Shadow In The Woods

41- Spectre's Lover

Ayla's POV

"You look well, healthy. I see no disfiguring scars or missing limbs, this is much better than the scenarios I had running through my mind." Mikhail hummed.

I didn't have the time or patience for these decidedly odd pleasantries. My joy at seeing him was fading fast.

"You seem to be confusing Azareal with his Soverennyi" I said unable to keep the hostility from seeping into my voice.

"I suppose he'll be the Tsar soon" Mikhail said with the sullen voice of a man accepting a terminal diagnosis. Aleksander had yet to be officially crowned, and was acting under the jurisdiction of a regent. Why he had chosen to limit his authority to a certain extent, I was yet to determine. It was a concept that had never been attempted in the political world. A regeant implied that he was simply ruling in the stead of another until their circumstances allowed for retaking the reigns of rule. It seemed decidedly unlike him and made little sense.

"Where have you been, Mikhail? It's been weeks since the incident. I thought you were blown to a pulp." I said my voice speeding up as the sentence progressed.

"I'm pleased to report I am still very much alive. It would seem to everyone's dismay. I... I've been hiding in the forests with a group of survivalist."

"With whom do your loyalties lie?" I said carefully.

"Ourselves."

I was cold. And now I was annoyed.

"What do you want, Mikhail?"

My bluntness seemed to take him aback before he decided to answer in like manner. "I want to help you."

"Why?" I quickly countered suspiciously.

"It's..." He swallowed before continuing. "It's my fault you're caught up in this mess. It's the least I can do."

It wasn't entirely true but I didn't correct him either. His feelings of guilt could very well benefit me.

"How do you envision helping me?" I said running my fingers over the bark of a nearby tree.

Mikhail blinked in surprise. "I honestly assumed you'd just tell me what to do."

I laughed despite my cold, grumpy ass. "Do... do you want me to help you leave here?" His eyes held so much hope.

"No." I felt a pang of guilt upon noting the pain my answer brought him, the way it seemed to deflate his spirit.

"Why, Ayla?" His voice was a whisper.

"I just can't. But I would still appreciate your help." I said firmly.

"Why can't you?" He said his brows furrowing in annoyance as a resolute expression crossed his face and he took a step closer.

"It's hard to explain, Mikhail. In part because I don't understand it entirely myself. I'm just..."

"I can't leave, ok!" I shouted after momentarily stumbling over my words.

"Is he extorting you by some means?" He said, dropping his voice to a whisper, despite the fact that we were literally in the middle of a secluded woods.

"No, Mikhail. I sighed.
We seem to have moved past that.

"Are you fearful of what he might do to you if you disappoint him and he finds out?" He said calmly.

"A little." I conceded. "He doesn't deal well with disappointment. It makes him a tad homicidal. And he has a special fondness for decimating those he feels have dealt him a betrayal. I keep having these dreams were he boils me because I've betrayed him. While I'm screeching in the fiery cauldron he keeps chanting -Boiling the Betrayer, Boiling the Betrayed, such beautiful alliteration"