“Many of the firsts and seconds support Ivan. I think if I tried to take the throne most of them would support me. The rebels would help me gain support from the thirds.”
“Do you think it could work?”
“I don’t know. Tell me, would your leaders be willing to back me?”
Alexa Mackintosh
I hesitate. “They want a democracy, not a monarchy.” “I could be on the throne for a few years and lead the transition to elections. If you do away with the monarchy as soon as possible, the Firsts will revolt. They enjoy the
protection my family offers them.”
I doubt the leaders will ever agree to this. They want him dead.
Could I gain support on my own? By now I am trusted in the inner circles of the revolution. Would some of the rebels support this idea? We wouldn’t have to build the new government on as much bloodshed. I’m not sure mur- dering the royal family is the best move towards a stable government without the fear of the future dictator.
Besides, if I’m married to Dmitri, there’s no fear of the Emperor’s wife becoming a dictator. We could change the future.
I blush as I stop to take in my words. If I’m his wife. “Are you by chance thinking of what that would mean
for you, Empress?” he teases.
I refuse to incriminate myself.
He walks towards me and wraps his hands around my waist. “I think you’ll make a beautiful Empress.”
I can’t let my heart get ahead of my brain. “I can’t talk to the leaders about this. I have friends in the revolution who may help us. There’s not a high chance this will work.”
City of Deception
He chuckles. “You discuss this new idea of a revolution after what I said? I thought you might have a different reply considering what I implied.”
I know what he implied. He’s all but asking me if I’ll consider one day marrying him and become Empress alongside him. Although I’ve been dreaming of that pos- sibility, I have other things to deal with now. Love will wait.
“I won’t deny the idea crossed my mind, but we can’t consider marriage now. We don’t know what the future will look like, and I remain still engaged to your brother.” “I’d like my brother dead for many reasons. Number one, I would like to discuss our future without his name entering the conversation. My brother won’t have you,
Talia. I promise I will do everything I can and beyond to ensure we have a future.”
I glance up at his face. A part of me wonders how a prince could ever love me, but by the look in his eyes, I know he tells the truth. He wants a future together as much as I do.
I rest my head against his chest and listen to the fast beating of his heart. I want to trust him and believe in his plan, but trust a Mersiovsky to help the rebels? I struggle to overcome my belief that I should never trust a first.
“What can I do to prove that I want to help the revolu- tion?” he asks.
“I don’t think there is anything. Most rebels hate you.”
Alexa Mackintosh
He chuckles as he glances down at me. “I’m glad at least one rebel doesn’t believe that.”
“I’ll talk to my friends in the ranks, but for now, can we enjoy the moment?”
He doesn’t answer. Instead, he picks me up and walks waist deep into the water. He holds me for a few minute before he smiles mischievously.
Before I know what’s happening, he lets go, and I fall under the water. I find my footing and push myself up. I cough up salty water as I stand and brush my stringy hair out of my face. “What was that for? You could have let me change before throwing me in and getting all my clothes wet.”
“Sorry,” he says even as he laughs. “It’s not funny!”
“Oh, yes it is.”
I glare. Maybe it was a little funny, but now I’ll be wet the entire time.
“Can I make it up to you?” he asks.
“And how will you do that? Do you have dry clothes I can borrow?” I retort.
He shakes his head. “No, I have something much better to give you.”
His hands search my back and skim down over my hips as he pulls me towards him. I almost lose my footing in the moving current, but he holds me in place. He bends down and kisses me, and I swear with each kiss we get far better at it.
City of Deception
This kiss causes electricity to run down my spine and into my toes. It starts as a teasing moment but quickly becomes something more. Everywhere his hands touch I feel on fire despite the water pooling around my legs. For a moment, we forget our troubles and are consumed by the present.
His hands search my curves in ways he never dared be- fore. His heartbeat is as erratic as my own, and when I pull away long enough to look up, his expression is filled with something I don’t recognize. Whatever it is, it makes him ten thousand times more attractive.
I understand why he dropped me in the water. He knew how he was going to make it up to me.
He lifts me off my feet, and I wrap my legs around his waist. A small voice in the back of my thoughts warns me to step away, but I hold on tighter. Beyond all rational thought and possibility, I love the prince.
I run my hand through his hair to pull his lips closer. If I were asked to shoot him at this moment, I wouldn’t even hear the person giving the order, much less compre- hend what they were asking.
His hand slips beneath the back of the thin dress I wear over my swimsuit. He sets me back down on my feet and pulls the dress over my head, tossing it up onto the sand. My shaking hands grasp the front of his shirt. I try to undo the buttons, but my hands won’t stop shaking long enough for me to get but three undone. I slip the shirt
over his head and throw it beside my dress.
Alexa Mackintosh
I know soon we will be too lost to come back, but I don’t care.
His hands brush over my shoulders as he fingers the straps of my swimsuit. “I’ve never met someone that makes me forget all like you do. You are my personal pun- ishment. I want you, but I cannot have you.”
“One day that will change.” He sighs. “I hope.”
“Your Highness!” Someone shouts.
We turn towards the intruder. A guard runs toward us and is already halfway down the slope.
I step back and make my way towards the shore. I glance back at Dmitri, and his face is alight with worry.
The guard reaches us and stops to catch his breath. “Your Highness, your brother, Prince Kir, is dead. He was poisoned.”
Dmitri’s face pales as he clenches his fists. “Who is re- sponsible?”
“We don’t know, but we suspect a rebel infiltrated and acted as a servant or guard,” the guard says.
I reach out to take Dmitri’s hand, but he flinches and pulls away. He refuses to meet my gaze when I look at him.
His eyes fill with tears even as he grits his teeth. “Leave us. We will be there momentarily.”
The guard turns to walk back up the hill.
“I’m so sorry,” I say. A tear streams down my cheek as I think about how young and innocent Kir was. He didn’t deserve death. What rebel did this without telling me?
City of Deception
Angelica.
“Stay away from me and my family, Talia. If I find you helped arrange this, I will never forgive you.” he says.
I gasp. “I never hurt him! I swear I knew nothing of this.”
“May the future destroy you, Natalia Alkaev,” he says before turning on his heel and walking away.
I want to ask what he means but am distracted with catching up with him. I almost have to run to keep up with his fast pace. “I love you. I meant that. You’re hurt, and I know why you blame me, but I’m not the rebel I was be- fore I came here. I would never hurt you on purpose.”
“Kir is my brother, and I will do whatever it takes to make his killers pay. Forget trying to win the rebels over; let them drown in their own blood.”
“You don’t mean that.”
; “Yes, I do. You agreed to come out here today to keep me distracted so that a rebel could hurt my brother. Oh, what a fool I’ve been.”
“Why didn’t you get angry the other times rebels at- tacked? Like when Ivan was hurt?”
His eyes are flaming. “It wasn’t Kir, and I didn’t think you were the one to help hurt him.”
This isn’t Dmitri. He’s angry, and I understand why. “Consider the best choices, not what you feel should be
done. More violence will do no good.” “Leave me.”
Alexa Mackintosh
I don’t say anything more as we walk to the carriage the guard brought. I wish Dmitri didn’t blame me for Kir’s death, but I know he will forgive me one day. We’re stronger than this, and I don’t believe, especially after our last kiss, that Dmitri will forever blame me for this. He will come to his senses, but I have to give him time to grieve.
That last kiss speaks of a thousand promises and so much more. I hope that love is stronger than anger, grief, and betrayal.
{ 37 }
Chapter 37
OW COULD YOU?” I SHOUT.
“Somebody has to complete the mission, and it isn’t going to be you. You’re best at
making friends of the Mersiovskys,” Angelica says. “That was part of the mission! They can’t suspect us.” “Mouth to mouth with the prince was not what the
leaders meant by get to know the Mersiovskys.”
I grab the vase on the table beside me and throw it at her. She’s quick and easily dodges it. It hits the wall and shatters.
“How could you kill Kir? He was innocent.” “No one is innocent in the White City.”
Dmitri will never forgive me if he finds out she poi- soned Kir. “I want you to pack and leave immediately. Go back to the White City, and if I hear the slightest news that you hurt Dmitri, I swear you will pay.”
Alexa Mackintosh
She stiffens. “So, you choose to side with the Mer- siovskys?”
“Yes and no. I choose to side with my cause. I want to be with Dmitri, and if he will have me, I will be. However, I still want the Mersiovskys to lose power.” It’s time I fi- nally admit the truth.
A part of me aches. I don’t want to argue with her. She’s my best friend, but she will never understand how much I care for Dmitri. She doesn’t see the good; she sees vengeance.
“I’ll pack and leave,” she says picking up her valise. “And Talia, don’t consider me a friend anymore. The or- der will come for me to kill you, and I will follow it with little hesitation. The leaders will never support you now. You have become a true First.”
She hates betrayal more than anything, and that is ex- actly what I’ve done to her.
Maybe she’ll forgive me one day once I find a way to keep Dmitri alive and take the Mersiovskys’ power. She’s my best friend. This isn’t the first fight we’ve had. It will take time, but I’m sure she will put her bitterness beside, and never kill me.
Why does my love for Dmitri have to cost me my friends and family? My fear is I’m a fool as they say and that he’ll betray me, but I keep praying they are wrong. Dmitri has been nothing but good so far. Why would things change now?
City of Deception
s
He doesn’t speak to me at dinner nor does he make eye contact. I steal little glances, but he doesn’t notice.
When he stands at the end of dinner, I follow. “I’m in no mood to talk,” he says.
“You have no choice,” I say, walking to him and grasp- ing his arm.
Ivan glances at us, his eyes questioning. He sighs. “In the study.”
He leads the way. When we are in the room, I send the guards out and close the doors.
“I know you blame me for what happened, but I didn’t have anything to do with it,” I say.
“I know you didn’t do it. I just have doubts.” He brushes a curl back from my face.
“I didn’t know anything about Kir!”
“But your father did, and you didn’t tell me he was here.”
My eyes widen.
“You are a rebel and your father is here. I have trouble believing you're as innocent as you want me to believe.”
I purse my lips. “Fine. What can I do to prove it to you since words are meaningless?”
“Tell me where rebel headquarters is.” “I can’t tell you that! I don’t even know.”
“But you know the villages with the strongest number of rebels are and where the leaders usually reside.”
Alexa Mackintosh
I don’t speak.
“Tell me one village where rebels are in high numbers or give me the name of one of the leaders. I said I want to work with the rebels,” he says.
“You also blame them for Kir’s death.” “No, I blame you for that.”
His comment hurts, but I swallow down the pain.
Stepping towards me, he says, “I need to believe you trust me and I can trust you. I’m not asking for the names of all the villages, only one.”
I bite my lip and look up at him. “You’re asking me to put lives at risk. You’re still a First, Dmitri, and your fam- ily still wants to hunt rebels.”
He places his hands on either side of my face. “Prove to me you trust me and you didn’t hurt Kir. I don’t want to believe you could betray me and kill Kir, but don’t you understand why I think that?”
I straighten a wrinkle in my skirt. “Promise you won’t hurt anyone? You want to find a way to end the conflict between Firsts and the rebels?”
He nods. “Of course.”
“My village is full of rebels,” I finally say.
“I suspected as much, but didn’t know for sure.” He wraps his arms around me. “I’m sorry I asked you to give the information to me, but I need proof that you are trust- worthy. I…I want you to know I will always love you and do everything I can to protect you. You deserve a good future.”
City of Deception
Closing his eyes, he buries his hand in my hair. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Talia.”
And he leaves as if I haven’t just given him dangerous information.
{ 38 }
Chapter 38
UNLEASHED DEATH ON ALL THOSE I LOVE.
I know I shouldn’t have given Dmitri information, but like a love-sick fool, I trust him. I believe he won’t
hurt my village because of his love for me. I guess I’m test- ing to see if his feelings are genuine.
The next day we leave for the White City, and I’m sur- prised that Dmitri speaks little during the trip. Despite giving him information, he refuses to forgive me. At least he doesn’t turn away when I make eye contact.
The trip back is difficult because of Georgianna. She sniffles and starts crying if we say Kir’s name. I want to help her, but after listening to her cry for hours the day Kir died, I’m not sure how to help.
A part of me wants to shake her and tell her to control herself. Another part of me wants to hug her as she sheds her tears.
Alexa Mackintosh
We arrive at the palace early in the afternoon. Report- ers hold up their cameras as we pass through the gates. I suppose Kir’s death has already made the headline for to- day.
When we stop in front of the doors, I step out of the carriage and pull Georgianna along. She leaves my side as she spots a friend, another servant, and throws herself into the woman’s arms.
The Empress stands by the doors surrounded by guards and noble ladies. She wears purple, and her eyes are bloodshot. Her husband died a few weeks ago, and now she’ll bury her son.
The Empress stops me as soon as we approach. “Might we have tea?” she asks.
“Of course, Your Majesty.”
What could she possibly want to speak to me for?
As soon as we’re in the same dining room as last time, the Empress dismisses her ladies-in-waiting. A dozen of them buzz around her, offering sympathy but really vying for her attention.
Once alone, the Empress speaks. “I need to tell you
my story. I know now who and what you are and I hope you learn from my mistakes.”
She knows I’m a rebel?
She continues, “You have to know the secrets of this family to change history, so I’m going to tell you as many as I know.”
City of Deception
She’s talking about time travel, not my part in the rev- olution.
“What secrets, Your Majesty?” I ask.
“Don’t call me Your Majesty. I’m Ivan’s sister, Hi- raeth.”
I gape. “But she died seventeen years ago. Are you a half-sister?”
Or has time travel really messed up something?
She sighs. “I don’t even know where to begin. I suppose I’ll start with the day the Mersiovskys arrived on this planet. No, you won’t understand that and our time is lim- ited.”
Arrived on this planet? Were they originally from Rhiannon?
She hurries on. “Sergio Mersiovsky came with a small, but well-trained army a week before my parents died. He demanded the throne, and his leverage was Ivan and me. His men found us away from the palace and took us. He told my parents he’d return us alive if he claimed the throne, and after a week of debate, my parents agreed to his terms.”
I finish for her. “They let him into the palace, and your parents were murdered.”
She pales. “How do you know that?”
“The first time I time traveled I met your mother. We talked, but I couldn’t understand what she meant. A few seconds before I left, strange men stormed in and shot
Alexa Mackintosh
her,” I say. Now I understand what I say with Empress Xera.
City of Deception (The White City Series Book 1) Page 26