Page 110 of Gilded in Blood

She stands and holds out her hand. I take it. Together, we quietly slip out of the living room.

After my shower, I change into one of Calina ’s dresses. It feels good to be clean, to wash away the grime and fear from the day. I feel a little fresher, a little more like myself.

Calina has one of the maids bring food up to us, and we sit curled up in bed together. It’s comforting, just the two of us, like old times.

She looks at me, as she puts down her glass of juice. “So… what’s the deal with your hot bodyguard? I noticed how he was looking at you downstairs. Is there really something going on? And why are you calling him Kirill? I thought his name was Ilya?”

I hesitate for a second, then decide I can’t keep it from her anymore. Our brothers already know anyway. “Yeah. A lot, actually.”

I tell her everything. How Kirill isn’t the real Ilya. How he kidnapped the real one and kept him chained in the basement. How we got arrested. How I’ve been sleeping with him.

By the time I’m done, Calina ’s mouth is open in shock. “So you’ve been sleeping with him this whole time? How did that happen?"

I nod, cheeks heating. “Well… it just kind of happened.”

She lightly punches my arm. “And you’ve been holding it back from me? I thought we didn’t keep secrets from each other.”

“I didn’t know how you’d react,” I say. “Besides, I didn’t want to put the burden of keeping that secret from our brothers on you.”

She studies me for a moment, then smiles. “You like him, don’t you? You’re blushing.”

I let out a small laugh. “A lot. I like him a lot. It even scares me sometimes.”

Calina squeezes my hand. “The feeling is mutual. The way he was looking at you downstairs… he didn’t take his eyes off you. There was real adoration there.”

“I don't know what the future holds for our relationship.”

“How do you mean?”

I sigh, leaning my head against her shoulder. “All of this started because he was “supposedly” assigned to come get me from Manchester and keep me safe from Michael. But that has all changed and when all of this is over… I don’t know what the future holds for us.

“Will he still want to be with me? Or will he move on? Where does that leave me? Where does that leave us? I’m scared this might end when Michael is dealt with.”

Calina pulls me into a hug. “You’re doing it again, worrying too much and trying to sabotage it before it even has a chance. If the feeling is mutual, if Kirill really cares about you, then after all of this, you’ll be free to pursue your relationship without anything hanging over your heads. Without Michael. Look at it that way.”

I bite my lip. “Will our brothers allow me to date him when all of this is over?”

She smiles. “You keep forgetting our brothers are nothing like our father. Of course, they’ll allow it. They found out about it and still let you stay with him, didn’t they? They could have separated you and found someone else to keep you safe.”

I let out a breath, the weight on my chest easing a little. “You’re right.”

Calina kisses the top of my head. “Don’t worry. Everything is going to work out.”

I hope she’s right.

Kirill

Milana’s laughter drifts in from the pool, causing me to look up instinctively.

She’s sitting on the edge with Calina, their feet dangling in the water as they laugh about something I can’t hear. The afternoon sun catches her smile, and for the first time since the explosion, she looks at peace.

Something inside me loosens. Until now, all I could see in her eyes was fear and uncertainty. Every time she looked over her shoulder at the airport, every time her hand trembled in mine, it felt like someone was tightening a fist around my chest.

I hated it. I hated seeing her scared. Now she’s smiling again. And somehow, hearing her laugh does more for me than any victory ever has.

We’d paused the meeting a few minutes ago so Artyom and Mikhail could call their wives and make sure they were safe and well.

A glass appears in front of me. I look up. Maxim stands beside me, holding out a tumbler of whiskey.