Page 393 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 1

“I know,” she whispered.

“I would rather you stay for a little while. I... I do not want you going home alone.”

Being alone sounded nice. Nothing to trigger memories. But Wilhelm was right. If she went home, she’d be in that big empty house full of memories of Alex. Which would be worse? Here, at least, she was surrounded by people who loved her. “I don’t know what to do...”

“I will not force you to stay, Anna. I would never force you to do something you do not want to do. But I would ask you to consider it. I love you. My family is your family and they love you. Maybe just... stay until the initial pain is gone.”

“But what about dancing?” She needed to dance.

Wilhelm paused. “I forgot about that. You are close to another performance, correct?”

She nodded. “Two weeks.” But she had missed so many rehearsals. Would Isaak let her perform? It was to be her debut as principal. With Aaron.

The decisions to be made were overwhelming her. She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she could go to sleep and forget everything. Forever.

People began arriving a little while later. Wilhelm’s brothers arrived first. Friedrich and Klara looked as distraught as Wilhelm and Ilsa.

Of course. Erich. How could she have forgotten? Her grief over Alex had overshadowed the realization that other men had died that day. But all Anna could think about was Alex.

She stood in the entryway with the rest of the family, dutifully greeting the guests. She met Seth’s mother and sister, Tony’s parents, and the other men’s families, too. The Elders came as well. It was odd seeing them dressed in dark suits instead of their white robes from the previous night.

The power those men radiated was overwhelming, and with so many of them in the room, it threatened to suffocate her. Somehow, at the Manor, the power seemed to disperse better and wasn’t as threatening. But here, in a normal building, it seemed to bounce off walls and aim straight for her. They politely greeted Anna, shaking her hand or kissing her cheek. Six of the Elders had brought a beautiful young woman she instinctively knew were Elder-Mistresses. They were polite, but it was obvious they didn’t understand why she was so upset.

Her shoulders slumped as the last one walked away, giggling at something her Elder said. She didn’t even fit in with her own kind. She didn’t fit any anywhere.

Devin walked up and kissed her cheek. “How are you doing?”

She glanced at the three men who stood behind him. They had to be related, as they all had the same deep-set brown eyes and high cheekbones. The eldest, likely in his seventies, had hair and a beard that were both gray. The middle-aged man, in his early fifties, had a striking combination of black hair with silver sprinkled in and a black beard. The youngest of the trio appeared to be just a few years older than Anna. His thick, black, wavy hair was a sharp contrast to his pale, clean-shaven face.

“I’m alright.” She wanted to ask Devin about the pills, but knew she needed to wait until he was alone.

“Anna, this is Vitaly from St. Petersburg, his son Vlad, and his grandson Peter.”

Anna clenched her jaw as she looked at Vitaly with hard eyes. He was the reason Alex was gone. She knew she needed to be respectful, but everything inside her screamed to leap on him and scratch his face off. Her hands curled into fists and she trembled as she fought within herself.

“Anna!” Devin snapped in a low tone.

She pursed her lips and forced out a choked, “Hello.”

“I am sorry for your loss, Anna.” His voice was thick and he spoke broken, Russian-tinged English. “I had no idea that Alex had so recently married or I would not have contacted him.”

Anna pressed her lips together to keep from being rude. Tears stung her eyes and her jaw trembled. “Excuse me.” She turned and fled, running into the garden in the center of the house.

Walking to the window, she sucked in long, hot breaths. Anger seemed to radiate from her very core, and her entire body shook. Only the fear of Devin’s anger at her misbehavior kept her from running back and attacking the Russian Elder.

And if he was angry at her, he wouldn’t give her any more pills. She needed those pills if she was going to survive.

Closing her eyes, she took in several more deep breaths. She needed to calm down and humble herself so Devin would help her. Slowly, her body cooled and stopped shaking. When she was ready to apologize, she searched the crowd for her Master.

She located him near the ballroom. “I’m sorry I was rude,” she said softly.

Devin gave her a sympathetic smile. “It’s alright, Anna. I know you’re going through a lot right now. I shouldn’t have introduced you to them. I didn’t think about how it would make you feel.”

Wilhelm appeared at her side before she could ask Devin for the pills. “Anna, the service will begin in a few minutes. We need to go inside.” He put his arm around Anna’s shoulders and guided her into the crowded ballroom.

Walking away from Devin made her realize how heavy and angry his presence was. Such a sharp contrast from Wilhelm’s kindness and love. But Devin had those little pills. Wilhelm hadn’t offered her anything to help with the pain. If anything, his kindness and love made her feel worse, because it was so much like Alex’s.

The ballroom was filled with hundreds of chairs, and most of them were occupied. Wilhelm led Anna to the front row and sat her between Ilsa and Kurt. Kurt took her hand in his and squeezed gently.

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