He lets out a bright, delighted laugh as he swings her around. “I missed you too, Angelica. I’m so happy you’re here.”
I freeze as he looks over her shoulder. He’s a handsome man, wavy blonde hair and deep blue eyes with laughter creases in the corners. He grins at me. “You must be Anastasia. It’s a pleasure to meet you, sweetheart.”
He sounds genuine, and my muscles unlock slightly. “Thank you, Mr Tate.”
He throws back his head in a laugh. “Please, call me Will, or William,” he says in a begging tone. “Mr Tate makes me feel awfully old.”
My mother slaps his chest playfully. “Nonsense. You’re not old at all.”
He grimaces. “Tell that to my wrinkles.”
His self-deprecating tone threatens to draw a smile, and he points at me. “Ah! I see it. Let it go, Anastasia. I promise we’re a smile-friendly household.”
He’s so… friendly. I can’t help it. I smile at him, and he grins back at me. “There we go. I know it’s awkward, meeting new people. But we don’t bite, I promise. Why don’t you come and meet my sons?”
Hesitantly, I shuffle forwards. My mother is already embracing them, one after the other, each hug looking more awkward than the last. The boy on the end actually steps back to get away from her, only acquiescing when William clears his throat.
“So, Anastasia,” he says brightly. His hand rests gently on my shoulder as he points. “These are my twins, Kit and Rafe. Yes, they are identical, but we somehow managed to end up with two different hair and eye colors. One of those genetic quirks, but I’ve always been able to tell them apart because of it, so I can’t complain. They’re only two years older than you. You’re fifteen, am I right?”
I nod, taking them in. It’s… strange. Their faces truly are identical, down to the dimple. But one is dark, one blonde. One pair of violet eyes, one pair of deep green. Only the blonde has a slight crook in his nose, as though it’s been broken and reset. They both stare at me.
“Hello,” I whisper. They mumble greetings back, and William points me towards the older boy.
“This is my eldest,” he says proudly. “Silas.”
Deep blue eyes regard me warily, before he dips his head in a brief greeting. “Welcome to our home, Anastasia.”
His voice sounds stilted, but I try to smile anyway. “Thank you.”
William squeezes my shoulder again, gently nudging me towards the house. “Excellent. Come on inside, and we’ll give you a tour. I picked out a bedroom I thought you’d like, but there’s a few for you to choose from if you’d prefer, and we’ll get it set up.”
He pauses, and I look up at him.
“I hope you’ll feel at home here, Anastasia,” he says gently. “Truly. I care very much for your mother, and I hope you know that includes you, too.”
That’s… more than anyone else has ever given me. My smile feels wobbly, but he nods in understanding as he leads me towards the house, my mother on his other side.
I twist my head back to look over my shoulder.
But the gravel courtyard is empty.
5 – Kit
Rafe curses next to me as Anastasia crumples. None of us are fast enough to catch her as her head smacks into the solid stone floor, as her eyes close.
The room around us is abuzz. Every pair of eyes is focused on us, watching us withher.
So I step forward, casually leaning down to press my fingers against the warm skin of her neck. A throbbing meets my fingers, the steady sound of her pulse pushing down the roaring in my ears. I turn back to Rafe and Silas. “Pulse is fine. She’ll need her head checked when she wakes up.”
It’s an effort to step away from her, to leave her crumpled on the floor. Silas regards her silently for a moment before he turns to Crispin. “I assume we can take her now?”
Crispin blinks, his eyes flicking between us and the unconscious girl on the floor. “Oh – uh. Yes. I don’t see why not.”
My eyes flick to his choice of life partner. Ella Cooper isn’t paying attention to Stasi at all. Nor to her fiancé. She’s watching us, her eyes travelling over Silas, moving on to Rafe and then to me.
When our eyes meet, she offers me a soft, sweet smile. Then she bites her lip, her gaze flicking down to Anastasia. “Will she… will she be okay?”
She looks to me for an answer, but Rafe interjects. “Fine, Your Highness. Just a bump. You won’t have to worry about her anymore.”
