What justified my action towards Lyra if I deemed it wrong between me and Vale? If I was protecting the blue-eyed huntress from my polluted existence, why wouldn't I do the same for Lyra? Was one girl more important to me than the other?
In my state of contemplation, the impatient girl beneath me gripped my wrist and eagerly guided my fingers into herself. Her inside was too hot and slippery that it snapped me out of my train of thought.
"Lyra...no..." I breathed and carefully pulled my hand out of her. I sat up again and rebuttoned my shirt. The girl on the couch looked stunned at my sudden change of mood.
"Your Highness..." her soft voice was hurt and confused. "What did I do wrong?"
"No! Lyra, it's not you," I said. My eyes looked everywhere but at the staring girl beside me.
"Then it's that huntress, isn't it?" Lyra asked the question that I didn't expect. My face turned to her in amazement.
"What made you think that?"
Lyra got up and redid her clothes as well.
"You are Anastasia Romanov, the imperial princess," she said. "You never bother to restrain yourself from anyone. Whatever you desire, it shows so clearly to whoever cares to notice you. I knew what you did earlier."
"But Valerina and I are nothing," I said grimly and didn't bother to put my pants on as I stood up from the couch and headed towards a table by the fireplace. After pouring a glass of wine, I sipped it slowly and rested my hand on the marble frame while my eyes kept staring at the dancing blaze.
"Do you have feelings for her?" Lyra drifted off to stand on the other side. The golden glow bathed over her body. I looked back at her. Lyra's green eyes were darker. Her face was concerned and also nervous for some reason.
"Yes, I do," I said after a moment later. I heard Lyra's breath hitched. Her gaze dropped to the torn carpet on the floor.
"I see," her voice could barely reach my ears over the cracking fire. I looked up to find her wiping tears from her face before turning away and running out of the room.
"Lyra!" I tried to call her, but the door was slammed shut. I listened until the girl's footsteps ceased, leaving only the heavy silence to envelope me.
Chapter 25
All around the field, distant sounds of marching men and the clattering noises rung in my ears. We passed the uniformed Cossacks running around the base. Shouted orders came from commanders followed by the boom of cannons. The ground trembled slightly under the impact.
I was told it was a target practice for the new arsenal. The cannonballs were stuffed with explosive and metal spikes. Once they fired, the cannonballs caused a mass destruction. They had selected an area in the woods where humongous oak trees stood. The cannons facing the targets shot some of them down with accuracy and immense force. Then it came a time where the Hunters and the Cossack soldiers conducted an operation practice in the forest. The attack was under the command of their Generals back at the camp.
Gradually, I began to understand the rules of their game. Trotsky was a hard taskmaster while Krasnoff was good at executing the plan. They both played each other's opponent in the operation, using only the voice commands and the oversize monitor screens. Trotsky was a seasoned field marshal since his Soviet time. Krasnoff was also ripe with war experiences. Yet Trotsky was more patient than Krasnoff though the later was knowledgeable in the attacks.
At the peak of the battle, the Hunters managed to disarm the headquarter of the Cossacks in a surprise attack. The Cossacks were strong and tough, but the Hunters were swift and quick on their feet. This distinct personality seemed to complement one another. I believed together they would make one powerful army.
"No! How dare you!" Krasnoff bellowed, pulling off his headset. "You have no sense of dignity, Trotsky!"
"Dignity is what got you killed, my friend." The older General laughed. "I speak from your experience by the way."
"Do you have to bring this up?" Krasnoff scowled. "Your hunters need to stop using this cruel deception on my side."
Trotsky smirked and turned around to look at the others.
"Remember ladies and gentlemen, you're not warring against the feeling humans anymore," he said. "What is going on in the world out there would make this battle feels like children's board game. It won't be long till the day you'll be fighting against Death himself. So now, you better watch and learn."
The Hunters gave him an understanding nod. Then we returned to the main tent for a short break. Damir had to mind a few things at the surveillance unit, so that the sensors in the forest could be reactivated after the practice. Valerina and her sister joined us at the long table while the rest disappeared after the meal.
I had neither spoken a word nor had I even stolen a glance at the blue-eyed huntress. It was mainly my own endeavor to keep my longing away from her. I did all I could to divert the thoughts of Vale to something else. All morning, I tried guarding my feelings when I was around Valerina, but it was proven impossible as she was just right there where I could reach out and grab her.
The thirst to bury myself in her skin was almost undeniable. Judging from the grim look on her face, I knew she wasn’t better off than me in the battle of the heart.
"Would you mind joining our combat practice afterward, Anastasia?" Krasnoff was speaking to me, drawing my attention back from my wineglass. The Cossack General gave a mischievous glance at Trotsky. The older man was sipping his red wine at the head of the table. Trotsky stiffened up and frowned at Krasnoff in suspicion, but he didn’t say anything.
"Why?" I asked.
"So that you can teach us a few fighting tricks, of course!"
"Self-defense is not my forte I'm afraid," I said. From the corner of my eyes, the Alpha and the Beta looked up from across the table. They were listening to our exchanging words in silence.
"Don't be so modest, princess!" Krasnoff chastised. "I've heard that it took an entire team to capture you. You put on quite a fight, didn't you?"
"Well, it could have been bloodier if I wasn't too distracted." I shrugged with a stolen look at the younger huntress. Vale turned her face away as if she had smelled something bad. Deep down I knew I had purposely said that to annoy her. The Alpha stared at me with a look of distaste.
"We lost two of our good hunters to you," she seethed.
"And I lost my friends to you as well, dear Alpha," I said, making zero effort to hide my irritation.
The Alpha stood up from her chair. Her eyes shot silver daggers in my direction. Her hand had already disappeared to her side where a curved blade was strapped to her belt, ready to be drawn.
Krasnoff laughed and slapped his thigh in amusement. Trotsky shook his head at his older god-daughter. The huntress reluctantly sat down again.
"Alright, how about you and the Alpha demonstrate a fight in the combat practice for us?" the loquacious General suggested again. I guessed he was trying to mask his failure by finding a way to humiliate his comrade.
"You're being a silly fool, Krasnoff." Trotsky shook his head.
"Unless you underestimate your own Hunters, then I don't know who's the fool?" Krasnoff said. Trotsky looked as if he didn't know what to say. His face turned to me.
"You don't have to entertain this rusty fellow, Anastasia," Trotsky said. "His ignominious defeat has made him bitter and stupid—that's all."
"Oh, come on, Trotsky, it's only a practice lesson! It's good for both sides, don't you think? My Cossack soldiers would learn a great deal from a real vampire attack."
"I believe my hunters have been nothing but exceptional in handling that," Trotsky said.
"I'm sure you trained them well, but my Cossacks have never seen a greater danger than the golden-eyed one." Krasnoff pointed his thumb at me. I rolled my eyes.
"I agree with General Krasnoff," the Alpha said boldly. "I also want to find out how hard it is to kill a royal."
"Sister," Vale whispered in a very low voice as she gazed at Malena with a bewildered look. I wondered who she was worried about— me or her sister?
Trotsky sighed and turned to me as if to wait for my response. I took a swig of my wine then put the glass down on the wooden table.
"It's fine by me," I said with a lopsided smile. "I guess I can humor you a little."
I could still feel Vale’s eyes on me, but I ignored her.
BACK IN THE FIELD, everyone gathered around to watch. There were constant cheering noises from all sides. Hunters and the Cossack knights moved off the field when the Alpha came forward. She had a deadpan look. I stood with no weapons, except my bare hands and...teeth.
The Alpha dressed in a long leather jacket that fell to her knees. A black mask partially covered her determined face. The crested assassin armor pads were fastened over her shoulders . They were meant to prevent the vampire bites I supposed.
"Useful gadget," I said, smiling thinly at her.
"There's more, princess," the grey-eyed huntress replied. She stood with her legs apart. Her hands possessed a shiny blade and a silver beaten wheel-lock pistol. I could tell the short gun was fully loaded with quicksilver bullets.
"Sister!" Vale's voice cried out. We both turned to her. "You can't use firearm in a hand-to-hand combat. It’s against the rule."
I could see Trotsky squinting his violet eyes at me. Krasnoff shrugged. Despite their lack of concern, I couldn't help but smile at the way Vale seemed oddly mindful of the fairness more than necessary.
"She has the speed of a darting arrow and the strength of ten wild boars. Why do you care about rules?" Her sister yelled back in exasperation. A look of condemnation shone from Malena's eyes. It seemed as if she could sense the reason behind her sister's interruption.
Knowing it was an irrefutable fact, Vale bit her lips. Her deep blue eyes drifted to mine. Then she looked away with a sigh. At that moment, my heart leaped, knowing she was worried about me.
"That's alright, daughter," Trotsky said, holding his hands up to quiet them. "It's just a demonstration and not an attempt to kill our Grand Duchess."
The square was no longer boisterous with anticipation. The quietness was far more deafening now. They kept looking on and holding their breath in the process. I saw Damir appear through the wall of crowd with a confused look.
"Hey, Mal!" he called out from the sideline. "Be careful with the new gun, it's quite powerful!"
"Of course, I know it is,” the Alpha scoffed. “And that's why I use it."
For a long moment, neither of us moved.
"You know you can't hurt a vampire by standing there," I said.
"Actually I can," she said and raised her pistol. Without another word, she pulled the trigger and fired at me. The silver tip of the bullet sliced through the air, but I sidestepped the shot and it went off to hit a tree behind me. The bullet made a hole there, and I could see quicksilver bleeding out. Turning back, I looked at the girl. She was not fooling around.
The huntress lunged into an attack. In a few graceful steps, she jumped into the air towards me and spun around. Her long leg extended and the heel of her combat boot could have split my skull open if I hadn't dodged the kick fast enough. The cries of her supporters echoed from the square down to the field. As she came down again, the huntress slashed her sharp blade at my stomach. I stepped back and missed the deadly edge that would have torn me in half.
I knew then that there was no playing around with this one.
Using my full speed, I skirted passed the Alpha, but the fierce huntress had expected my move. She twisted her flexible body around and hit my jaw with the heel of her boot. My head snapped to the side.
I stumbled back and felt the tickled of blood from my lips. The Alpha turned to me again. I couldn't see her smirk through her masked, but I knew it was there.
"You're one hell of a fighter, aren't you?" I said then I dashed in a blinding flash towards her. Instead of being caught off guard, she seemed to welcome it with her pistol pointed at me.
She fired.
A loud bang tore through space from the barrel. As if in a slow-motion, my feet skidded over the ground. I leaned myself backward to avoid the darting bullet. It whizzed past me.
I pulled myself back and knocked the gun off her hand. I gripped her by the wrist, pulling her body around to me. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. My other hand twisted the blade she was holding to her throat.
"Was that shot supposed to kill me, huh?" I hissed in her ear. "Because if it was, then this is supposed to kill you."
The huntress grunted as she struggled against my tight grip, yet it was fruitless. Her pulse was beating furiously in my ears. A slight push of the blade into her throat, and she would be dead. A lunge of my bite would also do the job.
The voices got drowned out. Even the wind seemed to stop blowing. The people could only watch us from the distance. The two Generals stood like a pair of ivory wax statues without moving. There was something in their ancient violet-eyes as they witnessed a hidden side of me. They wanted me to let the monster out.
The others were staring and waiting for something to happen. I had no wish to kill, but everyone who had placed their hope on her was about to see the fearless Alpha surrender to me.
"Anastasia, please don't!" Valerina's shrilling voice cut through the thick tension like a knife. Hearing her calling my name, I loosened my grip around her sister and looked back at her. This gave Malena the opportunity to wrench herself free from my grasp.
At the same instance, she got down and swept her leg across my feet. I fell to the ground and found her sitting on my stomach. The same blade nested sharply under my chin. The Alpha stared at me with eyes heated like molten silver.
The whole crowd cheered again. Although I could easily flip Malena off, it was pointless as the entire camp was her supporters. I even suppressed the urge to laugh. A slow clap came from Krasnoff after the cheering soldiers had quieted down.
"That was a wonderful counter move, Alpha."
She drew her blade back and got off me. I staggered back onto my feet again. We looked at each other evenly. The huntress pulled off her mask. There was a look on her face, which was a mixture of disappointment and confusion. She knew I let her have the victory, and she was irritated by my willingness to yield. I ignored her heated stare and turned to find Vale watching us with Damir beside her.
Her face seemed more solicitous as her eyes focused on me. Our eye contact overwhelmed me again, but she turned around and moved away with Damir religiously following her.
SEEING THAT THE DAY was drawing to a close, we prepared to go back to the castle. I was standing by the tent's door as I noticed Vale wandering the camp's street, apparently alone. My feet itched to go to her. Not far away, there were some shouting from a parked wagon. A few Cossacks were loading cargos onto the carts.
"Be careful!" one of them said. "These are needed at the weaponry."
Out of nowhere, I heard a horse's hooves galloping down the path. The animal was a black powerful war horse, fully harnessed but riderless. The hooves pounded on the cobblestone. It seemed the horse must’ve strayed from the stable. The stable boys cried out warnings.
As the wild stallion turned the corner, it knocked over one of the wagons, causing the wooden boxes to collapse.
A container spilled out some odd-looking devices.
To my horror, hand-made grenades went rolling over the square. Those who stood by the wagon shouted to Vale to flee, but she wasn't quick enough.
Faster than my own thought, I rushed forward when the striker lever of the grenade had snapped by itself. In a blink, my arms found the soft form of the huntress. I hurled us out of the way as the bomb exploded with an ear-piercing sound. Red-hot flames were flinging and roaring in every direction. The earth quivered. Valerina and I fell to the ground together. I had used my body to form a protective shield over her.
The grenades sent pieces of metal shards flying at great speed. They sliced and embedded parts of my body and anything else within projectile range.
All I could think about was protecting the girl in my ar
ms, praying that nothing would harm her. Vale's eyes squeezed shut. Her face pressed against my chest.
After the shocking blast, my body began to register the pain. Without a doubt, the serrated metal pellets were also filled with quicksilver. I felt the burns though my body, and soon I was no longer able to breathe.
"Anastasia!"
I rolled off Valerina with a gasp. There was fire in my lungs, and I was choking. My blood spilled out like boiling river. My veins froze and turned to lead. I could see them bursting from under my alabaster skin.
I was dying.
A pair of soft hands pulled me into a tight embrace.
"Oh god...no, please, no!" Valerina was crying. Tears flooded those sea-blue eyes, streaming down her blood-drained face.
In that moment, I wanted to touch her and feel her warmth one more time, but I couldn't move my hands.
"Somebody help!" she shouted for the others. There was a distant sound of rushing feet. Valerina turned her anxious face back to me again. Her trembling fingers came to caress my cheek.
"Vale...I...I," I said, trying to make my voice heard through the choking pain. "I'm...sorry..."
She shook her head with an internal torment. Then everything began to fade around me.
Until it was all pitch black.
Chapter 26
Alexandra
I FOLLOWED THE GENERALS through the maze of streets, leading to the Kremlin Palace's Red Porch. What a contrast to the gilded opulence of the old Kremlin. The great city of Moscow had become a rubbish heap of history. Rats and crows now roamed the filthy alleys. I remembered churches and parks, which today were falling apart and worn down with age. Deserted and dilapidated palaces reminded me of the ill fate that had befallen my own family.
Was this how I wanted my home to be? I was born into the richest royal house in the world, but now all I had was ashes of the past.
The red-eyed soldiers stood at attention along the path to the Cathedral of the Dormition. It was where my anointing and crowning would be. We entered the memorial building, walking towards the prepared dais under a golden canopy. Two large thrones had been set up. One of them was made of while gold and embedded with diamonds. The throne belonged to Czar Michael I, first Czar of the Romanov Dynasty—it was called the Diamond Throne.
Anastasia Romanov Page 13
