Page 210 of The Harbinger

“Dammit, Mia,” Nikolai said. “What the fuck did you do? You were supposed to wait for them both.”

I frowned and stumbled back. My hand clutched my throbbing throat.

Mia stood with the knife at her side. Her fingers tinged with her betrayal.She coordinated with Nikolai?

My knees buckled, and my head swam as the blood rushed from my body. The knife clattered to the ground. Her vacant features unnatural for the woman I’d come to know.

“Ruslan was supposed to be here to witness the death of his child. He was supposed to experience the same pain he forced me to go through.” Nikolai pointed his finger at me, but they disappeared as my vision darkened. “I wanted to leave the church. I wanted to take Yana, and he heard. She wasn’t chosen. She was murdered in retaliation.”

The earth whooshed beneath me as Nikolai stood before Mia, his hand on her shoulder. “Well done.”

A light glimmered in Mia’s eyes, and a scream shattered my descent into the dark abyss. She collapsed to my side as I stared at the ceiling, waiting for my demise.

Chapter 56

Mia

WherewasI?

Blood? Who’s blood?

Sacha lay on the ground, blood pooling around him like a crimson halo. A knife lay at my feet, taunting me.

Nikolai, with his evil glint, stared at me, his hand resting on my shoulder.

It was him… he’d used me like a puppet master, pulling the strings of my mind until I was nothing but a marionette in his hands.

What had I done?

My chest was a vice, and panic squeezed me with a grip that threatened to break my bones.

Reality surged forward like a tidal wave, smashing into me with the force of a thousand fists. It was a cold, hard slap in the face that left me reeling, struggling to catch my breath. And then, the scream ripped from my throat like a bolt of lightning.

It was a sound that echoed through the empty room, bouncing off the walls and filling the space with a raw, primal terror. It was a sound that spoke of pain and anguish, of a soul torn apart by the horrors of the world.

“No, no, no.”

I skidded to my knees, my dress tugging on my chest as I pushed his hands out of the way and replaced them with mine. Warm, oozing blood trickled between my fingers matching the tears running down my cheeks.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” I shook my head repeatedly, his face free of fear as I repeated my forbidden plea. “Please don’t die.”

“What’s going on in here?” Ruslan said as he entered the room, the white-masked servants at his side.

“Help me,” I gasped. “He’s dying.” My throat constricted as I applied pressure to his throat. My gut clenched, and the thought of him not being here beside me had the weight of the world dropping onto my shoulders and despair blooming in my chest. “Please don’t leave me.”

Sacha’s gaze dipped my way until it landed on me, his bloodied hand grazing against my cheek, and my chin trembled, my sinuses stinging from the tears. “I need you here with me.”

Strong hands suddenly gripped my shoulders, wrenching me away with a violent force.

“No. Don’t.”

My feet flew into the air as two masked men dragged me away from him, his gaze never leaving mine. “Let me go. I need to help him.”

“You’ve done enough damage for one night,” Ruslan said from my left, his voice cutting through my cries like a battle-ready sword.

I wiggled my body, kicking like a wildcat until they lost their grip. I made it to Sacha’s shined shoes pointed towards the ceiling before they snatched me up and dragged me away again.

“And you,” Ruslan said, directing his wrath towards Nikolai. “I should have known.”

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