28
Chloe
I get through the morning by sheer willpower, going about my lessons with Slava with a smile despite the anxiety shredding my nerves. It helps that Nikolai doesn’t show up at breakfast, locking himself in his office with Pavel instead. In fact, I don’t see him at all except briefly in the hallway, when he strides past me with nothing more than a heated once-over and a murmured “excuse me, zaychik.”
It’s as if last night never happened, as if my body doesn’t bear the imprint of his possession and my stomach isn’t in knots as I try to work up the courage to confront him.
It’s not until eleven that the first sign of the changes to come appears. By then, I’ve grown hopeful that Nikolai has changed his mind, and his threat was empty after all. But no. I walk into my room to find Ly
