Page 61 of Tarnished Reign

I dial, and when Rose answers, my knees almost sag in relief.

“Rose, it’s me, Adriana. Can you talk?”

“Yes, of course. Oh my God, Adriana.” Her voice breaks. “Are you okay? What’s happening?”

Shit, she knows?

“What do you mean?” I hedge.

“I called to speak with Cade yesterday, and he was in tears because he said you were gone. I couldn’t get much sense out of him, and when I spoke with Hana, she said you’d left. I have to say, I was upset. You seemed good for him, and we’ve been a lot less worried with you and your father in the house.”

“Rose, you cannot, under any circumstances let Hana know you spoke with me. Hana put me in a bad situation, and now I believe Cade may be in danger.”

Nataliya’s eyes are huge, and she’s making all sorts of hand gestures at me to shut up, but I carry on.

“I’m begging you and Harry to please get on a plane and go visit. Surely you can say you’re going to cheer Cade up, if he’s been so upset?” My heart breaks at the thought of him thinking I just left. Is he eating? Has that bitch even been making sure he gets fed?

“What do you mean he might be in danger? In what way?”

“Hana seems … distracted. Her and my dad are drinking a lot. The cocktail parties are more regular, and they’re both seemingly circling downward to me. Cade is forgotten about at times, but it’s… Rose I can’t explain right now.”

Nataliya makes a wrap it up motion with her finger.

“I have to go, but swear to me, you won’t tell Hana we spoke? Cade’s wellbeing depends on her not knowing. I’ll explain as soon as I can. Please go visit the way you do sometimes. It’s not out of the usual for you guys to see Cade. Stay in a hotel, and don’t tell her you’re coming. Just go to the house and make sure he’s okay.” My voice breaks. “I love him; I would never leave him like that.”

“Honey, what has happened? Please let us help.”

“Swear it that you won’t tell Hana.” My voice is firm. “That’s how to help. Or even … even my father.”

“Yes, of course I swear, Adriana. I won’t tell her, and we’ll be out there by tomorrow, but honey, you have to?—”

Nataliya snatches the phone from me, hangs up, and then deletes the call history on her phone. She’s breathing fast. “Shit,” she says. “Shit, I shouldn’t have done that.”

“You might have helped save a little boy from a lot of hurt, so you did a good thing. Thank you. I think they’ll do as I asked, but if this backfires, I’ll never tell Dimitri it was you.”

She nods. “Shit, I can’t deal with this. Let’s get back to making you look nice and forget this ever happened, all right?”

I nod, but then I pull her in for a quick hug and whisper thank you into her hair.

She hugs me back and then pulls away. Her face is paler than it was before, and I feel bad I put her in this position. But then, she brightens and shakes herself a little as if literally shaking it off. “Right,” she says brightly. “Shoes.”

She grabs a pair of shoes and shoves them on my feet and then gestures for me to follow her out of the walk-in closet.

I totter after her, almost falling over as my heels sink into the thick carpet once we reach her bedroom. She sits me down on a small stool in front of a dressing table and pulls a huge box out from underneath. It looks like a toolbox, but when she opens it there’s nothing but makeup.

She’s much quieter now; all her sass from earlier seems to have deserted her. I feel bad I pressured her, but also I don’t because I had to try to help Cade, and that’s what matters the most.

Silently, she sets to work on me, using various brushes and sometimes her fingers to dab and paint me in an array of muted colors. After she’s finished painting my face, she takes a hot brush and does complex things to my hair. It's kind of nice being pampered like this. She slowly thaws again and starts to chat while she works. She keeps the conversation light, and frankly, with the state my life is in, it's a pleasant distraction. I find myself lulled, and for the first time in days I relax.

She stands back and looks at me and narrows her eyes, lips pursed, before giving a satisfied nod. “You’re finished. Do you want to see?”

“I'd love to.”

She leads me to a mirror. I stare at my reflection. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. Holy cow, is that even me? I turn to Nataliya who’s watching me with wide, expectant eyes.

“Nataliya, I say this in all seriousness. You need to be a makeup artist because this”—I point to my face— “is astonishing.”

She smiles, and her cheeks pink a little under her tan. “I’m glad you like it.”

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