A Web of Steam & Puppet Strings (Sevastyan #1)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

We didn't have to go far. A score of bodies blocked our path, flat on the ground, twisted and contorted. The nauseating scent of seared flesh hung in the air, clinging to everything. I spotted Rurik amongst the carnage, his back slumped against the wall. I dashed over, careful to sidestep the fallen. Not a single soldier had donned armor, including their commander.

Only a single ostentatious gold helmet with elegant wings.

I collapsed at Rurik's side, dropping the cane to lean in closer. "Rurik. Rurik, what's happened?"

His eyelids fluttered. A grimace constricted his face. He grunted, muscles tensing up before he looked to me with foggy eyes. I hadn't noticed his gloved hand held his side, not until the pungency of sweet copper filled my nose. I glanced down at his bloodied uniform as he muttered, "You look right proper for leading a war. No—no, don't touch it." His other hand batted me away when I reached for his wound. "You haven't the time to waste."

Anastasya dropped to her knees at his other side. She was wary, but the glimpse she spared of me said she trusted him because I did. "Rurik, I can heal you, just enough to stop the bleeding, at least."

His pale eyes shifted to her. Seconds dragged by where he said nothing, but simply looked at her, soaking her in. "Anastasya. I've only ever been able to see you as that little girl...running around in your overstuffed gowns and tiny heels that chirped with every step you bounced. But..." A weak smile warmed his chiseled features. "But now I see...you're finally a woman."

"Rurik, you don't have to talk like that." She reached for his side as well, only to be batted away. "I can help you."

"You haven't the time or strength. Save it." He tore his eyes away from her, returning to me. His free hand gripped my arm as tight as he could manage, fingers shaking. "She ordered us to kill you all, and I suspect it was intended to reduce your numbers. But there are those who served in the wars who are loyal to me, and there are those who serve only their pockets, and we divided and clashed. She'll have them regrouped and fully equipped by now. Be aware."

My voice grinded in my throat, teeth clenched. "It's going to end today. And we'll return for you."

There was doubt in his face, and I didn't understand why. When his fingers unwound from my arm, he reached for the golden helmet. "You need an extra helmet. Give this to Anastasya, give hers to—"

Ana's voice climbed. "Rurik, stop this." I wasn't sure what their relationship was like, but I could tell his talk was beginning to scare her, especially when he started to remove his helmet. "We'll grab one of the other soldier's helmets once we mow them down, that'll do just fine—"

When she reached up to stop him, his hand caught hers. Blood smeared her porcelain skin. "I want you to have the most impervious of the helmets. Please, Anastasya."

I caught a sliver of his hairline, hair so pale and shaved so close to his scalp, caught in the shadow of his helmet, I almost didn't notice.

But I did.

And with Anastasya here beside him, things began to come together.

I reached up and removed his helmet from his head. Pale hair, as pale as Anastasya's. The bluest eyes I had ever seen, set in both their smooth faces. He squeezed her hand, flesh as white as his, and he pressed his lips together as he looked upon her one last time. His jaw trembled when he pried his teeth apart to say, "I was never permitted to tell you, she forbade it, any private interaction with you at all. She never wanted you to know. I'm sorry, Anastasya. I'm s-so..."