AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It wasn’t uncommon for her to ignore me after a fight. Normally I would wait until she was calm enough to approach me, but with so little time left together, I didn’t want to wait to seek her out. Who knew how long it would be until she returned from court and me from traveling with the tsar?
I made my way through the empty halls of the baron’s wing of the castle, hoping to see Mila or someone who might know where she was. I peered into an open door and saw a dark-skinned young woman reading a book. She looked up, and her eyes widened at the sight of me.
“Apologies. I didn’t realize this room was occupied. I was looking for my wife.”
She bit her lip, looking almost guilty. Had I seen her somewhere before? Maybe she’d been at the market last time I was in Tsebol.
I gave a small bow. “I’ll leave you to your reading.” I turned to go, but she called after me.
“Han.”
Had we met before? I frowned at her. “I’m sorry…?”
“It’s me.” She stood, biting her lip again.
That expression. It was just like— “Mila?”
Words rushed out of her in a tumble. “I didn’t know he was going to do it. I went to see him, and he said we needed to do something about my appearance, and then he pulled out these hairs and put them on his staff, and the next thing I knew I was a different person. He said he can change me back as soon as I return.”
I leaned against the doorframe for support. Opening my mouth, I closed it again without speaking.
“It won’t be permanent,” the woman in front of me repeated.
“Mila?”
“I…think so.” She raised a hand to the cloud of tight curls on her head, and I noticed Mila’s headscarf on the chair where she’d been sitting. “Strictly speaking, I suppose I’m Sofia Stepanova now. At least, my body is.” As I stumbled to a chair, she twisted her hands together. “You could say something, you know.”
“What do you want me to say?” I ran my hand over my face. “A little warning would have been nice.”
“It’s not like I knew it was coming,” she snapped. Yes, that was definitely Mila. “If the tsar had told me he was going to do it, I would have told you.”
“I’m sorry. It just surprised me, is all.”
“Do you—do you like it, though?” She stepped back, watching my face.
I looked her up and down, but stopped short when I saw her pursed lips. “Of course,” I said quickly.
“Hm.” She sat down and picked up her book again, obviously disappointed with my reaction. “Well, you won’t have to see me like this for long. The tsar will change me back when I return.”
“No, really, Mila, I do. It’s just…” I fumbled for the right word. “Different. I mean, of course I prefer you to this stranger. But I’ll always love you, no matter whose body you wear.” I grabbed herhand and pulled her to me for a kiss. It felt different, like kissing a stranger, but she didn’t pull away.
“Will you come back to the room?” I asked as we broke apart.
She pressed a trembling hand to her lips, a gesture of uncertainty and desire that I hadn’t seen from her in years. “Yes,” she whispered.
I led her by the hand back to our room, racing from one emotion to the next. Anger at the tsar for changing her and at her for letting him. Pride that she would do what she felt was right no matter the consequences. Guilt that I couldn’t protect her, and an aching need to be close to her.
We reached the suite, and she pulled me through the sitting room into the bedroom. She closed the door and locked it behind us, then threw her arms around me and kissed me fiercely.
I staggered at the weight of her embrace, wrapping my arms around her. What was happening? She hadn’t let me touch her in weeks, had pulled away from even the most chaste of kisses. I pulled back, looking into her stranger’s eyes.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured. “If I’d known…”
“It’s not your fault.” Not her fault she’d changed. Not her fault those men had beat her so brutally that she couldn’t stand to be touched. None of it was her fault.
She leaned in to kiss me again, and I pulled back. “Mila, what are you doing?”
She slid a hand underneath my shirt. “What does it look like I’m doing?”
