Page 182 of Stolen Empire

Her protective instinct is as strong as ever.

"I want you to stay. Both of you.”

I stop too, now that we're out of earshot.

"Katya has no father to ask… So I'm…"

The words stick in my throat, and maybe for the first time in my life, I find myself inarticulate.

"Could I…"

Anzhela stares at me for a long moment, her eyes searching my face.

I see tears beginning to form at the corners of her eyes, and she blinks them back furiously.

"I spent my whole life trying to protect her from this…"

"And you did a wonderful job,Mamochka. But she's a big girl, and I can protect her now."

I pause, choosing my words with care.

"I respect that. I respect what you did for her—keeping her safe. But she's not a child anymore. She's a Morozova. And she is mine. And I want to marry her."

The way I say the last part is deliberate, and I see Anzhela understand the layers of that statement.

I am not claiming Katya in a possessive way that diminishes her.

I am claiming her as a partner, as someone I have chosen and who has chosen me in return.

"Will you stay?" I ask her.

"Will you let her have both her families—the bloodline she was born to and the life she has built here?"

Anzhela nods slowly, tears now flowing freely down her face.

"Yes. If she wants me to stay, I will stay."

"She does want that."

I know this with certainty.

"She loves you. Even when she hates the choices you made, she loves you."

She dabs at her eyes with a thumb and forefinger as I say, "And the other part…?"

Raising my eyebrows, I wait, and she takes my hand in both of hers.

Her grip is surprisingly strong.

"Take care of her… And don't you dare let anything happen to my baby."

"Always," I tell her.

"That is a promise."

I leave her standing in the pavilion and move back into the crowd.

The celebration continues, the music playing, soldiers laughing and talking.