I was determined to find my freedom the moment I knew Pyotr was dead.
But I don’t think that’s actually what Miko means. “I mean, obviously I wanted to before I got to know you—before the wedding, I had a hundred different escapes planned out in my mind.”
“And after?” he presses.
“After our wedding night, I kind of just stopped thinking about it. The more I got to know you, the less certain I was that I wanted to run.”
“So, why did you?” he asks, his expression so raw and vulnerable, it brings fresh tears to my eyes.
“Well, I…” There are so many little pieces to the puzzle, so many factors that contributed to my panic, and as I look back now, I try to focus on the ones that feel most relevant. “I overheard you talking to Svetlana—before you told everyone what she said.”
Shock, quickly followed by shame, flashes across Miko’s face, and he closes his eyes against the remorse. “You must have been terrified.”
I nod. “This thing Svetlana told me once kept replaying in my head. She told me that all Novikov men have a poison in their blood that makes them hurt the ones they love, so when I found out you’re actually a Novikov…”
“And then you saw me completely lose my mind,” he finishes.
Again, I nod, then bite down anxiously on my lip, because I don’t know how I’m going to tell him this next part. And before I can pluck up the courage, Miko frowns.
“But you were still in our room when I called a family meeting.”
I blush, knowing the next part is going to be the hardest part. “I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. It wasn’t until you started talking about claiming your birthright that I started to worry you sounded too much like Pyotr.”
“I don’t give a damn about my birthright, Anika,” Miko swears. “If it will make you happy, I’ll let it all go. To hell with uniting the clans to avenge my brothers?—”
“Hey,” Gio objects, making me giggle, but Miko just waves him off.
“Seriously, you say the word, and I’m done.”
Warmth fills my chest at the sincerity in his voice. “Thank you, but I don’t want you to give it up for me. I was just scared. I knew that I’d fallen in love with you, that I might not be strong enough to leave you for my own sake. But I was scared about what you might become, and I thought I had to run… to protect our child.”
Miko’s brows buckle, his eyes searching mine. “Our child… You’re pregnant?”
“Yes.”
The excitement that lights his eyes makes me smile, and I laugh as he covers my belly with one large hand, splaying his fingers across it as if he can already feel the life growing inside me.
“I swear to you, I would never do anything to hurt you—either of you. If that day ever comes—if Svetlana’s right that there is some Novikov curse and I do have poison in my blood—I’ll put myself down like a dog before I lay a hand on you.”
“I trust you,” I say simply. And I do. If Miko loves me enough to let me go, that proves he loves me enough to keep me safe—even from himself.
“I don’t know if this makes you feel any better about it, but Svetlana did say she thinks the cycle might be broken since I was taken as a baby,” he adds.
Oddly, even though the words sound rather superstitious, they do still bring me a strange sense of peace.
Throwing my arms around his shoulders, I bury my face in the crook of Miko’s neck.
My heart swells when his powerful arms encase me, pulling me into a fierce hug.
“Christ, Anika,” he breathes after a long moment. “I’m glad you decided you want to stay, because there isn’t a universe in which I could have let you go willingly if I’d known you were carrying our child.”
Giddy relief makes my heart flutter, and I lean in to press my lips to his throat. “Good thing we won’t ever have to test that theory.”
Cradling my face as he combs my hair back with his fingers, Miko leans back to search my face. “God, I love you,” he murmurs.
“I love you too, Miko.”
And when his lips come crashing down on mine, I know that I’ve never been happier than right here in this moment.
