"Okay," I say, my voice barely above a whisper. "I'm done." He nods once, then turns and starts walking back toward the house. I follow, leaving Daniil behind in his unmarked grave without looking back.
• • •
Something about the house feels different now, and I can't tell if it's because I know we're leaving tomorrow or because something between us has shifted. The anger is still there, simmering under the surface, but there's something else too, something I don't want to name.
Ilay finds me in the kitchen where I'm sitting on the countertop staring out the window at nothing. "Start packing your things," he tells me. "We leave for Russia in the morning."
Russia.
My heart leaps. "Russia? Really?" He nods. "Does that mean I get to see my dad?" The words escape before I can -stop them, coming out hopeful and eager like a child begging for a treat. I hate how desperate I sound, but it's been so long and I miss him so much.
Ilay's expression stays flat. "Baby girl. Don't start."
"What do you mean, don't start? You just said we're going to Russia, and my father is in Russia. I want to see him."
"And you will," he says. "Eventually."
"Eventually?" I frown. "What does that mean?"
He crosses the distance between us, slow and deliberate, until he's standing right in front of me. Close enough that I have to tilt my head back just to look at him.
"There's still tension between your family and me," he explains. "We need to let things settle before we go waving hello. And besides, there's something else we need to take care of first."
"What?"
"Your ring."
I stare at him, confused. "My ring?"
"Yes. When we get back to Russia, I'm going to propose to you properly. Like a man should. And you're going to say yes."
"I already said yes." He smirks.
"You said yes while I was inside you. That doesn't count." He reaches up to brush a strand of hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear. "I want to do it right. Get you a ring. Get down on one knee. The whole thing."
I search his face. "Since when do you care about doing things right?"
"Since you." His thumb traces along my cheekbone as he speaks. "I want to marry you, Iris. Properly. And then I need to talk to your father so he doesn't do anything stupid, and I don't do anything to upset you, and we don't end up fighting. Because when we fight, I don't like it."
His voice drops, going lower and softer. "I don't like seeing you upset. I don't like being the reason you cry. So we're doing this the right way. We go to Russia, get your ring, I propose, and then two months later we go see your father. By then, everything will have calmed down."
I search his face for any sign that he's lying, for any hint that this is another manipulation or another one of his games. But all I see is him. Intense and focused and completely serious. "Two months?" I ask.
"Two months." I consider it. Two months isn't that long, and if waiting means avoiding a war between Ilay and my family, maybe it's worth it.
"Okay," I finally say. "Two months." Something flickers behind his eyes, relief or satisfaction, though it's always hard to tell with him.
He leans down and presses a kiss to my nose before moving to my left eye, my right, and finally my lips. The kiss is soft and gentle, nothing like the bruising, demanding kisses I've come to expect from him.
When he pulls back, he's almost smiling. "So we go to Russia," he says. "We get your ring, and two months later we see your father. Deal?"
"Deal." One more kiss, quick and light, and then he steps back. "Good. Now go pack. We have an early flight."
The rest of the day is spent putting my few belongings into a bag. There isn't much, some clothes that Ilay had his men buy for me, toiletries, a book I found on one of the shelves and never finished reading.
By the time evening comes, I'm exhausted in every way a person can be. Physically, emotionally, completely drained. I stand in the shower for a long time, letting the hot water wash away the dirt and grief from the burial, then pull on one of Ilay's shirts with nothing underneath and climb into bed.
I'm scrolling through my phone and watching some stupid video I'm not really paying attention to when the bathroom dooropens. Steam billows out, and then Ilay appears with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.
