POV: Sasha
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The name landed like a grenade in a quiet room.
Nikolai.
I'd never heard it before. Not from my father. Not from Dmitri. Not from anyone. And now, suddenly, I had another uncle – one who'd been exiled, who'd been waiting, who was coming for me.
I sat back down. My legs wouldn't hold me.
"You're sure?" I asked Tatiana.
"I've been tracking him for years. Ever since your mother died. She made me promise to watch over you – and watching over you meant watching for him."
Marco moved to my side, his hand on my shoulder. Grounding me.
"Why didn't you warn me sooner?"
"I couldn't. He has eyes everywhere. If he'd known I was talking to you, he would have killed me. And then he would have come for you anyway – only faster, and with more anger."
Antonio appeared in the doorw
