I wake up when there’s a knock on the door, the warmth beside me already gone.
I stare at the spot where Gavriil should be, a deep ache filling the entirety of my chest. I guess I’m not surprised, even if it doesn’t feel like I slept for long at all.
I wish he would’ve stayed until I woke up.
Another knock sounds.
“Yes?” I call out.
The door opens halfway as I yank the sheets up to cover my naked body.
“Get dressed. Hurry up. ThePakhanwanted you gone an hour ago.”
Okay then.
I get a glimpse of Valentin and another guard standing out in the hallway. My stomach sinks when they shut the door again. But I push past the nauseating feeling to slip out of bed to pull my clothes back on.
When I approach the door, I pause before I reach it and look back at the cage, a mixture of emotions churning within me. I hated being kept captive in it, but in a way, it helped me understand him a little better.
I can’t completely forgive him, but I don’t think he wants me to. Gavriil prefers to be hated because he doesn’t think he deserves to be loved.
Did he manage to break me? Yes, just not in the way he intended or I expected.
The door opens again, and I can see the impatience and tension on Valentin’s face before he snaps, “Come on.”
The guards flank me as they take me farther down the hallway where Dominik is also standing between two guards outside of his room, his hands zip tied together in front of him.
His eyes meet mine, and a brief flicker of guilt suddenly ignites within me. But it fizzles out when he nods at me, as ifin understanding how I said goodbye to his brother and forgives me.
Gavriil had me once, while Dominik will have me forever.
I go to his side, my hand gripping his arm.
The guards hurry us downstairs to the foyer where men are rushing around. We head out the front door of the house, our shoes hitting the front porch.
My eyes widen a hint as I glance around at the beautiful expansive property I haven’t seen in weeks. The fresh air is so nice to breathe in.
I haven’t been outside in so long that it’s nice to feel the warmth of the sun and light wind on my face.
And then I see the black SUV waiting ominously for us.
It brings back memories of the first night I met Dominik, the night he kidnapped me off the street, taking me away from my old life and giving me a new one.
I tighten my grip on Dominik’s arm as we approach it, my stomach flip flopping. I can’t believe Gavriil is sending us away like this. Dominik and I finally get to be together outside of a cage or a cell, but this…this doesn’t feel like freedom.
This feels like exile.
We’re being pushed away.
Valentin opens the door to the backseat and motions for us to get inside.
I hesitate, faintly pulling on Dominik’s arm when he steps forward first. I meet his eyes before he offers me his restrained hands to help me get inside.
After I climb in, Dominik sits next to me, and not a single word is spoken. There’s just too much to say.
The door shuts behind us. Renat is behind the wheel, Viktor next to him. I glance behind the back seat to find Petrov, and all of our things packed in the very back of the car. I try to tellmyself that we’re just picking up where we left off, but that’s not the case anymore.
Too much has changed. What’s between Dominik and me has changed and what’s between Gavriil and me is different from that, but no less intense.
