Page 74 of Blazing Embers

Ruslan finally collapses beside me, pulling me into the crook of his arms and pulling a comforter over our bodies. We lie entangled in each other's arms, breathless and utterly satisfied.

When we can speak again, he looks at me with raw honesty. “I love you. But I hope you know I can’t ever let you go ever again.”

I shake my head, touching his cheek. “I never wanted to walk away. From the very first night we met… I was yours.”

He kisses me until the words fall away.

When we come up for air, I whisper, “Before we get Elena back… you need to make peace with the Mirochins.”

His jaw tightens, but I continue.

“They aren’t their father or grandfather. My sister is in love with Oleksi. Your sister’s in love with Gavriil. Imagine what the Dragunovs and Mirochins could do together.”

He exhales slowly. “I’ve already thought about it. I plan to make amends.”

I smile and lean into his chest, heart full. He strokes my hair.

“Welcome home, my love.”

“It’s so good to be back.”

I start drifting off, but something claws its way forward in my mind.

“Ruslan,” I murmur.

“Mmm?”

I shift to face him. “There’s something else. The woman you call Medusa… she’s my biological mother.”

His eyes snap open.

“She wasn’t evil. Giving me up was the hardest thing she ever did. She had to get Sabrina and me, her sister, who raised me, and my father all out of Russia. Everything she did was to protect us. She’s the lead geneticist at the RMSAD, but it was a cover in order to bring that organization down from the inside.” I frown. “I think she worked for your grandfather.”

He nods. “I know. That reminds me. She gave me a letter for you. Medusa, or your biological mother, said that if the plan went sideways, you’d need it. And there’s one for your family as well.”

Tears burn my eyes.

He kisses my forehead. “Right before she left, she said, ‘Please tell my family, it was all for them. I love them, and if I had to and it meant protecting them, I’d do it all over again.’”

I can’t stop the tears, and Ruslan kisses them away.

“She had a storybook made for me when I was little,” I whisper. “About a dark queen who moved in the shadows so everyone else could stay in the light.”

Ruslan kisses my forehead. “Both your mothers were remarkable. And your father, too. Did you know your biological mother was also the Black Widow?”

I sit up, stunned. “You’re fucking with me.”

He shakes his head. “She was chosen by my father at fifteen. She saved her sister’s life, and was quite willing to give up her own to do so.”

“Jesus,” I whisper.

“Only the reigning Dragunov knows who the Black Widow is,” he says. “She kept the legacy alive, protected us all from the shadows.”

“So she’s your secret assassin?” I ask, my voice caught between awe and disbelief.

“How cool is that? I have a secret badass assassin.” He grins. “And she named her successor.”

“Who?”

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