AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And climbs on top of him.
Mikhail struggles as the Bear wraps his meaty hands around his throat, squeezing so hard I swear to God I hear Mikhail’s windpipe snap. Maybe it’s the sound of my own throat closing up, my poor lungs collapsing in on themselves as I watch this horror unfold. Mikhail fights back—kicks, punches, spits—but all to no avail. At this rate, he’s going to end up dead.
“Call the fight off!” I hiss at Konstantin. “Now.”
Konstantin rises slowly, stepping toward the edge of the observation deck. There’s a railing in place to keep anyone from falling off. He leans against it, watching with glee.
“He’s not finished yet.”
A bitter taste coats my tongue. Blood. I’ve been biting my bottom lip so hard I’ve broken skin. “Not finished yet? Mikhail is going to die if you don’t stop the fight! What kind of sick justice are you trying to uphold, anyway?”
“Myjustice, dear girl,” he says flatly, coldly. He doesn’t sound human. “My word is law here, don’t you understand? And those who disobey me must be punished.”
“But Mikhail didn’t do anything! Why won’t you help him?”
Konstantin clicks his tongue. “You honestly thought I wouldn’t notice?”
“What?”
He gestures to one of his guards just off to the side. They step forward, producing something from a bag. A book.
One ofmybooks.
Konstantin flips to the back page and pulls out his cigarette lighter. He flicks it, the flame sparking to life. Holding the fire a few inches away from the page, the heat activates the lemon juice I’d been using as ink. It happens quickly, the chemical reaction exposing the lines upon lines of codes I thought I so cleverly had hidden away.
“I don’t care if you’re pregnant,” Konstantin says. “Nobodyneeds that much lemon delivered for their tea.”
I’m gutted. Floored. My body is stiff and cold and reeling. This is it. We’ve been caught. All our hard work, all these weeks spent trying to appease Konstantin has gone down the drain. I don’t have time to wonder if he’s known this entire time. I can’t worry about any of it right now. Not when Mikhail is starting to go blue in the face.
“Please,” I gasp. “Please, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. Don’t hurt Misha, I beg of you.”
Konstantin sighs in disappointment. LikeI’mthe one wronginghim. “And I was beginning to think of Mikhail as my son. Oh, well. I guess I can always try again with one of my other nephews.”
At this, Catherina rises from her seat. “That wasn’t part of the deal, Konstantin.”
He tosses my book over the railing. It lands with a hard thud on the pit floor, pages scattering about like leaves. “I’ll have my people bring your second eldest. Dimitri, right? Or perhaps Pyotr. Either one will do. Hopefully they’ll be more…pliant.”
Down below, Mikhail has stopped moving. He isn’t dead yet—his eyes are still open, draining of light fast—but he will be soon. I need todosomething. Anything. There’s no time to come up with a plan, no time to think about the consequences. We’re all dead, anyways. I have nothing left to lose.
My body reacts before my brain does. I step forward and shove Konstantin over the railing.
Several things happen all at once. A few of his most loyal guards draw their weapons and start firing. A few others, however, start firing atthem.
I’ve slowly been replacing the guards on the compound with men loyal to me.
These are Catherina’s men. We’re not totally outnumbered, after all.
Konstantin screams as he falls. He lands with a harshthud. He groans. Not dead, unfortunately, but I’m hoping he’s too injured to come after us right away. Upon seeing his crumpled body, the Bear releases Mikhail, who sucks in a sharp breath of life-saving air. Mikhail coughs and sputters, rolling to the side as the Bear sets his eyes on a new target, hisrealenemy.
“Stay back!” Konstantin shouts.
“Aurora!” Catherina screams at me. “We have to get Mikhail out of here!”
I’m already racing down the last few flights of stairs to get to him. It smells even worse down here, sour with sweat and bitter with blood. I breathe through my mouth, rushing over to him. Grasping onto his arm, I struggle to help him stand.
“Get out of here, Aurora!”
“Not without you!”
