Inhaling deeply, I embraced the sense of peace that now resided in my stomach. “We’re done,” I said, and felt every last one of my residual chains break away from my corrupted soul. Valentin and Zaal moved behind me, and I met each of my brothers’ eyes. “We are done,” I repeated.
They nodded in response, and I saw the heaviness rise from their spirits.
“Good! About damn time!” Talia joked, and Zaal pulled her back into his arms. She laughed as he kept her trapped against his chest.
“Valentin,” Zoya gasped, just as I wrapped Kisa in my arms.
When I followed Zoya’s wide gaze, I saw Ilya standing on the top of the stairs. Kisa looked at me and asked, “Who is that?”
Ilya looked huge against the executive plane’s entrance. His assessing eyes were locked on all of us below. “That is Ilya Konev,” I announced loud enough for them all to hear. “He was the reigning Blood Pit Champion.”
“He’s huge,” Talia remarked.
“He is Inessa’s,” Valentin added when the group had gone silent.
Zoya looked at her male. “Inessa? She is okay? Safe?”
Almost on cue, Ilya began walking down the stairs. He turned his back to us as he helped the byki carry Inessa’s stretcher. Kisa’s worried eyes looked up at me. Without taking my eyes from the stretcher, I said, “Her master punished her. She had fallen in love with Ilya, and he had found out. He lashed her.”
“No!” Zoya cried.
Ilya stepped onto the tarmac, holding Inessa’s stretcher. He glanced over to us with wary eyes. Releasing Kisa, I walked to meet him. I placed my hand on his shoulder.
“You’re okay. We’re going to get Inessa into one of our vans and take her home.”
Ilya nodded. Valentin was suddenly at my side. “My home,” he insisted. Zoya came to stand beside him and looked down to Inessa. “Valentin,” she whispered. I could hear the thick sorrow in her voice. Valentin’s teeth clenched as he stared at his sister, then he looked up. Reaching for Zoya’s hand, he lifted it up and kissed her palm. “Kotyonok, this is Ilya. Ilya, this is my female, Zoya.”
“Nice to meet you, Ilya,” Zoya said.
Ilya nodded. “You, too,” he replied, then cast his gaze over all of us. I waved them over. Kisa’s arms came around my waist and Ilya stared at her, before looking to her stomach. His eyes flared.
“You are to be a father?” he questioned.
“Yes,” I replied. Ilya looked again to Inessa. I saw the hope in his expression.
“Freedom allows you to do whatever you want,” I explained. Ilya looked overwhelmed. “You will understand in time,” I told him. He slowly nodded his head. “Ilya, this is Kisa, my wife.”
“Hello,” Ilya said quietly.
“Nice to meet you, Ilya,” Kisa replied.
Zaal held Talia tightly. “This is my fiancée, Talia,” he announced proudly.
Ilya repeated his hello, then movement came from the stairs. Maya timidly began descending the steps, clutching the rail as her wide eyes surveyed the crowd.
“Who is that?” Kisa whispered. I heard Kisa’s maternal side rise to the surface as she watched Maya awkwardly reach the tarmac.
“Maya,” I replied. “She was one of the chiri in the pit.”
“A plague?” Zoya questioned, interpreting the Georgian term. Maya turned her head away at that point, and I felt Kisa stiffen. “Her face,” Zoya whispered, so low that Maya couldn’t have heard.
“The chiri were the lowest caste in the pit. They were the servant slaves. She was Inessa’s. They are best friends. Maya wouldn’t leave her side the entire way here. She helped keep my sister alive,” Valentin said to his female.
“She refused a guard taking her at a young age so Master ordered that acid be poured over her face. Then she was demoted from a mona to a chiri,” Ilya said. Kisa, Talia, and Zoya flinched at the information the champion supplied. “She is only sixteen,” Ilya added sadly. “But she defended my Inessa’s life like a warrior.”
Zoya immediately broke from Valentin’s side and approached Maya. Maya froze in fear. Zoya smiled and held out her hand. “Maya, is it?”
Maya lifted her head and timidly nodded. “Yes, miss,” she replied in Georgian. Zoya smiled again. “It’s a beautiful name.” Zoya spoke to her in Georgian, too.
Maya looked to the stretcher and asked, “Is Miss Inessa okay?”
Zoya held out her hand and nodded. “I am Zoya, Valentin’s female. Inessa and Ilya will be coming to our house.” She paused, then added, “You are welcome, too. You are Inessa’s closest friend, after all.”
Maya stared at Zoya, and her dark eyes filled with tears. “Really?” she questioned, as though she were being tricked.
Zoya edged closer and kept holding out her hand. “Truly,” she responded. “I am recently freed myself. I understand what it’s like to have this new world thrust upon you.”
“You do?” Maya asked warily.
“I do,” she replied.
Maya stared at Zoya’s hand like it was a forbidden fruit. But when Zoya persisted, nodding her head in encouragement, Maya gently placed her shaking hand in Zoya’s.
“Come,” Zoya coaxed gently. “Let us go home.”
Maya sighed and whispered, “Home.” I heard Kisa sniff and her hands held me that much tighter.
“Bless her heart,” Talia said, but broke away from Zaal when Zoya led Maya to us. I watched as my sister introduced herself. Then I watched, with pride in my heart, as Kisa took Maya’s other hand. Maya, along with Ilya, appeared overwhelmed with emotion. But then, when you have never seen kindness before, it is difficult to accept its power.
Signaling to the cars, I announced, “Let’s go home.” We all made our way to the cars and Ilya took Inessa to the van. As Kisa slipped beside me in the backseat, I threaded my arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. When I closed my eyes, I felt Kisa’s hand drawing lazy circles on my stomach. As the cars pulled away to take us all home, I left the pit and the kills I had made on the tarmac.
It was done.
It was an impossible feeling to accept, but as I held my Kisa in my arms, I knew it would hit home eventually. I was finally in New York to stay. The threats from my past now put to bed.