The Romanov's Pursuit (18 page)

“But you were ready to follow his schemes before he betrayed you,” Steel pointed out.

“Yes. For once in my
life
,
I wanted to be a part of something that I helped orchestrate. I know how it must sound but I’m nearly a thousand years old and my power level equals that of a young witch.
I sacrificed my magic so that your father could succeed in wha
tever plots he came up with, so
yes, call me selfish
for finally wanting
something for myself.
After that first body…I didn’t know that he was responsible but after Edmund, he came to me and confessed who he was. He said the only reason I’m alive is to remember and suffer. Those shadows…were the souls he
sucked
from
the bodies you found. He used them to haunt me.”

The little sympathy Cutter felt for his mother was gone. “Yet you pretended
as if
you didn’t know what they w
ere and you’re the one who brought that into my home.”

She shook her head. “I didn’t know they would follow me. I thought you would protect
me.”
Teardrops
fell from Elizabeth’s eyes but by now Cutter could care less.

“What do the bodies have to do with all this?” Cutter demanded roughly.

“He was sending us a message. It took him many centuries but he managed to w
ipe out four of the most powerful
w
arlock families
in the world. And now it’s our turn.”

Blade took several steps forward and hovered over their mother. “Who is Grigori?”

She quickly
wiped
a tear away. “I thought you figured it out already. When the five families went after the Kozlovs, they didn’t get everyone. One of them managed to escape. A child by the name of Grigori.”

Chapter Seventeen

Nya didn’t know how long she’d been in this torture chamber because
she kept drifting in and out of consciousness. Grigori kept
her shackled
to a wall with
enchanted chains around her ank
les and wrists in a room that reminded her of a medieval dungeon. He’d stripped her leaving Nya only in her undergarments which were now soaked in blood. He didn’t beat her or even physically touch her although Nya couldn’t remember experiencing such excruciating pain.

Grigori would leave her in total darkness which wouldn’t have been so bad because her eyes would be able to adjust, but he’d blindfold her. And then he would rip the obstruction cover her eyes off and illuminate the room with lights. He had a blade in his hands. It was similar to the last one he’d used on his last visit except this one was serrated
. With a sinister smi
rk curling his lips he held
the knife up for
her insp
ection. “Do you see this, my lovely? It’s quite old. Do you know who this belonged to?”

“Fuck you,” Nya spat at him. She wasn’t interested in another history lesson from him. She’d heard the story about how he’d been wronged which was why she had to suffer. She wasn’t interested in listening to
anymore
of his bullshit.

Instead of being offended, Grigori chuckled. “I admire your spirit, Nya. Or should I
say
,
Ruth Ann?”

That got her attention. She’d only told the twins and she doubted he’d heard it from them. How could he possibly know?

Again he laughed. “I see you’re trying to figure out how I know your deep dark secrets. My soul shadows carried a part of me inside of them which is how they were able to invade your body. Through
that
,
I was able to learn everything about you, sad life before you were gifted with immortality, how you loathed being tied to a mad, obsessive rogue and most especially how he destroyed nearly every
one
you cared
for
.”

She gasped. Nya had suppressed those memories for a reason. She held herself responsible for the death of most of her descendants. Shortly after she’d taken her revenge on the
Randolph
s
,
Nya had
gone through their bookkeeping records to find the
sales record of her son. By then he was at least ten. She found that he was in a neighboring town and working on a small far
m
. Nathan didn’t recognize her and though it had broken her heart into several pieces, it was for the best that he didn’t, because she was now an immortal who would live forever while he would one day die. It occurred to her to turn him but she couldn’t do that to him, not unless it was his choice since her choice had been taken away from her.

She’d whisked him off to a free state and placed him in the care of who she deemed to be a decent family. They had been willing to take him with her promise of financial support for the rest of their days and she’d seen to that promise. When Adonis went away was when she’d found the time to slip away and visit Nathan and his family. She watched from afar, never interacting only observing. Unbeknownst to him, she was his protector, shielding him from much of the injustice of that era.

Nya had watched him grow up, start his own business, find love, and have children. It hurt that she couldn’t be a part of his life but it was reassuring to her that he was happy. When he turned forty, she finally talked to her son for the first time in years. He remembered her from when she’d rescued him from enslavement and didn’t understand why she hadn’t aged. It was then Nya had explained her immortal nature and had offered Nathan and his family to join her. Though he’d been flattered, he’d rejected her offer stating that he was okay with dying because the afterlife awaited him.
Afterward
, Nya glamoured him so that he wouldn’t remember their conversation or even her. And again she watched him from afar. He became a grandfather and a great-grandfather. And
finally
,
he passed away. And the cycle continued with his chi
ldren and then theirs and so forth
. She kept tabs on all of them which took up a great deal of her time
because
,
after several years, there were so many of them. Every time a descendant of her was born, she felt great joy but when one died, she suffered great sorrow.

Nya had memorized all their names, had familiarized herself with their personalities. They were her family and though she was the one who would live forever, she envied them their humanity and their daily struggles and triumphs that sprang from the simple fact of being human. But as her family tree blossomed, she
spent
more time away from
Adonis
and had become more adept at dodging the guards he’d set in place to watch her. In a jealous rage, Adonis massacred
them all except for one family to teach her a lesson.

They had been her lifeline, the one thing that gave her a purpose in life. Dealing with the murder of descendants had broken Nya. That was around the time she stopped feeling. She always believed it was her punishment for what she did to the
Randolph
s and to this day, she still held herself partially responsible for their deaths.”

“I see you’re remembering what he did to you,” Grigori broke into her thoughts. “It’s a shame what he did to you. I met Adonis, you know. We could have teamed up at one point but we had different goals in mind. Besides, he couldn’t
be
trusted. He was using a power that he had no business messing with. But getting back to my original point, you and I have a lot in common, Nya.”

She narrowed her eyes and sneered at him. “We have nothing in common, you psycho.”

“Oh, but I beg to differ. You see, like you, I lost the people I cared for as well at the hand
s
of
those
jea
lous of my family. We’re also a
like in that we took revenge on the people who have wrong
ed us
, so you see you and I aren’t so different. It’s a shame you got
mix
ed up with the wrong people because like I said already, you would have made a great ally.”

Nya had heard enough of his bullshit. “You’re going to kill me, then go ahead and do it. I’m not afraid.”

He raised a brow. “So eager to die. But I already told you that I’m not going to kill you right away. I want to play with you a bit, hear your screams. You’ve whimpered and shouted but that agonizing scream is what I’m waiting for. I want to be able to tell your men how you cried and what decibel you hit when you yell out in agony. I want to see them suffer knowing they were the cause of your death. So shall we begin?”

“Come a little closer. I have something to tell you.”

Nya was surprised when the warlock actually approached her.

“I have you securely bond. There’s nothing you can do to me from that position,” he taunted.

Nya spit directly in his face.

Grigori’s eyes went dark red and he drove the dagger into his thigh.

She cried out in surprise
when a huge wound opened in the exact same position on her as the place he’d stabbed himself but she was the one to feel the pain. This had been g
oing on for hours. Grigori
use
d
himself as a living voodoo doll while Nya bore the scars and the pain.

Grigori yanked the knife from his thigh and then ran the edge along his skin. Wherever the knife touched his body, Nya’s corresponding part would open up. His next attack was directly in the stomach and he twisted. It tore into her intestines.
The pain was so excruciating she could finally let out that scream that she’d fought desperately to hold me.

The twisted warlock removed the knife and smiled. “There it is. That’s what I’ve been waiting for, that beautiful despair.” He caressed the side of her face. “Now that you’ve given me what I wanted, I’ll give you time to heal and I’ll return. The next time I use this, it’s going into my heart.”

That would be a death sentence to her. Destroying a vampire’s heart was the only way to kill them. She was in so much pain at this point, death would be welcome. Slowly she drifted off. Her last conscious thought was of Cutter and Blade.

<><><><><>

Based on their mother’s information,
the
Kozlovs
had built fortresses underground to protect themselves although ultimately that move didn’t save them. They were said to be located in a small town outside Moscow.
Blade
had never been more thankful for his sister’s presence. Because of her, they were able to pinpoint where a great deal of magic was being exerted from a specific location. When they’d reached the spot they were looking for, they stumbled on an empty field.

Blade turned to his sister who seemed to be in deep concentration. “This is it?”

“Yes. I’m certain of it. I feel a great evil in this spot. I believe they’re beneath us.” Sasha knelt down and placed her hand
on
the cold earth. “They were there. I feel three presences
, although one is very faint. I feel great pain
.”

Blade d
idn’t have time to be impressed
by
Sasha’s skill because
worry gnawed at him. Cutter was also a wreck. Neither of them would be okay until they had Nya safe and by their sides.
He was ready to dig the dirt open with his bare hands to get his mate out if he had to.

“The next step is finding out how to get inside. We could teleport below but that could be too risky since we’re not sure where we’re going.
We could be going straight into an ambush and I’m quite certain Grigori has wards in place,” Steel mused. “Sasha can you tell what kind of wards this underground building has.”

The witch placed both hands on the ground and closed her eyes. “It’s very strong, but thankfully their regular magic but
it
’
s
extremely powerful, so much so that I won’t be able to break through it by myself.”

Cutter walked over to his sister and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Then we’ll all do what we have to do.”

“I’m glad you talked us into
do
ing
the cleansing ritual before finding this place because Grigori would have surely been able to track our every move had we not.” Blade tapped Sasha’s other shoulder. Once the others had arrived at his house
he
and Cutter had been eager to get going but at Sasha’s insistence, she wanted to perform a spell that would cleanse the traces of blood magic that clung to them. Because Grigori had used their mother’s blood, all her descendants were affected which was the nature of the spell. The cleanse which was a spell of light magic that only the bearers of
the Hecate mark could wield was used to purge them from the dark spell’s hold. It had cost them time they could scarce
afford because Sasha had to
perform the ritual on each individual.
Fortunately
,
she’d already done it on herself and Jagger before arriving. It was how they remained undetected, otherwise, Blade was certain Grigori would have made his presence known somehow.