Natalia’s POV
Andrei led me up the stairs to his chambers, past the broken banister and scorch marks on the walls from where the fighting had briefly spilled into the main house. Thankfully, the upstairs had been untouched, and Andrei’s bedroom—the room we once shared as husband and wife—had also been unharmed during the battle.
“Bath first,” Andrei said, already moving toward the en suite bathroom with the large claw-foot tub dominating the center. “Then we can talk.”
I nodded, grimacing at the sight of myself in the mirror. Two days in the forest had left me caked with dirt and dried blood, and my nightgown was torn and stained beyond repair. The twins and I must have looked like refugees when we stumbled out of that smoke, which I supposed, in a way, we were.
Andrei started the wate
