She pauses, thinking. Then quietly says, “You said, ‘mywarrior’. Am I that too?” She catches her breath, hesitates. “Am I yours?”
Serafina di Salvo is asking if she’s mine and, heart racing, my brain doesn’t even kick on before I say, “Yes.”
She looks at me. I look at her. Both of us silent. Then, braid flying, Sera whips around and strides away, like she can’t get away from me fast enough.
“Sera—”
Her back to me, Sera holds up a hand. “No, stop. Just give me a minute.”
Dumbfounded, I study every visible inch of her, forcing myself to stay quiet, to give her the moment she needs. The longer time stretches, the more certain I am of my answer.
Seraismine.
I don’t know why or how or when I came to the realization, but I’m past the point of letting her go. Not now that I have felt her warmth, seen her strength, touched her body. The idea of losing her is unbearable. Giving her up would drive me mad. I can’t fathom her absence any more than I can stop craving her presence. I think about her constantly. Worry about her and want to protect her. I want to fight for her and take care of her and provide for her and do all the things someone does for the person they lo?—
The word stops me short.
Love?
No. I can’t possibly be thinking that.Feelingthat. I’m not allowed to love anyone again. Not after losing Rina. I lost the right to love someone, to connect that deeply with someone when I failed to protect my sister. That’s a privilege I’ve had to forfeit.
A truth my heart is rebelling against with every thump and squeeze. Especially when Sera turns and looks at me dead on. She’s disheveled from the attack and distraught about Dimitri and still so determined to face me. To faceus, whatever we might be.
“I’m yours?” Sera’s green eyes are sparkling, and a little wild. “What does that even mean?”
“I, uh…” For all the decisiveness I feel, I don’t know what to say.
“Yours to touch and kiss and have sex with? Yours to orderaround, to lock up? Yours to keep until you get bored and leave?”
I smile, despite the somber mood. “Yes, to the kissing and sex part. No to other stuff.”
Sera glares. “Are you teasing me right now?”
I hold out my palms, a gesture of surrender. “I’m not, I swear. I just don’t know what you want me to say.”
“The truth, Alik. I want you to tell me the truth.” Sera releases a deep sigh, sagging where she stands. “I’m not trying to provoke a fight. I just want us to be honest with each other. With ourselves, about what we’re doing here.”
I step forward, holding my breath until Sera lets me take hold of her hand. The contact loosens the tension in my spine. “We’ve talked about this already. We’re going after Renzo and the Albanian. We’re getting our revenge. We’re going to end this, once and for all.”
Sera’s brow is creased. “And after that?”
My mouth is uncomfortably dry. “The truth?”
She nods.
“I need to go back to Russia and to my family.”
“Immediately?”
“That’s always been my plan. I’ve been gone a long time, and my father is losing his patience. But...” I brush hair off her face, savor the feel of her skin beneath my fingertips. “I’m not in a rush to return anymore.”
Her furrow gets deeper. “But you still have to go.”
“I do. Yes. My life is there. Mybratvais there. My duty is there.”
Sera nods, dropping her eyes to the floor. Severing me off from whatever she’s thinking. “Then this, us, whatever we are—it’s temporary.” It sounds more statement than question. “We’re attracted to each other and we both want vengeance. Sex and blood. Once the blood part is taken care of, we say goodbye to the sex and each other.”
“No.” I capture Sera’s head between my hands, tip her face to mine. “I didn’t say anything about goodbye.”