CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
IRINA VOLKOV I woke up in the armchair. For a disoriented moment, I didn't know where I was. The lamp was still on, the room was gray with early morning light coming through the windows, my book was on the floor where it had slipped, and there was a throw blanket over me that I hadn't put there. I sat up slowly and looked around. The chess board was on the desk. The white king was tipped on its side. Nikolai was gone. I sat with that for a moment, the specific quality of a room someone had recently left, the coffee cup at the desk's edge, the throw that had been placed over me with enough care not to wake me. I reached out and touched the edge of it without thinking. He covered me. I pulled my hand back. I picked up my book, straightened the throw over the arm of the chair with un
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