Page 70 of Poisoned Vows

I press my lips tightly together, looking away, but I don’t answer.

“We could be good together,” he says quietly. “You and I. We could make a good partnership, if you would just let yourself see it,krolik—”

I shake my head, opening my mouth to protest—and we both freeze as we hear the sound of the power coming back on, the lights in the room flickering and brightening the early morning light already in the bedroom.

I should be glad. The power being back on means we’ll be warm. I can shower, and Nikolai can cook food. We’ll be able to leave soon. But I feel a strange flash of disappointment at the idea that we won’t need to stay close any longer to stay warm.

“Well, give it a minute for the water heater to get back to normal, and you can take a real shower. Or a bath.” Nikolai pushes the blankets back, reaching for his clothing. “I’ll go look and make sure everything is in order. Just stay here and rest,krolik.”

He doesn’t touch me again or kiss me before he leaves. It should make me glad. I shouldwantthe distance between us. I don’t understand why I feel a sinking pit in my stomach as he walks away, closing the door and leaving me there.

Lilliana

The next morning, we’re able to head back to Chicago. Nikolai has cleared out the path to the road, and with the power back on, we’re showered, dressed in clean clothes, and full of a hot dinner and breakfast. The entire ordeal has started to feel like a bad dream.

We’re both silent on the drive back. Nikolai didn’t try to touch me again last night or this morning, and it feels like something is off. He’s never had any restraint before, and I don’t entirely understand what’s going on. It leaves me feeling unsettled. I understood how he was behaving before. He married me, and I belong to him. But now, he’s treating me differently.

I can feel the knot in my stomach tightening the closer we get to the city. “Are we going to the mansion?” I ask him finally, and he nods.

“I need to talk to my father. We’ll go to the penthouse after that.”

Silence falls over the car again after that, and I knot my hands in my lap, swallowing hard. I’d almost rather things go back to how they were before, just so I don’t feel so uncertain.

Nikolai pulls up into the driveway, killing the engine. He comes around to open the door for me, and I’m out of the car and reaching for my bag before we both freeze in place.

The door to the mansion is open. Not just open—the hinges are broken, the door hanging off of them, splintered where the locks were.

“Oh my god—” My mouth drops open, and Nikolai is already striding forward, his jaw set and a gun in his hand that I never saw him draw or even realized he had on him.

“Stay close to me,” he snaps, and for once, I don’t have any intention of arguing.

There are muddy bootprints in the foyer, a streak of blood across the marble. The entire house is in shambles—bullet holes in the walls, blood splattered across furniture, and the bodies of staff slumped over chairs. Nikolai moves faster, glancing over his shoulder at me with an expression on his face that I’ve never seen before, so hard and cold that it sends a wave of terror through me.

“I don’t know what I’m going to find in the study,” he says tightly. “But I need you to stay next to me, Lilliana. Don’t leave my sight for a second.”

I nod, feeling a lump of fear in my throat that keeps me from being able to speak. All that comes out is a strangled noise that I hope sounds like it’s in the affirmative as I do exactly as he says, staying close to him as he pushes open the door to the study slowly, his gun leveled.

He nudges the door all the way open, raising the gun—but the room is dark and empty…except for a body slumped over the desk. There’s a rich smell of something sickening in the air, and I clap a hand over my mouth, a strangled gasp coming out.

The body is Nikolai’s father. And he’s been dead for a little while.

“Stay right there.” Nikolai motions to where I’m standing next to the wall. “Don’t move.”

“The smell—”

“I don’t want you out of my sight!” His voice is sharp and rough, and he clears his throat, shaking his head briefly. “I’m sorry, Lilliana. Just please—I know. Just stay where you are.”

From the smell, I don’t think that whoever killed Nikolai’s father is still in the house. But I understand why he’s demanding I not move. I stand there, my hand clapped over my mouth and nose, breathing shallowly as Nikolai goes to investigate the body.

A moment later, he strides back towards me, that cold and angry expression on his face again. “I need to find Marika,” he says sharply. “Come with me. Stay—”

“Stay close,” I echo. “I know, Nikolai.”

For a moment, I’ve forgotten that we’re meant to be at odds. I have nothing against Marika—she was kind to me when I was first brought here—and the idea that we might find her in a similar situation to their father makes me feel sick, bile rising up to burn the back of my throat.

We go up to each floor, the second and the third, and walk through every bedroom. But Marika is gone.

“Fuck!” Nikolai shouts the curse, his jaw clenched, and I flinch back. “I don’t know who the fuck did this—” he runs a hand through his hair, tugging at it. “They’re fucking dead as soon as I find out.”

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