Dark Desire by Lauren Smith (an ebook reader txt) 📗

Maxim did not look at her. His eyes searched for threats on the dark horizon.

“Because it is his duty, his life’s greatest mission, to protect you. You are the descendent of the last emperor and empress of Russia. You will forever be out of his reach now. He knows that.”

Maxim’s words, intended to be kind, only cut her deeper.

“I’m not out of reach. We . . .” She blushed and was grateful for the night shielding her so that he couldn’t see what was so plain on her face.

“You are drawn to each other, but that cannot continue. To be your guard, he must keep his heart out of this. If he doesn’t, he could make a mistake that could get you killed.”

“But he cares about all you . . .”

“True. But you are the woman he loves.”

Dimitri loved her? But they had only been together a short time. All she knew was that, to her, he had become more than a life raft in a storm. He was something deeper, something more to her than any words could express.

“I need him,” she told Maxim. Her words were soft, but they carried on the night air.

“You will always have him, Your Grace.”

“Please, don’t call me that. Titles like hers don’t pass down to someone like me.”

“They do according to the White Army.”

“The White Army?” She stared at him. “The army that served the Romanovs? They were wiped out a hundred years ago by the Communist forces.”

“The elite royal guards went underground. We had to, after the Romanovs were slain.” He paused for a moment. “One of the Red Guards realized Anastasia was still breathing. He carried her to our forces, and she was smuggled away by our men. The guards who stayed in Russia never knew if she survived her wounds.

“All our lives we have grown up with the story in our hearts, but we’ve had no proof it was more than a child’s fairy tale until tonight.” Maxim smiled wryly. “You even look like her. I’ve studied her portrait enough to see the Romanov beauty in you.”

Elena wiped tears off her cheeks with the back of one hand. Never in her life had she felt so alone. Even when she had been trapped in Vadym’s dark cell, she hadn’t felt like this.

“Why does it even matter who my great-grandmother was? Why would the Kremlin even care? I just want to be left alone to live my life.” She sniffled. God, she hated crying, and she had done so much of it lately.

Maxim stepped closer and produced a white handkerchief. He held it out to her like some old-fashioned hero out of Downton Abbey. She wiped her eyes and then stared at the phoenix symbol embroidered in gold thread on the corner of the cloth.

“Nothing will ever be the same. You are a beacon of hope to many in Russia who resist the current regime. You are the living, breathing cry for change, for an end to the government that has broken the backs and souls of our people. That is why the Kremlin wants you dead.”

She handed him back his handkerchief. “But how do they even know about my ancestry?”

“The DNA test you did last year. Every major government in the world can easily access those databases. The Kremlin has been on alert for years, waiting to see if direct descendants of imperial royal family are out there. They wouldn’t have had access to your blood like I had to determine that you were linked to Anastasia, but they would be able to narrow it down enough to know you belong to Nicholas and Alexandra’s bloodline.”

“Are there more? Perhaps someone else could—?”

“It is possible, but unless we find them, you are the best we have.”

“Listen, I don’t want to be anything like that.” She nearly told him she just wanted to go home, but Dimitri was home to her in a way no other person or place had ever been.

“Sometimes fate chooses our paths for us, and we must bear the burden of our gifts.”

She laughed bitterly. “Gift? It’s a curse.”

“There are millions of people you could help, Elena.” Maxim held out a hand to her. “The question is, will you let your past keep you a victim the rest of your life, or will you face your destiny and be a leader for those you could help?”

She flinched. He was right. She had been letting herself hide and focus on her pain. Only weak people did that. They let others define them, and they let their own selfishness corrupt them until all they did was demand things of others and blame them when things went wrong.

Her parents had raised her to be self-reliant, not destructive. She had to do the right thing, no matter how hard it was. The world had become so dark with hate and fear . . . it was time to believe in herself, time to shine through the darkness. To become a star in the empyreal wonder of the night. But that didn’t mean she had to be a slave to the expectations of others, either.

She reached up and took Maxim’s hand so he could help her to her feet. Then they started back to the lodge. Somehow she would convince Dimitri that her bloodline didn’t matter, not when she needed him in her life.

Dimitri paced the entryway, his hands clasped behind his back. Every few seconds he paused to check his watch. She had been out there too long. She was going to get cold . . .

“Dimitri, stop or you’ll wear a hole in the floor,” Nicholas teased.

Dimitri glared at him. He and Leo watched him pace with bemused expressions. For the last several minutes, they had been joking with him about his overprotectiveness and how his little kiska had managed to get around them from behind. They had been impressed. He had been relieved. He knew she was strong and could take care of herself, but he didn’t want her to have