“You have to eat,Solnychko,” Nikolai insisted as my sister stared at her plate without appetite, “I’m not hungry,” she murmured and she wasn’t the only one. Aside from Grigori and Elif, we were all seated at the table for breakfast, but no one managed to swallow a single bite. Suddenly, the front door opened and we all turned toward the archway leading to the hall as footsteps approached. “Tarik?” Roman said, standing up as Grigori and Elif’s eldest son entered the room. Barely seventeen, he already had a man’s build despite his youthful face. He was practically Roman’s double, the Ivanov genes at work. “Uncle Roman,” he said, dropping his bag to the floor before hugging him. “What are you doing here?” Sasha asked, embracing him next, followed by Nikolai, while I helped my sister to her feet. “I heard about Maria,” he sighed, stepping closer. “How are you,tiotouchka?” (auntie) he asked Selina, hugging her carefully as if afraid she might break. It made me smile, he was adorable. “I’m fine, thank you, Tarik,” she replied, rubbing his back. “And you did well to come. Your mother needs you,” she added, stepping back. “And Alina too,” I murmured as he raised an eyebrow atme. “Still as perceptive as ever, Aunt Sienna,” he muttered and I smiled, nudging his shoulder, which made him smile too.
I had seen the way he and Maria’s daughter looked at each other on the occasions they were in the same room, young love, quietly blooming. “I didn’t want to miss Maria’s funeral,” he said softly, running a hand through his hair. I recognized Sasha in that gesture, it was uncanny how much the Ivanov children resembled the adults. “She was like a second mother to me.”
“Where is Mom?” he asked, worry creeping into his voice. “Still in her room?” Selina nodded sadly. “Do you think she’ll be able to go to the funeral?” he asked, referring to the ceremony scheduled for that afternoon, “I don’t know,” Nikolai sighed. “She’s devastated. The last time I saw her like this was when… when…” he stopped, closing his eyes. “My sister,” Tarik finished quietly, Nikolai nodded.
“I’m going to see her,” Tarik said at last, picking up his bag before heading down the hallway. I crossed my fingers, hoping he’d manage to pull his mother back from the edge. Because if he didn’t…
We were in serious trouble.
—
I draped the light black shawl over my sister’s shoulders, and she thanked me. We were all gathered in the hall, dressed entirely in black, ready to leave for Maria’s funeral. Everyone was there, except Elif. “I don’t think she’s coming,” Tarik said as he loosened his tie, his face dark. “Give her a little more time,” Grigori replied, running a hand over his tired face. Seeing his wife like this had to be just as painful for him. Suddenly, the sound of heels echoed down the staircase. Elif Ivanov descended in all her splendor, her hair perfectly waved down her back, her makeup concealing the dark circles beneathher eyes, her black dress impeccably pressed. “Prepare and send the dishes I told you about to Ma…, Alina’s house. Make sure they lack for nothing during the reception after the funeral,” she ordered Velma, who followed close behind. Velma handed her sunglasses, which Elif put on. “Selina stays home. Sienna doesn’t leave my side,” she added, her voice brooking no argument. She lifted her hair as Velma placed a black coat over her shoulders. “Let’s go,” she said, slipping her arm through her husband’s before walking out the front door.
I glanced at my sister, who looked at me in confusion and shrugged, Nikolai kissed her forehead before stepping outside. I followed, passing Sasha as he closed the door behind us.
“What’s going to happen?” I asked as we headed toward the second SUV, which we were sharing with Roman. I knew something was coming, something dangerous enough for Elif to insist that my sister stay behind. “I don’t know,” Sasha replied, opening the rear door for me as Roman slid into the driver’s seat. “The only danger I see here is Elif,” he added once I was seated, his gaze locking onto mine. “And we need to watch her back.” He closed the door.
Elif stood staring at the freshly piled earth that now marked her friend’s resting place, right beside her son’s grave. My gaze drifted a few steps away, where a dark stain marred the pavement, the spot where Maria had fallen, shot three times in the back, at the foot of her child’s grave. Alina’s sobs grew louder in Tarik’s arms as the guests began to leave one by one, offering condolences to Yaroslav. Family and close friends started making their way toward the Vasilkova residence. I ignored the sidelong glance Vassili cast at me as he headed for the exit. I ignored him the same way I had ignored his presence throughout the entire ceremony. He would never dare come at me in front of the Ivanovs, I had plenty to say myself if heopened the filth he called a mouth and he had far more to lose than I did.
The Ivanovs were the last to leave, alongside the Vasilkovas. Nikolai spoke quietly with Yaroslav, while Tarik walked ahead, holding a visibly exhausted Alina against him. Suddenly, my attention caught on a small group farther away, Vassili’s family, gathered in the shade of a tree. I tensed slightly and to my surprise, Sasha’s hand settled against my lower back, as if he had sensed it. I glanced at him and saw his gaze fixed straight ahead, so I mirrored him and said nothing. Our group passed the small family and I noticed husband and wife locked in a heated exchange when Ksenia suddenly shoved Vassili aside and turned toward us.
“Elif,” she called out and Elif stopped. Her head turned slowly toward Ksenia, and I swallowed hard. The woman standing before me was nothing like the mother who cooked breakfasts for her children, nothing like the wife who seduced her husband at every opportunity, nothing like the sister who teased the Ivanov brothers. Standing there was the queen of the Bratva. And it was terrifying. She was fascinating and frightening all at once, like something irresistibly alluring, yet lethal to the touch. “My condolences for your friend,” Ksenia said softly, a false compassion pasted onto her face, Vassili tried to grab her arm, but she shook him off and stepped closer to us. My gaze flicked briefly to her daughter, barely twenty-two, and my blood began to boil when I saw the hatred blazing in her eyes as she stared at Elif. “What a shame,” Ksenia continued, her hollow sympathy ringing false. “She was so young” she stopped in front of Elif as I felt the tension spike. My eyes met Vassili’s, and I saw how helpless he was in the face of his wife’s behavior.Fool.
Elif said nothing, she listened to the demon’s monologue with such calm that it was as if she didn’t hear a word. I saw Ksenia clench her fists, clearly enraged by the lack of reaction. I slippedaway from Sasha’s hand at my back and moved discreetly to Elif’s side, he said nothing, but I felt his gaze on me.
“Look on the bright side,” Ksenia went on with an exaggerated smile stretching her lips. “At least little Vlad didn’t have to wait very long for her-” everything happened fast.
Elif’s hand wrapped around Ksenia’s throat, her coat slipped from her shoulders and fell to the ground as she slammed Ksenia back against the tree behind her. Ksenia’s back hit the trunk violently as Elif pressed the gun she had drawn from her thigh against Ksenia’s temple. The smile vanished instantly. “Mother!” Daria cried, throwing herself toward Elif but my hand was already tangled in her hair, yanking her backward as my foot kicked the back of her knee, forcing her to the ground. The blade slid from my sleeve and pressed against her throat, pinning her in place. Of course I was armed. I always was.
All the men around us drew their weapons, pointing them at one another. I felt Sasha press against my back, his arm raised, his gun visible beside my face, entering my field of vision. Roman forced Vassili’s bodyguards back while positioning himself at one of Elif’s flanks. Grigori did the same with Vassili, taking position on the other side of his wife.
“Grigori,” Vassili snarled through clenched teeth but he did nothing more as his wife whimpered under Elif’s grip.
“Don’t forget, your son is waiting too, Ksenia,” Elif whispered cruelly and I saw the words hit home as Ksenia’s face twisted with hatred. “Don’t be in such a hurry to join him,” Elif went on as Ksenia shook her head violently. “Not before you join your daugh…”
“Don’t even think it,” Elif cut her off, pressing the gun harder against her temple, she leaned closer, her dark gaze locked onto Ksenia’s face.“I truly hope you have nothing to do with Maria’s death,” she murmured as I felt Daria trembling beneath my knife. “Because if you do, I will kill you but not in the cowardlyway you used on her” Elif tilted her head slightly. “Not from behind. Face to face. You will see me coming, Ksenia, and you won’t be able to run. You will die, and the last thing you will see will be an Ivanov” her hand tightened around Ksenia’s throat as the woman began to choke. “So I truly hope you had nothing to do with her death,” Elif repeated slowly, her voice dark and deliberate. Then she released her, Ksenia collapsed to her knees, clutching her throat, coughing violently.
Elif stepped back, her contemptuous gaze fixed on the woman at her feet, before turning toward me. I withdrew my knife from Daria’s throat as Elif grabbed her by the jaw. “Be careful, girl,” she warned her. “The next time you try to attack me, she’ll kill you” her eyes blazed with fury, and I nodded. “Without hesitation,” I confirmed, twirling my blade in my hand as I tightened my grip in her hair, making her whimper. My gaze locked onto Vassili’s dark stare. Yes, him too. I would kill him.
Elif finally stepped back, and I followed, releasing Vassili’s daughter. She collapsed on all fours beside her mother as I moved away without a glance. The Ivanov brothers closed ranks around us like living walls. We reached Tarik and Alina a little farther off. Elif’s son, weapon in hand, looked at his mother with concern, but she shook her head, rubbing his arm reassuringly before climbing into one of the SUVs, pulling Alina along with her.
Sasha opened the door for me again but caught my arm as I was about to get in. He lifted it in front of his face and tugged at the sleeve of my dress. He raised an eyebrow when he spotted the sheath strapped to my forearm. “Do I even want to know how and where you got that?” he asked and I smiled softly.
“Trust me, you really don’t”. I climbed into the vehicle as he watched me, amused. “Thank you for watching Elif’s back,” he said, while Roman nodded from behind the wheel. “It had to be done. You are my fa…my sister’s family,” I replied, clearing mythroat, “if anything happened to you, she would be devastated”. I buckled my seatbelt as his gaze lingered on my profile. My eyes met Roman’s in the rearview mirror, annoyed. “You’ll see it one day, Sienna,” Sasha said quietly as he stepped back. “That you’re already home” he sighed, closed the door, and I said nothing, refusing to understand his words.
—
“When do I come get you?” Kenji asked, his voice echoing through my phone on speaker as I pulled on a white tank top and tucked it into my athletic shorts. “Not for now,” I replied, tying my hair into a ponytail as I was getting ready to go for a run with Roman in the woods surrounding the property as the sun set, giving way to the cool of the evening.
“It’s only been a week since Maria died. I want to stay a little while, until…” I stopped, realizing what I was about to say,until the family recovered.
I closed my eyes and shook my head. “Still nothing about the Mother’s involvement with the Italians?” I asked, grabbing my phone from the bed as I sat down to pull on my socks. “No. No evidence linking Katy to Alia,” Kenji answered after a moment of silence. “Maybe we’re chasing the wrong lead?” he added. I heard the flick of his lighter opening and closing. “If it’s not the Mother working with the Italians, then who…”I stopped abruptly as Ksenia’s and Daria’s hateful expressions flashed through my mind. They harbored a fierce hatred toward the Ivanovs, toward Elif. “Tell me,” my Shadow’s voice came through the phone, sensing my silence. “Have you looked into Vassili?” I asked, pulling one leg up onto the bed and resting my chin on my knee. “Yes. Nothing there either,” he replied, and my mind began racing, had Ksenia acted alone? Would she really go so far as to work with the Italians? If so, my death and my sister’s were nothing more than fuel for Alia’s thirst for revenge,but Ksenia had another objective. What was it? “I want more information on Ksenia and Daria Kosnetzov,” I said, standing up and slipping on my sneakers, “Vassili’s wife and daughter?” he asked, confused. “Yes,” I confirmed, “I have a feeling this whole thing is far bigger than simple revenge, Kenji.”
The way Vassili had lost control at the funeral, his shock at his wife’s behavior, no…even if Ksenia was involved, her husband knew nothing. A move the Master hadn’t calculated. A move I could turn to my advantage, if I played my piece at the right time, in the right place. “Any news about the missing Stars? And Valentina?” I asked, setting my phone on the dresser while I grabbed my sports jacket and tied it around my waist. “Anita is seeing Igor tomorrow night,” he informed me after greeting some people. “Let’s hope the bottle of vodka is enough to make him talk,” he sighed. “Otherwise, we’ll have to use force”. He failed to hide the satisfaction in his voice. Igor had been a nightmare for our generation, torturing Shadows under the guise of training, assaulting young girls as so-called punishment. Yes, Igor’s name was high on our list of people to kill for our vengeance. Suddenly, there was a knock on my door and it opened just as Kenji resumed speaking. “About Valentin…” I lunged for my phone, taking it off speaker as Sasha walked into the room. “I’ll call you later, Kenji,” I cut in, turning my back on the magnificent intruder who closed the door behind him. “Alright. I’ll contact you as soon as I have news,” Kenji said, understanding I was no longer alone. “Be careful,” I added before hanging up.
I closed my eyes, mentally bracing myself for the next battle with my eternal rival. “I don’t remember saying the word ‘come in,’” I muttered as I turned toward him. He was leaning against the door, arms crossed over his chest and I froze when I noticed what he was wearing. Athletic shorts. A simple white T-shirt. His elegant shoes replaced with sneakers. A rare look on him.
“I’m sorry, I thought I heard you, but it seems it was Kenji,” he muttered, shoving his fists into the pockets of his shorts as he crossed his ankles. “Who’s Valentin?” he asked darkly and I didn’t react. I sat down on the edge of the window ledge, folding my arms before lifting an eyebrow. “And why would that concern you… exactly?” I asked, he laughed, but not an amused laugh. Far from it, it was nervous, brittle. He started walking toward me slowly, every step making my body tremble, yet I didn’t move. I lifted my chin and met his gaze without blinking, “everything that concerns you concerns me, Sienna,” he replied, leaning down toward me as his hands came to rest on either side of the window frame behind my back. I was trapped. In every possible ways. I swallowed softly, and his eyes followed the movement, sliding to my throat, while mine lingered on his lips. “Well, it shouldn’t,” I murmured, trying to cling to my confidence and my will, things that vanished whenever he invaded my personal space the way he was doing now. He lifted his gaze back to mine. Blue. Peace. But dark with desire, “I’m afraid you don’t get a say in that,” he shot back as a shiver ran through me when I felt his fingers brush the back of my neck. When had he…my lips parted, but no words came out, only my uneven breath. Sasha Ivanov and his damn effect.
