I shot upright, waking to the sound of my own scream and boots stomping toward the cabin.
"Natalie?"
I was awake. On the boat. Just a nightmare.
In sleep, I'd relived those bullets spraying. I'd heard Paxan's treasured clocks shattering, thinking that he would be distraught at the loss.
Then I'd dreamed that Sevastyan had died by the boathouse, his mighty body felled. Raindrops had pelted his lifeless face, his unblinking eyes--
When he burst through the cabin door, I was already on my knees, reaching for him with a whimper.
He clasped me against him, tugging me into his lap as he sank down on the bed. "I've got you. Shh," he murmured, squeezing me against his chest. "Shh, milaya moya." He began rubbing my back with his big, warm hand, soothing me. God, I needed him. His strength, hi
