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"You were afraid," I say quietly. "And I wish things hadn’t happened the way they did, but I don’t believe any of you are the ones to blame, and the ones thatareto blame aren’t here anymore.”

I reach for her hand. She clasps mine, her grip tight with unspoken apologies, and something inside me finally, blessedly, begins to ease.

Her voice steadies. "You two are joined now. Sisters. A bond that can’t be broken.” She stares at me and shakes her head. “The similarities are uncanny."

And in this moment, as I sit between my family and my future, I realize something deeper than bloodlines or vengeance.

We are all just trying to survive.

Matvei isn’t smiling right this second, but god, we’ve been through a lot at this point. His parents, exiled. His brother, gone. Almost losing me. His vow to Rafail…

He looksat peace.

The pressure of his hand on my thigh increases slightly. I feel it and lean in closer to him.

Old instincts whisper,run.

But I stay.

I stay and choose what I thought I never could.

I meet his gaze, and he surprises me with a soft, shy smile.

My heart tumbles in my chest and my eyes grow misty. Something about his vulnerability in that smile makes everything slide into place like pieces of a puzzle.

The wine suddenly tastes sweeter, his touch heavier, the room warmer. I feel like my heart expands to twice its size, sitting beside my new family…and the man I love.

* * *

Epilogue

ANISSA

Matvei smirksat the scent of burning sage in the air that still lingers.

“What’s that supposed to do?” he whispers. We stand in front of each other in the Kopolov family home, holding hands. We’re forgoing most of the pomp and circumstance around our marriage. It’s time we make this official.

“Sage,” I whisper. “Wards off evil, cleanses, and all that.” I shake my head and smirk back. “Your family needs a damn purification, so it’s one small thing we can do.”

“Ahh,” he says, nodding. It’s a small thing. Witchy, he’d call it. But I need to feel like this isn’t just another Bratva transaction, another ceremony of duty. I need to feel like thismeanssomething.

I choose him.

He chooses me.

Matvei’s dressed in a tuxedo, looking hot as hell in the fitted black. He looks like the devil himself come to claim me.

Rawr.

I amso ready.

The Kopolov men flank either side in their dark suits, wearing silent stares. Ekaterina Romanova and Polina stand on either side of them, Polina dressed in elegant gray, holding Rafail’s hand. Ekaterina dressed in silver, her matching silver hair pinned like a crown around her head. She catches my gaze and winks at me as if to sayyou’ve got this.

I don’t have parents anymore, but I’ve got…family.I look at Zoya, her wistful eyes smiling at me and Yana, graceful and poised. Rodion, with his signature smirk, and Semyon, serious as always, but welcoming, which is a lot coming from him.

Rafail steps forward. His gaze sweeps the gathering like a general preparing troops before battle. He doesn’t look at me right away but at Matvei. Then he turns, and his steely eyes land on me with the weight of history behind them.

I know, I know.