Page 74 of Cruel Knots

“I know,” I say, bitterness coating my tongue. It sucks looking for help from the same people who’re intent on hurting me.

“Come on. Let’s go.” Getting to her feet, she herds me out of the room.

Securing a blanket around me, I step into the corridor outside. My bare feet step on warm, slippery blood that coats the white marble floor. Corpses lie scattered along the length of the entire hallway.

Lilja easily steps around them with the same air as avoiding dog poo in a park.

I, on the other hand, can’t help but count the bodies around me. Several men gaze lifelessly at me, their corpses lying still. Damien didn’t spare a single man. The memory of him and the two long, slim blades in his hands rises in my mind. His every move was made with the intent to kill.

More than a dozen men lie dead at my feet. I’m sure there are plenty more scattered in other parts of the manor.

It is surreal to imagine I’m the reason behind this carnage. Callum sent these men to get me. Guilt and bitterness wash over me, erasing the warm feelings Damien left me with.

“Lucia! Hey!” Lilja’s loud voice breaks through the haze in my mind. She’s already at the end of the hallway. “They’re all dead. There’s nothing you can do for them. Just hurry over here.”

I want to avert my gaze from the corpses but it’s impossible to do so without stepping on them. An icy chill spreads through me as I keep walking through the puddles of blood.

“Remind me to get a count here,” Lilja says, guiding me down a staircase. “I want to see if I surpassed Damien’s numbers.”

“You mean the number of people he killed?”

“Don’t let it bother you,” she says, navigating through the second-floor landing. “He’s not the bad guy here. Your brother’s the one who attacked our home. Damien would be dead if he didn’t kill them first.”

The memory of the man who shot at us earlier rises to the surface of my mind. If Damien didn’t take him down, he’d be the one dead and I’d be drowning in greater guilt and grief.

Lilja can’t imagine the guilt I suffered after Callum erased Damien’s existence from my life. The sight of the dead men and all this blood is disturbing but I’m glad Damien and his brothers survived this attack.

More corpses litter the second floor. I look toward Lilja’s back, wondering if she’s responsible for them all.

The Volkov family is truly astounding. I still can’t believe I’ve found my way into a den of such lethal assassins.

“Get over here,” Lilja calls out, gesturing at me wildly.

The corpses surrounding us don’t bother her one bit. I hurry over to her, struggling to stop my mind from overthinking.

“Here,” says Lilja, throwing open a pair of tall, wooden doors and shoving me forward. “This is my room.”

Calling the place “room” is an understatement. It looks more like a lavish suite from a palace.

Stepping further inside, I note the bedroom nook that houses a massive four-poster bed with soft lavender silk sheets and a mound of matching throw pillows.

There are comfortable couches and an elegant chaise lounge in the sitting area. All the curtains and furniture are a shade of lavender or lilac.

Lilja leads me toward a pair of mahogany doors and opens them, revealing a massive wardrobe.

“Choose what you like,” she says. “We’re about the same height, so that wouldn’t be a problem.” Moving closer, she pokes at my belly. “You’re all curves and fluff,” she comments with a chuckle. “Try some of my baggy sweaters and sweatshirts. They should fit you fine.”

My cheeks warm with embarrassment. My body is on the slimmer side but it does look like “fluff” when compared to her uber-fit and toned physique.

Turning my attention to the racks, I find that almost all the clothing Lilja owns is black. I step further in, brushing my hand against some luxurious shawls and elegant satin gowns.

Even Lilja’s sense of fashion is as unique as she is.

Callum forbade me from ever wearing black. Black is only fit to be worn at a funeral, he’d say. He preferred I wore boring pastels in shades of pink and blue.

“I can choose anything?” I mutter to myself.

“Maybe stay away from the leathers,” Lilja says with a thoughtful expression. “Those took me years to collect.”

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