hurt me, dushen’ka.”

The room dissolves into a flurry of excited voices as everybody rushes over to the bed.

Someone must have called the doctor because he’s suddenly elbowing us out of the way so he can examine Maksim.

Through it all, my heart pounds with relief, excitement, and a torrent of other emotions.

“Hey, are you okay?” Tytus asks, staring at me with what looks like concern.

“Of course, I–I’m–” My voice breaks, and to my horror, I start crying. Tytus takes a huge step back from me, eyes wide with alarm. If I weren’t so emotional, I might have laughed at the terror on his face.

Warm arms encircle me. Roz. “I understand. It’s okay, Cece. It’s all over now.”

I nod against her chest and try to suck in the tears. “I–I don’t even–even know why I’m—I’m crying.” I hiccup and sniff. “I’m happy.”

“There are different kinds of tears. Happy tears and tears of relief. You’re just getting both out of the way.”

Yeah, that makes sense.

I finally compose myself just as the doctor steps away. He talks directly to Rian, but I overhear that his recovery is ahead of schedule.

That’s my man.

I pull away from Roz and make my way to Maksim, who’s already sitting up, his eyes brightening as he sees me. “Hey,” I whisper.

A smile spreads across his lips, and he opens his arms wide, inviting me in. I sniffle and crawl into the bed, snuggling up next to him. “I’m sorry if I worried you,” he murmurs, wrapping me up.

I shake my head against his chest and sniff again. “I–I knew you would make it. I didn’t give you much of a choice.”

He chuckles softly. “No, you didn’t. You refused to let me go.”

I nod. “What else could I do? I finally had a family of my own. You think I was going to let you go just like that?”

He chuckles again, “I’m your family, huh? I suppose this means you meant what you said before… about loving me.”