“What about your food?” she asks.
“I’m not hungry anymore,” I yell, as I speed up my pace. I’d run if everybody wasn’t staring at me.
I will probably regret not eating later tonight, but right now I just want to get out of this room. As I’m walking out, Damon is walk in. He sees me and smiles.
“Hey, Katerina,” he says.
Before he gets the words completely out of his mouth, I say, “Sorry, can’t talk.” And then run out of the dining hall. I’m sure Savannah will explain why I just ignored him like that. I hope he’s not mad.
I’m not second guessing my decision to go to homecoming with him, but I just wish he was… normal.
Okay, that’s not fair. He can’t help that he’s the president’s son. He is normal. It’s just nobody else, aside from me, sees him that way. I wish they could see that. Damon deserves to have a normal life.
One good thing about me is that I’ve always been under the impression that I came from a normal family. Finding out that it’s a lie doesn’t change the past. It only changes the present and future.
I head back to my dorm, change into some comfortable shoes and clothes, grab my phone and a pair of headphones, and hit the running trail. I put on my favorite playlist as I run, loving the feel of my feet hitting against the ground. We only ran five miles this morning, and I’ve been wanting to run all day.
I listen to the Russian lyrics come out of my headphones, and can’t believe how much I miss my native country’s tongue. I sing along to my favorite part, thankful that nobody is around to hear me. I am not a good singer.
About that time, somebody steps into the path and I nearly run into them.
“I didn’t see you there,” I say, backing away from the person.
What I don’t expect is the person to speak back in Russian. “It’s all right, Katerina.”
Katerina.
He knows my name.
I look at the guy in front of me. He’s definitely too old to be a high school student. There is something familiar about him. I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before. Probably with my dad.
“What do you want?” I ask back in Russian. I keep my guard up, ready to put up a fight. Suddenly, I am thankful for every early morning spent with Tristan.
“You don’t remember me? That hurts,” he says. “I’m Kazimir.”
Kazimir.
Oh, God.
I know this guy. I’ve only met him once, when I was fourteen, but my dad talks about him a lot. This guy works with my dad.
“I see you do remember me,” he says.
“Does my dad know you’re here?” I ask him.
He flinches at the mention of my dad, so I know my dad must not know that he’s here.
Fear runs through my veins.
This guy is a lot bigger than me—at least twelve centimeters taller. And he’s buff. He’s probably trained for years, and I’ve only trained for a month. If this guy tries to take me on, he could snap me like a twig.
I should run. After all, that is what Tristan told me I should do if I get into a situation like this.
“Don’t run, Katerina,” Kazimir says to me, as if reading my mind. “Why did your dad send you to school here? Is he trying to replace me with you?”
“Are you crazy?” I ask him. “I’m sixteen years old. I’m here for high school. I can’t be an engineer.”
An engineer is what I’ve always thought my dad was. I suppose it was his cover story. It was perfect, really. Long hours, last minute trips—he had me fooled. I never once questioned it.
Kazimir looks at me, as if he’s trying to tell if I seriously don’t know what my father really does.
“You’re a smart girl. You know your dad’s not an engineer,” he says.
“I’m not working for my dad,” I tell him, not admitting to anything. “And I never will.”
“I don’t believe you,” he says.
He starts to grab me, but I pull away. I’m about to turn and run when I hear footsteps coming towards us. It distracts me.
Oh, no. Another student is coming out here. I can’t just leave. What if Kazimir decides to attack them. I have to protect them. It’s what I’ve trained for. Let’s just hope I can catch him by surprise.
Before I can react, Kazimir gets an am around my waist and pulls me against his body. I feel something sharp against my neck. I fight to keep calm. Panicking won’t help in this situation. If I fight, he may accidentally slit my throat. Or, you know, do it on purpose.
I watch the path to see who is coming.
Tristan comes around the corner and stops dead in his tracks when he sees me. He rips the headphones out of his ears. “Katerina…” I can hear the panic in his voice, though his face is hiding it well. He clears his throat.
“Who is this guy?” Kazimir asks me, speaking Russian.
“Just a boy I go to school with,” I answer.
“Is he your boyfriend?”
“No. He’s older than me. He’s a senior,” I tell him.
Tristan watches the exchange between Kazimir and me. “What are you guys saying?”
“Tell him to shut up or I’ll cut your throat open in front of him,” Kazimir says. “Would he like watching you bleed to death slowly in front of him?”
Tristan’s body tenses up before I translate, making me wonder if he does in fact speak Russian. He pretended to only know a few words when we first met, but it would make sense if he did know Russian. His job is to take down a Russian terrorist group, so why wouldn’t he?
I let out a strangled cry. “Tristan, please. Don’t talk.”
Kazimir starts speaking in Russian. “This boy seems to care a lot about you.”
“We’re friends.”
“Are you sure that’s it?” he asks.
“Yes, I’m sure,” I answer.
“Who is your boyfriend?”
“I don’t have one.” I don’t. Thank God I don’t. I really, really don’t want him to find out about Damon. Damon is the guy that they want dead, and I can’t let anything happen to him. Most of all, I can’t let anybody know I care about him.
Kazimir switches to English and speaks to Tristan. “You, leave. I talk to Katerina.”
“No,” Tristan responds. “I’m not leaving her alone with you.”
Kazimir’s grip tightens on me. “I no like this boy.”
I speak to Kazimir in Russian. “Please, Kazimir. Don’t do this.”
“Make the boy leave,” he says.
I look at Tristan, who shakes his head very slightly.
“Tristan, please go.”
“I’m not leaving you,” he says.
I know he won’t leave me. Not even for a second. I both love and hate him for it. I just want Tristan to be safe.
“It doesn’t matter. He’s American. You can speak to me in front of him,” I say, careful with my wording. None of what I said is a lie. I just left out the part of him knowing how to speak Russian.
Kazimir loosens his grip a little.
Tristan notices it too and springs into action. He grabs the knife from Kazimir’s hand and pulls me behind him before Kazimir can even blink. I don’t even quite understand how he did it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody move that fast before.
Sending a quick thank you to God, I scoot close to Tristan. He makes me feel safe.
“You should go, Katerina,” Tristan says.
“Not happening,” I say.
He is quiet for a minute. I think he knows I’m serious. There is no way I’m leaving Tristan alone with this guy.
“Kazimir Anikanov. We finally meet,” Tristan says, speaking in Russian.
Wow. His Russian is very good. If I met him on the street in Russia, I wouldn’t know that he was American, except by his tan. Even his accent sounds Russian.
Kazimir doesn’t stick around to respond to Tristan. He takes off running into the woods.
Tristan turns to me, putting his hands on my shoulders. He looks at my neck and face and arms. �
�Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine,” I say. Physically I am fine. Inside, I am shaken up.
“I’m going after him. You run back to the school now. Find Damon. Tell his guards Kazimir Anikanov is here. They will protect you. Go!” As soon as the words are out of his mouth, he takes off running after Kazimir, and I run back towards the school. I run faster than I ever have before. I ignore the burn in my lungs. I just push myself to get back as quickly as possible. My life could depend on it. Tristan’s life could depend on it.
My legs feel like jello as I run. They nearly give out from under me a few times, but somehow I find the strength to keep running.
I run into the boys dormitory, where I know Damon will be. I ignore the prefect who is yelling at me for running into the hall without first checking in. It’s getting close to curfew. I run up two flights of stairs and into Damon’s dorm room. I don’t knock, I just burst in. Damon is sitting on his bed with a school book in front of him. Less than a second later, four of his goons come in, and relax with they see it’s just me.
I can’t seem to catch my breath. “Kazimir…” breathe, “Anikonov…” breath, “is here… Tristan… chasing… him… in the woods… now.”
With my words, three of the four run off, leaving behind the bodyguard named West. He’s the only one that ever talks, and he only talks to Damon. I’ve heard Damon say his name a few times.
I sit down, putting my head between my legs so I can breathe. Why can’t I breathe?
“Katerina,” Damon says, but his voice sounds far off. “Are you okay?”
The room is spinning and everything goes fuzzy around the edges.
I feel Damon put a hand on my arm, and I turn to look at him. His face is the last thing I see before everything goes dark.
Episode two, Luck, is now available!
Letter from Scarlett
Hey! Thank you so much for reading my debut work, Fate. This is the first book in the serial series, New Hope Academy. Don’t worry, I have a lot more planned in this world and look forward to spending time with these characters. I hope you enjoy it as well! Episode two, Luck, is coming soon.
If you did enjoy this book, it would mean a lot to me if you left a review wherever you picked this up.
For more information on this series, be sure to check out my blog https://scarletthaven.wordpress.com!
—Scarlett Haven
More books by Scarlett
New Hope Academy Series:
Luck (Episode 1)
Fate (Episode 2)
Fame (Episode 3—coming Feb 26)
Wish (Episode 4—coming soon)
Find me online.
Blog: https://scarletthaven.wordpress.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Scarlett_Haven
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorScarlettHaven/
Acknowledgments.
First of all, I want to give thanks and praise to Jesus. I serve a good and gracious God. I hope that this book is pleasing to Him!
Next, I want to thank my wonderful husband. Thank you for going with me to all the places my dreams have taken us. I’m glad they’ve taken us to New Haven. This is where we belong.
To my mommy and daddy, thank you for homeschooling me and letting me be so creative growing up. Mom, thanks for reading the first novel I ever wrote when I was fourteen. I know it wasn’t very good. Also thanks for putting up with me playing the guitar really loud, even at night time. Best. Parents. EVER.
My wonderful cousin, Savannah. I hope you liked the character I named after you!
Last, thank you to everybody who has read this book. :) You’re awesome!
<3 Scarlett
Fate (New Hope Academy Book 1) Page 9