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My eyes drift north.And she has no idea, does she?
Or maybe she does. Maybe she’s wise to the whole situation. Her brother made it seem like she had no experience. And while that’s true, she’s more observant than he gives her credit.
Those amber pools don’t miss a thing. She’s probably absorbing every word my sister tells her, like a sponge. They’re probably talking about me right now.
I’m not sure if that irks me or alarms me.
I’ll take both for four hundred, Alex.
“This isn’t going to end well.”
The walls flex around me as if responding.It’s probably just the vodka. My experiences in this office could paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. And would embarrass even the most liberal painters. Yet the story those murals tell would speak of my loyalty, my consistency, the lengths I’m willing to go to for the Bratva.
It isn’t like me to throw a hitch. Maybe I don’t know myself at all.
Or maybe something has changed.
It doesn’t matter. My goal is to sink my teeth into Cardona and suck him dry. Once he’s nothing but a dried-out carcass, I’ll toss him aside like all the other useless things I’ve encountered. Eventually, Liya will be in that pile.
After she fulfills her duties, of course. The Bratva comes first. It always has. And nothing about that is going to change.
Why the hell I would ever fight for her is a mystery I can’t even begin to pick apart.
Chapter Fourteen
Liya
Don’t trip. Don’t fall. Don’t think about how much Jonas smells like vodka.
The path to Pavel is made of soft linen. My heels don’t make a sound as I step forward, looking more like a snow leopard than a queen-to-be. Jonas loosely holds my elbow while guiding me toward the man he so callously tossed me at for the sake of his birthright.
The same man who embarrassed me in my home. In front of my brother. In front of an audience ofstrangers.
My eyelids flutter. Just seeing Pavel brings on an onslaught of emotions—the good, the bad, and the ugly. I try not to think about how his cock swelled inside me and made me feel more alive than anything else in my life. Not just in my boss’s office, but on that table.
I quietly suck air into my lungs.Don’t trip, Liya.
Blank faces observe me from the pews as Jonas hands me off at the entrance of the church. Pavel takes my right hand and walks me down the aisle, our slow walk marked by an organ. A cough cuts over the organ and bounces off the arched ceiling. Everything feels larger than life in here.
And I feel so small in the wake of what’s happening.
The ceremony, the dress, the way Pavel holds my hand like I’m the most delicate thing in the world—it’s all too much to take in. I’m so warm under my veil that I think I might actually pass out like I thought I would a couple of days ago.
That’s what I get for thinking about it at all. A self-fulfilling prophecy would be just my luck right now.
I spot Karina. Her smile inspires me to take a breath.Don’t eat the carpet.My cheeks burn with a giggle that I struggle to hold back when I think of her warning. And then of the hour she spent explaining all the ceremonies to me. Only about twelve more hours of rituals to go. I’ll die of boredom before we get to the initiation.
The white veil guards my frown from the audience.Shit, I almost forgot about the initiation.
The ceremony proceeds, giving me no time to imagine what potential horrors lie ahead. While the priest offers petitions of prayer, he blesses us with the rings we’re set to exchange. He repeats this three times and then places a ring in my right hand. I catch Pavel inspecting me, eyes glistening with more than their usual arctic chill.
Weird, I think while watching him open his hand to the priest. A gold ring is placed in his palm, ridges cradling the band.It’s almost like he’s happy or something.
And then it’s gone. Whatever I saw must have been a fluke or an illusion caused by the veil.
The betrothal wraps up, and we exchange our rings three times before being sent to complete the sacrament of marriage. More prayers are read. We’re blessed with crowns, then joined by a ribbon, followed by the reading of the Gospel. The voice of the priest drones on in my ears as the remaining ceremonies are completed.
Karina was right. This intricate series of ceremonies makes me dizzy. But it’s given me time to think.
