The Romanov Sisters

by Svetlana Ivanova

  But when I looked into those gorgeous golden eyes, I felt all the hurt doubled.

  How it pained me to imagine someone else's hands had touched her beautiful form nights and days.

  “Avery, you have to understand that it’s not what I want.”

  "Oh right, so I'm supposed to say sorry. I'm sorry for waking you up after a sweet sleepless night with your lover. I'm sorry for being a nosy stupid human sla—"

  I would've kept going forever if Anastasia didn't push me into a corner and kissed me hard, I couldn't talk. The kiss was so sudden and rough. Her soft lips moved over mine. The sweet smell of her breath caught in my mouth. For a moment, I could almost smell the scent of Nikol on her skin. Anger writhed through my veins again. I pushed Anastasia away and slapped her face. Ana's head turned to the side at the force. Her jaw hardened. I immediately regretted it. Anastasia turned back to look at me. My hands already went to my mouth in shock.

  "Oh my god...I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to. I'm sorry, Anastasia," I came to apologize.

  "Avery, I wish I knew how to make you trust me. But I love you, not Nikol, and I'm not going to change a single word I've said, you have to believe me." She looked me straight in the eyes. I could see her golden pupil widened and glowed. "How could I lose the only person I’ve ever loved in my life?" she added in a softer tone.

  "But it hurts so much," I said and burst into tears. Anastasia pulled me into her again. She held me against her chest and stroked my hair. I felt a kiss on the top of my head as we hugged.

  "I'm so sorry, Avery. It hurts me too."

  Chapter 28

  The hot water washed over my skin. Warm droplets formed steam as I stood there without moving at all. The voices kept banging inside my head. They said the same thing, over and over again, how much clearer could it be? What was going on with my life?

  My skin was burning from the mellow droplets morphing into sharp little blades of fire. I pulled myself back together again and left the shower. Drying my dark brown hair, wrapped myself in a white bathrobe before stepping out of the misty shower.

  As soon as I got out, it was like a lightning bolt struck. Nikol was sitting on my bed with her long legs crossed. The only thought that ran through my mind was, "I'm going to die." Her cold violet eyes sent a chill down my spine. Suddenly, she rushed forward and pushed me back into the bathroom. She slammed the door shut behind us.

  Nikol gripped me by the hair, dragging me across the floor. Then she threw me onto a small table by the bathtub. I tried to get up but she held me down and rolled me onto my back to face her. Her hand clasped over my mouth, preventing me from screaming. She bent over. Her dangerous face was very close to mine.

  "Slave girl, you certainly are an impressive one. I must have forgotten to make my point clear, but you should've known better than that. Why is it hard to understand that I will kill anyone who lusts after Anastasia, let alone a slave like you?" Nikol said, staring into my eyes, making my heart skip a lot of beats. I squirmed in panic as Nikol observed me for a moment then tilted her head to the side in a questioning way.

  "I wonder why not only Anastasia but also Alex. What's so special about you anyway?" she mused. "Oh is it the blood?"

  My terror rose up at her words. Nikol flashed her perfect teeth at me. My eyes widened as I saw her white canines growing out an inch long. I wiggled away, trying to move Nikol off my body, but she kept holding me down with her strong hands. I tried to scream through my clasped mouth, but the only sounds I made were muffled whimpers.

  My cries were useless.

  “I think I would like to find out.” Nikol pulled her crimson lips and yanked the collar of my robe open. Then she bit down into my exposed neck. The piercing pain burst through my skin like hot fire. I tried to scream from the burning agony.

  It was like being bitten by a venomous snake. Tears welled up and rolled off the corner of my eyes. I could feel my blood being drained out of my veins so fast, a wave of dizziness enveloped me. I thought I was going to faint, but Nikol finally broke off. She grunted and licked her blood-stained lips.

  "Oh my, did I hurt you?" she said through her sharp teeth. "Sorry you poor thing, I have to admit you taste so darn good. Well, curse my appetite, but shall we have another sip?"

  The warm blood kept oozing down my throbbing wound. The metallic scent clogged my nostrils. This made Nikol's eyes stirred with uncontrollable thirst. I tried to beg with my teary eyes, but the look on her face was full of blood lust now. It was the vampire thing after all.

  Nikol bared her teeth again and sank her dagger-sharp fangs into my already burning flesh. The pain was insane. My whole body writhed in madness under her. I gave up crying for help and started wishing for death instead. This was much to bear, and slowly, my brain started numbing some part of my body.

  My vision began to darken as Nikol kept drinking me lustfully.

  But out of nowhere, a flash of motion whizzed past us, and Nikol's weight was lifted off my body. My legs gave way, and I slipped from the table to the floor. Alex already pinned Nikol against the wall, lifting her off the floor by the throat.

  "How dare you!" Alex growled in a hot fury. Her vampire fangs extended from her upper jaw in full length. Her heated golden eyes burned with a murderous look. Nikol struggled to free herself, but Alex was too strong. She made the concrete wall crack behind Nikol. It seemed like Alex was trying to push Nikol through the wall. But at the same time, I felt something warm running down the inside of my throat. I choked and then coughed up a mouthful of blood into my palm.

  Alex instinctively turned back to me. A frightened look I'd never seen from her appeared on her face. She released Nikol and quickly came to my side.

  "Avery!" Alex cried and pulled me into her arms, resting my head on her chest. "Avery, please no, please! Stay with me!"

  But I felt so cold and my eyelids felt so heavy. I just couldn’t stop myself from sinking into a deep darkness.

  Chapter 29

  I opened my eyes again. A blurry form hovered over me. When the haze cleared away, I realized I was on the bed with Alex sitting beside me.

  "Hey... you're awake, sleepyhead," she said softly, leaning herself over to study my face. Her eyes were full of gentleness and concerns. She smoothed my hair and smiled. "How are you feeling, princess?"

  I frowned, trying to notice my own feelings. I thought I was fine until a sharp pain stirred up from the crook of my neck again, and I remembered how I got it. I had just survived Nikol's bite, but the stinging feeling was still bothersome.

  "I'm hurt," I croaked helplessly.

  "I know, sweetheart, I know," Alex cooed and stroked my cheek with the back of her hand. "It was a nasty cut, but you'll be up and running in no time. I had given you my blood to heal your wound. "

  "Yuck," I said and winced again. Alex giggled and kissed my forehead.

  "You just need to take some rest," she said and then gave a heavy sigh again. "I wish I could stay here with you longer, but I have to go."

  "What about Nikol?" I asked. A dark shadow crossed Alex's face.

  "She's alive now because I'm not done with her yet," she said. "But don't worry. I won't let anyone hurt you again."

  "It's my fault, Alex," I said. "Nikol didn't mean it."

  "Did she hit your head too?" Alex said.

  "No, I meant, she's just jealous, because—Anastasia and I—we—we're still seeing each other."

  I was bracing myself for Alex's bursting tantrum, but it didn't come. Instead, Alex kept staring at me with those steady golden eyes. I expected her to get up and storm off the room, but she just sat there looking at me for a long time.

  "Say something Alex, you're scaring me," I said in a pleading voice. Alex sighed again.

  "I wish I knew how to make you want to be with me, Avery,” she said. “I hope it makes everything crystal clear when I'm not pressuring you anymore. I love you too much. I could die seeing you get hurt."

  "Oh Alex, I'm so sorry," I said. Tears threaten
ed to roll down my cheeks. "I don't know what to do."

  "You'll be fine. Anastasia will take care of you when I'm gone," she said to my surprise. I stared up at her, trying to figure out what had happened during my state of unconsciousness.

  Alex moved over and got into bed beside me. She pulled me gently into her warm embrace. I rested my head on her chest and she caressed my back and smoothed my hair.

  "Today, I've learned the most important truth," she whispered in my ear. "That I can really lose what I cling onto. So now I have to let you go. That way I will always remember you as my perfect love, the one I will cherish forever in my heart. I don't care what your decision is. Whether you choose to be with me or Anastasia, I will still love you, always."

  I wasn't sure of what she was trying to get at, but I had a terrible feeling gnawing at me. I had no idea why it felt like I had done something wrong, except I didn't know what exactly I had done.

  Chapter 30

  Alexandra

  After Avery fell asleep again, I untangled myself from her arms and got out of bed carefully. She looked so peaceful when she slept. Her skin glowed under the beams of a morning sun. Those long thick lashes damped with crystalline tears just broke my heart. I stared at her adorable face, tracing my eyes to her soft inviting full lips. How those lips always tickled my inside when we kissed. I wanted so badly to place mine on hers again but dared not to for fear of waking her from this beautiful slumber.

  At last, I was able to tear my eyes away from her face and left the room.

  When I stepped outside the door, Anastasia was right in front of me.

  "How is she?" she asked.

  "Where's Nikol?"

  "Let me in. I want to see Avery," she said and started to move, but I gripped her arm. I clenched my jaw to calm myself though I was trying my hardest not to throw my sister across the hall. Anastasia finally looked back at me.

  "You know who brought this to her, don't you?" I said through my teeth.

  "I did warn you about Nikol, didn't I?"

  A fury burst through me. I flashed forward and shoved Ana against the far wall. My hands closed around her throat, but Anastasia didn't even flinch in fright. Instead, she looked at me calmly.

  "How dare you say that to me?!" I hissed.

  "Everything happened because of you, Alex," Anastasia spat back.

  I just wanted to rip my sister apart, but deep down I knew she was right. She was right all along. Nikol's attack wasn't Anastasia's fault, it was mine. I was selfish to keep Nikol around, just so Anastasia couldn't get Avery back. I was scared of losing her as she said. We stared at each other, and after a long stretching moment, I took a deep breath and released my sister.

  "Avery's asleep," I said in a low voice. "You can see her unless I'm out of here."

  Then Victor came walking toward us. He bowed at me and cleared his throat.

  "My lady, everything is all set," he said.

  "Good, but I still have one more thing to deal with."

  I turned to walk to the east wing. Anastasia's eyes lighted up. She knew what I was going to do with Nikol, and I had to give her the satisfaction of being right.

  I walked into their mansion with my sister following behind me. Then I pushed opened the grand door.

  Nikol was sitting on the sofa like an arrogant queen. She didn't bother to look up from her cup of jasmine tea when I approached her. Anastasia gripped my elbow.

  "Sister, please don't." She shook her head at me. If it wasn't for the fact that Nikol shared a long line of history with us, I would have killed her twice today. I brushed Anastasia's hand aside and walked over to her. My eyes stared down at the top of her head. Nikol looked up at me and smirked.

  "What are you going to do to me, Alexandra?" she asked, putting her teacup down on the table. "It’s quite funny, don’t you think? You got all worked up because of a human slave."

  My hand grabbed Nikol by the throat then slammed her head against the couch. Her violet eyes widened in shock.

  "You go back to Kremlin with me, Nikol!" I snarled.

  "What?!" she said through her tight throat.

  "You heard me."

  "You can't do this to me, Alex!"

  "I can and I will!" I snapped. "Now shut up and get out of this house before I rip your head off!

  Nikol stared back at me with her furious violet eyes. Her sharp canines were drawn out in defense, but she knew she had to obey me.

  I let her go at last. Nikol coughed with a sour expression and rolled her head around as if to see whether it still worked. I guessed I almost broke her neck somehow, and a part of me wished I had.

  When I turned around to walk away, Nikol stood up.

  "Are you going to let them be together like that, Alexandra?" Nikol snapped. Anastasia turned her face to look at me, but my eyes drifted back to Nikol again.

  "I trust the one I love," I said and then left the room.

  Chapter 31

  Avery

  Anastasia sat on the bed beside me when I woke up the second time. She gave me a sweet warming smile as I stared back at her in surprise. Her blonde lock fell loose over her shoulders in all the right places. She looked like an angel. Those deep golden eyes sparkled as she studied me.

  “Anastasia,” I breathed.

  “Hello, love,” she whispered back.

  I sat bolt upright from the bed. My hands reached for her elegant body. Ana moved over and let me hold her in my arms.

  “Be careful, my love, you’re still recovering,” she said softly into my hair.

  “Tell me it’s not a dream,” I said, tightened my embrace around her. I felt her hands stroking my back.

  “No, it’s not,” she said and pulled away with a smile. “Here we are again, here and now, that’s all there is.”

  Then she brought her soft tender lips to mine. I had missed this slow light kiss from her. I kissed Anastasia's sweet scented lips back. After a while, we broke off and gazed into each other’s eyes. Our foreheads met in contentment. I touched her face, running my thumbs over her smooth cheeks. Her thick silky blonde lock brushed against my forearms as we sat facing each other. It felt so familiar and welcoming.

  "Forgive me,” Anastasia whispered, her exquisite breath caressed my lungs as she spoke. “I promise I will never leave you ever again.”

  “I love you,” was all I could muster up to say.

  “I love you more,” she said and leaned in for my lips again. Then the thought of Alex hit me. It was like a jab of a needle in the back of my mind that I had to jolt back from Anastasia.

  “What’s wrong?” she frowned.

  “Oh... I just remember...how about Alex and Nikol?”

  “There’s no one here now," Ana reassured me, putting her delicate finger under my chin, "Just the two of us.”

  She smiled again and continued to close the distance between us until our lips touched. But my mind was still wondering about Alex. Why did she leave without saying a goodbye? I knew she was going to, but it still felt strange that she just left like that. An unknown feeling seemed to poke around from the deep of my chest, and it made me feel uneasy inside. But I couldn’t wrap my mind around it yet. Perhaps I needed sometimes to adjust to this new reality, that now I had Anastasia back in my arms again. I pushed the thoughts of Alex away. At last, I was able to be with the love of my life, and it was all that mattered.

  “Can we move out of this room?” Ana said with a grimace. “I don’t want to stay in Alex’s place too long. I can get suffocated in here.”

  “Oh?” I said

  “How about coming to my chamber instead?” she said and smiled brightly.

  “Yes, wherever you want.” I smiled back.

  Chapter 32

  Anastasia

  Avery was still sleeping when I placed a tray of breakfast on the bed. I moved over to her and kissed her bare shoulder. She didn't stir. Her back was still turned to me. I got on top of her and kissed her cheek over and over until she frowned and rolled onto her
back. Yet Avery still didn't show any sign of waking up. She was so adorable. I giggled to myself and brushed a strand of hair from her face. I'd never seen a person looked so lovely while sleeping. I could watch her like that all day. But then I would crave her company so much, I would have to be selfish and bring her back to the waking world with me.

  I needed her. I needed her like the earth needed the sun.

  I leaned to kiss her again on the lips.

  "Rise and shine, beautiful," I whispered against her skin. Avery finally opened her eyes and blinked a few times before she looked at me. I smiled and kissed her cheek again.

  "Anastasia?" she said sleepily.

  "Good morning sunshine. Sorry to wake you up, but I just couldn't wait to hear your voice," I said. I was ready to claim her mouth when Avery covered her face with her hands.

  "Aw...why?" I raised an eyebrow at her.

  "I'm a human," she said, peeking through her fingers at me.

  "So?" I frowned.

  "I have morning breath.

  I burst out laughing.

  "And I'm a vampire, remember?" I said, "So you always smell delicious to me."

  "Ew!" she grimaced. I laughed again and pulled her hands away and kissed her full on the lips. I loved kissing Avery. She had the best reaction in the world. I loved the tilt of her head, her soft inward breath, and her lovely blush. The feeling of her soft lips touching and becoming one with mine was all priceless.

  After a while, we pulled away.

  "I made you breakfast," I said and got off her again. Avery sat up as I tugged some pillows for her to lean on. I brought in the tray of fresh fruit and pancakes. I even made a smiley face from rich whip cream and blueberries on top. The strawberries were cut in halves to look like beautiful heart shapes around the plate. Avery giggled when she saw my design.

  "You made this by yourself?" she asked.

  "Sure did," I said. "Almost gave the cooks a heart attack when I entered the kitchen."