Page 158 of Vendetta Crown

"Aurora." Ruslan's voice is low and steady. He releases my hand and cups my face, tilting it up until I'm looking directly into his golden eyes. "Look at me."

I blink through tears, trying to focus on his face.

"We're going to be alright. All four of us." His thumb brushes away a tear. "You can't lose hope now. Not now."

"But what if?—"

"No." The word is firm but gentle. "Hope is the only thing that's gotten us this far. It's the only thing that will carry us through."

Ruslan rises from his chair and wraps his arms around me, pulling me into his chest.

I bury my face against him, soaking his clothes with my tears.

My body shakes with sobs that tear through my damaged throat. The pain is secondary to the hollow ache spreading through me.

A dread that paralyzes every rational thought.

"I'm sorry," I whisper into the fabric of his gown, the words meant not for him but for the tiny lives inside me. "I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you."

My good hand cradles my belly, searching desperately for that flutter that I've become so accustomed to.

Nothing.

"Please," I beg silently to whoever might be listening. God. The universe. The spirits of my murdered family. Anyone.

"Please let them be okay. I'll do anything."

Ruslan's arms tighten around me, his heartbeat steady against my ear. His warmth seeps into me, but can't touch the ice forming in my veins. My tears flow endlessly I grip him tighter, anchoring myself to his strength now that mine has abandoned me.

"They're fighters," Ruslan whispers into my hair. "Our little wolves. They won't give up without a fight."

I want to believe him. Need to believe him. But the silence from my womb screams louder than any words of comfort.

A knock at the door breaks through our shared grief. We both look up to see a young woman in scrubs wheeling in an ultrasound machine.

"Mrs. Dragunov? I'm here for your ultrasound." She offers a professional smile, but I can see the concern in her eyes.

My grip on Ruslan tightens as panic surges through me. This is the moment we'll know.

The moment we'll find out if our family is still whole.

I hold my breath as the ultrasound technician squeezes the cold gel onto my belly. Second stretches into eternity.

"This might feel a bit uncomfortable," she warns, positioning the wand over my exposed skin. Her gentle tone does nothing to ease the vice grip of fear around my heart.

I can't look at the screen.

Not yet.

Instead, I focus on Ruslan's hand in mine, on the warmth of his palm, the slight tremor in his fingers that betrays his own terror.

My mind flashes back to that moment when Dr. Reyes was moving the wand across my belly, the momentary silence before the miraculous sound of heartbeats filled the room.

How nervous I'd been then, worried about something I couldn't even name.

That fear seems almost quaint now.

I'd give anything to go back to that day. To feel that simple, uncomplicated joy again.

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