Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 93463 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93463 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Rafail nods. Frozen.
My heart pounds, loud and erratic.
“My testament,” Seamus continues, eerily calm. “That night, I ended the lives of the men who betrayed me. My boss believed it was you. They’ll know the truth soon enough. I told them they’d pay for their betrayal, and I always keep my word.”
He looks at Semyon, who’s now ghost-pale. Rodion’s hands curl into tight fists. Rafail refuses to look away.
“I promised you one thing,” Seamus says, eyes on Rafail. “Didn’t I?”
And then, oh my god, he turns to me. “I told you I would come for your sister. I remember it vividly. I bet Semyon does, too. And I never, ever back down on my word.”
He gestures, his hand steady, his voice quiet. “Come here, Zoya.”
My body refuses to move at first.
“Go,” Rafail whispers in my ear. “You have to do what he says now. I can’t stop him.”
The room is rigged.
Seamus’s voice rolls through the room. “I have forty plants stationed on this estate. Every exit. Standing right beside you.”
My head snaps up. The guards, uniformed, still, all armed, are everywhere.
We’re surrounded.
Holy shit.
He snuck them all in.
For me.
A promise. A vendetta. A reckoning.
“What did you do with Morozov?” Rafail asks flatly.
Seamus’s eyes ice over. “You know exactly what I did.”
Oh my god.
“Did you start a war, Seamus?” I whisper.
Rafail’s gaze on me hardens. No one calls him Seamus. I shouldn’t know his name.
“It’s hard to start a war that’s already begun,” Seamus replies, his tone glacial.
Then he turns to me again.
And even now, my traitorous heart expects a flicker of warmth. A softened look. Something.
But his gaze is frozen.
“I said come here, Zoya.”
My legs are made of jelly. But I walk.
“Zoya, come,” he says, gentler. “I won’t hurt you, little lass. I promise. You have my word. Please, just come to me now.”
Polina’s hand is on her mouth. Yana’s watching us both with narrowed eyes. Anya’s pale, her eyes wide.
Everyone watches. Everyone heard him.
So I go. I walk down the aisle. Past my family. Past everything I’ve ever known. Still clutching my flowers to my chest.
Into the arms of Seamus McCarthy.
Knowing what I’ve done. Knowing what this will cost them. Knowing they will never forgive me. That the blowback will be brutal. Unforgiving. Total.
I go to him.
He takes my hand.
Then he turns to the priest and nods once.
“Vows, Father,” he says. “Make it quick.”
Rafail makes a move to come to us.
“Don’t, Kopolov,” Seamus growls, and I see something in him I’ve never seen before, a dark glint in his eyes, the hardened set of his jaw. He’s ready to kill. All of them.
And then he’ll take me away anyway, no matter what it costs.
“Over my dead body,” Rafail growls. “So kill me. But you won’t take my sister. You won’t.”
“No!” I scream. “Enough!”
I wrench myself away from Seamus, slap at his hands when he reaches for me. And to my shock, he actually stops. He stares at me like he’s never seen me before… and takes a step back.
My brothers freeze, and the whole room goes still.
Everyone, every single person in the goddamn room, is staring at me.
“I will not let you war over me,” I say, my voice rising.
“No. Enough. Too many people have died already.” My words rip through the silence. “Too many! I won’t risk it. Stop. All of you. Just—stop.”
Silence falls, the kind that weighs heavy, thick, and unbreathable. I feel like I might throw up as I look at my brothers, trembling but resolute.
“Rafail, I’m going to marry Seamus.”
I swallow hard.
“I’m going to marry him… because I love him.”
A startled gasp breaks the quiet. Rafail’s eyes narrow on me, disbelief hardening his face. “Zoya, don’t you—”
“No!” I scream again, and I think it might be the first time I’ve ever raised my voice to him.
“Stop talking,” I snap, then turn to Seamus, pointing straight at him. “Listen. I didn’t know who he was,” I say, pushing through the weight of grief. “And it breaks my heart to know what he’s done. But I want you to know something.”
I look at Rafail, and my voice cracks.
“Next to you, there’s no one I trust more.”
The look of betrayal on his face shreds me. Cuts me straight down the center.
“Zoya,” Rafail whispers, confused. Hurt. So damn hurt.
“He’s given everything to come for me,” I say, my tears flowing freely now. I know my mascara’s running, my makeup smeared—but I don’t care. I can’t care. Not now. “I have to stop this war.”
“What are you talking about?” Rafail asks, barely audible. “What do you mean?”
“You heard her, Kopolov,” Seamus says, steady and clear.
“I said I love him.” I lift my chin.
Or I used to, anyway, before he broke my heart.
I glance at Seamus out of the corner of my eye. “He’ll have to prove he’s worthy of my love. He’ll have to prove he didn’t lie to me. He’ll have to prove a hell of a lot.” I let out a shaky breath.