Page 114 of A War Apart

“You fought?” Her brow knit together with concern.

I shrugged. “Just a couple times.” No need to worry her. “But where have you been? We haven’t heard from you in weeks. We heard Lord Ilya and Lady Heli were arrested, but…”

She looked away. “I was, too.”

Borislav was wrong. Shehadbeen arrested with the baron. All my fears from the past months welled up again, and I held her tight. “Did they hurt you?”

“I’m fine,” she said, still not looking at me. “Some friends got me out, along with the barones.”

I ran my hands over her body again. She was whole. She was safe. I took a deep breath, calming myself. “I’m glad you’re back.”

She nodded. “I—I should probably go see the tsar. He’ll want my report on everything that happened in the past few weeks.”

Reluctantly, I released her from my embrace and took her hand. “I’ll take you to him.”

She reached for her coat. “You don’t have to come with me. I’m sure you need your sleep.”

“I just got you back, Milochka.” I kissed her hand. “I’m never letting you go again.”

***

Mila

My heart was oddly calm as I followed Han through the camp tothe tsar’s tent. Shouldn’t it have been pounding out of my chest? But the sight of him, alive and safe, didn’t set me ablaze like I’d expected. I was relieved, of course, but not overwhelmed with joy and excitement.

Everything about this felt wrong.

We reached the tsar’s tent in the middle of the camp, and Han stopped outside. “Ready?”

I nodded, and he opened the tent flap.

A small-eyed man stood in the middle of the tent. Not the tsar, though he had the high cheekbones and straight black hair of the Blood. Prince Radomir, perhaps? Lady Heli and Izolda were nowhere in sight.

Han bowed, and I noticed the tsar seated in a chair further back in the tent. He stood and smiled warmly at me.

“Mila Dmitrievna. I’m glad to see you returned.”

A flash of shame filled me. He didn’t know how much I’d endangered us all with my foolish actions.

Tsar Borislav turned to the other man in the tent. “Radomir, allow me to introduce Mila Dmitrievna, Han’s wife and one of our primary informants in the capital. Mila Dmitrievna, my cousin, prince Radomir Demyanovich of the Blood.”

The prince inclined his head. “Thank you for your work. You’ve been most instrumental in our successes thus far.”

I bowed, but the twinge of guilt remained. “I apologize for not coming directly to you with Lady Heli,” I said.

The tsar waved his hand. “I quite understand the desire to be reunited with your husband. And you’re here now.” He smiled warmly and gestured to the table in the middle of the tent. “Please, sit.”

As we sat, the tsar leaned toward me. “My cousin and her maidservant already told me their perspectives, but I would like to hear what you saw when you escaped. What was the situation on the other side of the gates?”

I gave a brief summary of our escape, leaving out Alexey’s name. I couldn’t talk about him, couldn’t even think about him without my throat closing up and tears threatening in my eyes.

When I finished, Han pressed a kiss to my hand. “I’m grateful for your friends,” he said in a voice intended only for my ears.

I couldn’t meet his eyes. Would he say the same if he ever found out what Alexey meant to me?

The tsar picked up a sketch of the palace grounds. “Do you remember where, exactly, this hidden door was?” When I pointed, he looked at the prince. “Perhaps we can compromise. We can dispense with breaking down the city gates, and I can lead a small group into the palace through this door. I’ll confront my brother myself, to limit the bloodshed.”

Radomir frowned. “Miroslav won’t fight you. He knows you’ll win. He’ll surround himself with guards as he always does.”

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