Page 61 of Cruel Knots

Moving forward, I check the feeds that give me the view of the corridor outside her room. Taking a seat by the screen, I playback the footage from an hour ago.

Soon, I see the moment when Lilja walked into Lucia’s room. I fast-forward the feed, waiting for my sister to make her exit.

Lilja comes out almost forty minutes later.

What were they talking about? I wonder as my gaze stays focused on the screen before me.

The door to the room is left ajar. What the hell were you thinking, Lilja? I curse at my sister silently as Lucia cautiously steps through the door and peers down the hallway.

Lucia follows the same route as the one I used to take her into the entrance hall. She makes a few errors, but quickly changes direction, steadily heading the right way.

I click onto another feed and find her fleeing down the front lawn of the manor. Zooming in, I gaze at the lost expression on her face as she tries to decide which way to go.

The grounds of Volkov Manor are vast. Heavy woods fence the area, keeping the centuries-old building concealed from public view.

Very few people know the way to our home. As assassins, we’re always under threat from the families of those we killed. My ancestors made sure to invest heavily in fortifying the perimeters of our residence to minimize all risks.

Lucia is still clueless about who we are. Even if Lilja explained our identities to her, she’ll still need time to know everything there is to know about us.

Lucia runs into the woods fencing our northern borders. I know the exact way she’s going to take and smile to myself. There’s an underground tunnel leading right to the spot that she’s heading to.

Pushing back my chair, I stand up.

Rage and desire clash inside me as I hurry out of the room. Lucia thinks of me as a beast and right now, I feel like one.

I’m going to give her such a chase, she’ll never dare to run from me again. Lucia has to understand she’s always belonged to me and my brothers.

Her willingness is only an option. She’ll have to surrender to me with or without it.

18

Lucia

My lungs fill with fresh, cold air as I step out of the unguarded doors of the manor. Surprise flickers through me despite the anxiety clutching my throat. I’d been expecting to get caught already.

You can do this, I tell myself as hope flares inside me.

Small, polished stones cover a narrow pathway leading away from the front doors. Vast, deserted grounds spread out on both sides. The grass growing everywhere is tall and unkempt. Everything seems to be growing wild, cloaking the ancient mansion in its foliage.

Loose gravel pokes the soles of my bare feet as I start walking forward. My left foot still aches from being pricked in the heel. Can I run without any shoes on? You have to keep going, I tell myself, increasing my pace.

The narrow pathway seems to go on forever. I stop for a moment and look toward the woods in the distance. The leaves are already a beautiful shade of orange, pink, and red.

Next, I look toward the clear, blue fall sky. The afternoon sun shines down on me but the rays don’t warm my chilled skin. The light, loose dress offers me no protection against the cold breeze blowing by.

For a moment, I wonder if the path I’m on would take me to the main gates of the estate. If everything Lilja told me was true, the entrance points would be heavily guarded. It’s probably the only reason no one was guarding the manor’s doors.

I look toward the woods again. They’ll offer me protection and hide me well. I can stay there until nightfall and then, proceed toward the estate’s gates. It’d be easier to creep around at night than walking around in broad daylight this way.

Making up my mind, I change direction and run toward the woods.

My feet fly over the grass, taking me closer to my destination. My heart beats hard as I struggle to draw enough breath into my lungs, all the while keeping up my furious pace.

My mind goes to my three captors. By now, I’m sure Damien, Leon, and Mikhail are my childhood friends. My heart aches for the torture they suffered at Callum’s hands. All because they’d been close to me on that fateful night.

If I was a true angel or a princess as they called me, I’d have stayed back and atoned for the sins of my brother.

But, I wasn’t one.

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