Chapter 8 The Cost of Curiosity

Elara learned very quickly that curiosity, in Nikolai Volkov's world, carried a price.

It began with whispers.

Not the dramatic kind whispered in dark corners, but the subtle ones-glances that lingered too long, conversations that stopped when she entered a room, guards exchanging looks she wasn't meant to notice. The mansion had always been watchful, but now it felt alert, as though the walls themselves were listening.

She didn't need to ask to know she was the reason.

Nikolai became harder to find.

When he did appear, it was brief-measured words, unreadable expressions, a careful distance that felt deliberate. He was still protective, still omnipresent in ways she couldn't quite explain, but something had shifted.

He was guarding more than just her safety now.

He was guarding himself.

Elara hated that more than she expected.

On the fourth day of his absence, she did something reckless.

She followed him.

It wasn't difficult. Nikolai moved through his own territory like a shadow, but Elara had learned the rhythms of the house, the patterns of the guards. She waited until night fell, until the mansion's energy changed-quieter, sharper.

She slipped through corridors she wasn't supposed to know, her pulse quickening with every step.

The lower levels of the compound were colder, darker. The walls changed from polished stone to raw concrete. The air smelled faintly of metal and oil.

And blood.

She stopped.

Voices echoed from a room ahead-low, tense. Nikolai's voice was unmistakable, clipped and controlled.

"...said no mistakes," he was saying. "This ends tonight."

Another voice responded, nervous. "The message was clear, but they're testing you."

A third voice cut in. "They're testing her."

Elara's stomach dropped.

"She is not part of this," Nikolai snapped.

"With respect," the voice replied, "she already is."

Elara pressed herself against the wall, heart pounding.

"What do you want us to do?" someone asked.

There was a pause.

Then Nikolai said quietly, "Nothing reaches her. Nothing touches her. Anyone who tries-ends."

The finality in his tone sent a chill through her.

Footsteps approached.

Elara barely had time to retreat before a door opened behind her. A hand clamped around her wrist, yanking her into the shadows.

She gasped-and froze.

Nikolai stared down at her, fury blazing in his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded in a low voice.

"I-"

"Answer me."

"I wanted the truth," she said, pulling her wrist free. "You've been lying to me."

His jaw clenched. "You followed me into a restricted area."

"You locked me out of everything else," she shot back. "You don't get to shut me out and expect obedience."

His gaze flicked briefly down the corridor, then back to her. "You shouldn't be here."

"Neither should whatever you're hiding," she replied.

He exhaled sharply, anger warring with something darker. "Come with me."

She hesitated. "Where?"

"Somewhere safer," he said. "Before your curiosity gets you killed."

The room he brought her to was unlike any she'd seen before.

No luxury. No art. No windows.

Just a single table, two chairs, and a wall lined with old photographs.

Elara stared.

They were black and white. Grainy. Faces frozen in moments of history she didn't recognize.

Young men. Older men. Some smiling. Some grim.

And one boy.

Her breath caught.

He couldn't be more than ten. Thin. Sharp-eyed. Standing too straight for someone so young.

Nikolai.

She turned slowly.

"You said you didn't like questions," she whispered.

"I said they were dangerous," he corrected.

She swallowed. "This is where you came from."

"Yes."

"Not the mansion. Not the power."

"No."

She stepped closer to the photographs. "Who are they?"

"My family," he said. "Most of them."

"Most?"

He was silent.

She turned back to him. "What happened?"

He hesitated-just long enough for her to know he was deciding whether to lie.

"I was born into debt," he said finally. "Not money. Blood."

Her chest tightened.

"My father owed allegiance to men who didn't forgive weakness. When he failed them, they took payment."

Elara's voice shook. "They killed him."

"Yes."

"And your family?"

"They made examples."

Her hands curled into fists. "And you?"

He met her gaze. "They kept me."

"For what?"

"To replace him."

The room felt suddenly too small.

"They trained me," Nikolai continued. "Taught me loyalty, fear, control. Taught me that love was leverage and mercy was fatal."

Elara's eyes burned. "You were a child."

He gave a humorless smile. "I survived."

She took another step toward him. "That doesn't mean it didn't break you."

His expression hardened. "Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Try to understand me," he said. "You can't."

"Maybe not fully," she replied. "But I see enough."

She gestured to the photos. "You didn't choose this life. You were forged into it."

"That doesn't absolve me."

"I didn't say it did," she said softly. "But it explains why you're so afraid to lose control."

His eyes darkened. "I am not afraid."

She met his gaze without flinching. "You are. Of caring."

Silence fell between them.

Then, quietly, "That's enough," he said.

She nodded. "I know."

But neither of them moved.

A sudden alarm shattered the moment.

Red lights flashed. A sharp tone echoed through the compound.

Nikolai's head snapped toward the door. "Stay here."

"No," Elara said immediately.

"This is not a debate."

"You said nothing would reach me," she challenged. "Prove it."

He stared at her, something fierce and conflicted crossing his face.

Then he swore under his breath.

"Stay behind me," he ordered.

They moved quickly through the corridors, guards converging from every direction. Voices barked orders. Weapons were drawn.

"What's happening?" Elara asked.

"An intrusion," Nikolai replied. "Not subtle."

"Because of me?"

"Yes."

The honesty hit harder than she expected.

They reached a reinforced door. Nikolai pushed her behind a concrete pillar just as gunfire echoed down the hall.

Elara flinched but didn't scream.

She watched Nikolai move-fast, controlled, lethal in a way that left no room for doubt. He shouted commands, redirected men, shielded her without ever looking back.

Someone tried to flank them.

Nikolai reacted instantly.

When it was over, the corridor was silent except for the ringing in her ears.

She stared at him, chest heaving. "You said this would end tonight."

"It will," he said grimly.

He turned to her, checking her face, her hands, her posture. "Are you hurt?"

"No."

His shoulders sagged slightly.

She reached out without thinking, fingers brushing his sleeve. "Nikolai."

He froze.

"You don't have to carry this alone," she said quietly.

His voice was rough. "I do."

She shook her head. "You choose to."

Their eyes locked.

For a moment, the world narrowed to the space between them.

Then he stepped back.

"This changes nothing," he said.

"It already has," she replied.

He didn't argue.

As they walked back through the compound, Elara understood the truth she'd been circling since the beginning.

The danger wasn't that Nikolai Volkov was a monster.

It was that he was human.

And humans were far easier to destroy.