NIKOLAI

There was silence in the royal diner banquet for what felt like the longest time before the sound of a chair scraping across the floor broke the spell.

My heart thudded oddly in my chest and I was aware of the way Olivia’s hands were splayed across my chest, the heady feeling of the wine I’d had earlier sloshing around in my head so that the world around me blurred slightly at the edges.

I saw Igor rise from the table, looking dapper in his oil-black silk suit and crew-cut blonde hair as he jogged over to the empty chair and pulled it out for the woman, who whispered...