Page 91 of Soulless Rivalry

Behind him, Mikhail finally appeared, a deadly smile on his lips as he slowly leaned toward Lorenzo to whisper in his ear.

“Maybe not, but we can kill fucking psychos with a cult kink.”

My cousin didn’t even have time to look startled because, using both hands to clutch Lorenzo’s head, Mikhail broke his neck swiftly. The snap echoed all around us as Lorenzo’s corpse fell to the ground. A strangled sound came out of me but Konstantin muffled it when he engulfed me in a hug, my face hiding in the crook of his neck.

“I’ve got you,lebedochka. I’ve got you.”

Everything was over.

EPILOGUE

Six months later

Sunlight shone brightly on my face, waking me from a restless night. The room surrounding me was luxurious and gave a beautiful view of the Mediterranean Sea. An open window let the salty air breeze into the room, making the white curtains flow in and out of it. Underneath my naked body, the white sheets felt like clouds, so soft against my skin.

A body moved behind me, a hand grasping my waist and bringing me flush against a hard, naked torso. I smiled, bliss and joy making my heart feel so full.

“Good morning,” Konstantin mumbled against my neck in a raspy voice.

“You meansabah al khair, right?” I turned around, my arms encircling his neck as I planted a soft kiss on his nose. “We’re in Tunisia after all.”

I couldn’t help the grin that stretched my lips. We’d arrived yesterday, after a long flight. He’d surprised me on the first week of summer break and refused to say where we were going. We had just arrived at his parents’ estate, which was where I thoughtwe’d spend the next three months before school picked up again, but he had other plans.

When we landed at the Tunis airport late last night, I was giddy. A car then came to get us and we were taken to Al Huwariya, a coastal town not too far from where my grandmother was from.

I had only ever been to Tunisia once, when I was six. Jedde went at least once a year to see her sisters, and that year she’d taken me with her. I remembered spending my days chasing cats with other kids and going to the village’s closest thing to a convenience store—a little hole-in-the-wall shop where they sold literally everything, from laundry detergent, to butter, to candies.

We’d always grab a few freezies and went to eat them outside our homes, using the cacti plants as shade.

My grandma was always an early riser, and when we were there, she’d wake me up too so we could go and pick the prickly pears that came from those cacti. I only held the bucket while she used some makeshift spear to pick them because I was too scared to get a thorn in my hands, but it was still one of the best memories I had.

To be back in this country that had been robbed from me for so many years felt amazing. I felt right at home here, way more than I ever felt in the Bianchi mansion. I was glad to be back in Al Huwariya and couldn’t wait to visit Jedde’s village again, and see her sisters.

To my surprise, Adna Korolova tried finding my grandmother for me a few months ago. She meant to surprise me with it for my birthday, but what she found wasn’t that joyful. Jedde had died two years ago here in Tunisia. Adna assured me she died of old age and not something else. We planned on visiting her grave while we were here.

The fact that Konstantin had made it happen for me made me feel cherished. Like he truly saw me, knew me.

Life as the girlfriend of a Korolov was way more peaceful than I would have thought, too.

After the clusterfuck that was the first half of our junior year at the Academy, there was only one thing I knew for sure: I didn’t want to ever leave his side again. When the news broke about Lorenzo, Batista, and Luca, all hell broke loose within the Cosa Nostra. As soon as Benetti learned of Lorenzo’s betrayal, of him killing his son as well as his own cousin, he took drastic measures.

They said the sons paid for their fathers’ sins; well, sometimes it was the other way around. What Lorenzo did ultimately fell on his father. Batista’s dad, Ignacio, was livid too at losing his only male heir. They struck a deal that stated Benetti wouldn’t annihilate the whole Bianchi family if they delivered Renaldi to him, which is what they did.

From what I had heard, he died a slow and painful death, suffering the consequences of the violence and cruelty he’d instilled in his children from a young age.

I hadn’t had any contact with them since after Lorenzo’s death. They tried having me come back with them, just like I had for Mia’s funeral, but I refused. My place wasn’t back in New York. It had never been. They tried forcing me, but learning I was under Korolov protection deterred them from doing so. They had more important things to settle than start a war they would not win.

The Order was dead silent after The Mill. They lay low and no other murder or disappearance was noted. After the year we’d had I decided maybe it was best to put it to rest, but I had a feeling that peace would not last forever.

The school closed for two more weeks because of what happened at the mill, and during that time I had planned on staying alone at the castle, but Konstantin didn’t let me.

And that was how I started coming home with him for the holidays. His family, as weird as it was, had welcomed me with open arms, easily considering me one of their own. For the first time since my father’s death, I learned what it felt like to feel included in celebrations. They argued, they fought and they laughed together like I always dreamed a true family would. I loved every second I spent in their presence; that time was well worth getting disowned.

The only regret I had was that I would never be able to see my mother or Aunt Matilda again, but I made peace with that. I had to start living for myself.

“Are you happy,lebedochka?”

Little swan.

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