Chapter 10
“The walls, with their ancient portraits, glide away from us, cautiously, as though they weren’t supposed to hear what we are saying. And reflected on the faded tapestries now: the chill, uncertain sunlight of those long childhood hours when you were so afraid.”
—Rainer Maria Rilke
Madelyn didn’t think she’d be able to sleep once she, Grigori and Rurik boarded the private jet that flew them to an airport somewhere south of Samarra, in the southwestern part of Russia. She was too excited to see his home, to have some alone time with him, but once she settled into the lush leather seat on the plane, exhaustion took over.
She woke to find herself cuddled up beside Grigori, her head resting on his shoulder and her hands curled around his arm. She’d been using him as her own pers
