Page 100 of Tarnished Queen

Nikolai is turning in a slow circle, examining the room. I know he’s trying to determine if we’re in danger, but I want to grab his face and force him to look at me. I want him to know that I don’t believe a word Past Me is saying.

“How do we turn it off?” I beg. “We have to stop this.”

He just growls like a wild animal.

The security team by the doors are fanning out down the halls, doing a sweep of the hallways and the perimeter. A few more men are unplugging everything from the walls, hoping to disconnect whatever system is playing my voice.

But I have a feeling they won’t find that system. Because only one person could have these recordings of me, and that person wasn’t invited to the wedding.

“Xena,”my voice says,“there’s nothing to report today, but I’ll keep listening for anything you could use against Nikolai. Just get me out of here as soon as you can, please.”

I didn’t find anything,I want to scream.I was the world’s worst spy. I was never an asset to the Greeks.

But even if I could find my voice, none of it would matter.

Makar and his friends may have been my loudest detractors, but I know most of the men in the Bratva doubt me at least in part. Actively hearing me betray their leader isn’t going to change any minds.

Finally, the recordings stop and the reception hall falls into silence.

“Thank God,” I groan. “It’s over.”

Nikolai’s arm loops around my waist. “No, it isn’t. We have to get you out of here.”

Oh. Right. Because where there’s smoke, there’s fire. And where there’s a terrible knot in my stomach, there’s Xena.

Before we can even move, the security team comes through the doors. Yuri hustles through the tables of guests towards Nikolai.

“Xena is here,” he hisses.

I gasp, but Nikolai doesn’t even flinch. “Where?”

“She and a few of her men are at the front doors,” Yuri says. “They’re unarmed. We’ve checked. Three times.”

“What does she want?” I whimper.

Yuri glances at me and then at Nikolai, trying to decide whether he should answer me or not. Ultimately, he looks to Nikolai and answers my question. “She wants to see the both of you.”

Nikolai nods grimly. “Let her in.”

“Nikolai, no!” I tug on his arm, as if I can disappear and take him with me. Like we can fall through the floor and escape this. “Don’t let her in. Let’s just send her away.”

“I’m not going to hide behind my men,” he barks. “She wants a confrontation? So be it. We’ll have one. I’m not afraid of her.”

That makes… one of us. I haven’t seen Xena since I crashed her car. I hoped I’d never have to face her again. But if I do have to see her again, at least Nikolai is standing by my side. I tighten my grip on him and stand tall.

The doors open again a moment later. Xena flows into the reception hall, brutish men flanking her on either side.

I glance towards the table where Elise was sitting, but her chair is empty. My heart jumps into my throat until I see her standing nearby. She is in the far corner of the room, her eyes wide. But she seems to understand that it’s best if she isn’t seen. She backs into the corner, hidden in shadow.

“Wow. More flowers than I would have imagined,” Xena says, looking around. “I’m guessing you didn’t have much say in the decorations, Nikolai?”

She’s wearing a shimmering silver dress with a thigh-high slit and a plunging neckline. The color matches the cool gray of Nikolai’s eyes. Knowing Xena, that’s on purpose.

My attention is glued to her. Everyone else’s is, too. She’s transfixing. She knows how to command a room better than I ever could. Even though I know Nikolai doesn’t want her, I can’t stop the jealousy that rises up in me.

It’s made even worse by the fact that Xena doesn’t even glance in my direction. Her attention is wholly focused on Nikolai.

“He planned everything, actually,” I interject. “He wanted to get married as soon as possible.”

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