Chapter 224: Holding her

It took Sienna a moment to hug her back, her arms stayed stiff at first because she had only just met this mother, only just seen her face, the sound of her voice, and already she was leaving again.

Everything was happening too fast and not fast enough at the same time, a whole lifetime of absence pressed into a single morning, and now this too, this goodbye, arriving before Sienna had even found her footing.

But slowly, her arms rose and wrapped around her mother anyway, because some part of her, older than any of the anger she was feeling at the moment, simply did not want to let go just yet.

Helena held her tight for a moment, one hand pressed flat against the back of Sienna’s head, holding her like she was something she was afraid might break, or disappear, if she let go too soon. Then, slowly, she began to pull away.

"I’m sorry," she said. "I have to go. I can’t be here long, Konstantin has his men tracking me."

Sienna felt her mother’s arms loosen and slip away from her, felt the warmth of that embrace leave her skin inch by inch, and she tried, hard, not to cry.

She told herself it should not matter that she had never really had a mother to lose in the first place, not in any way she could remember, so this leaving should not feel any different than all the other times life had simply moved on without her.

But it did not matter how old a person grew, there are some small parts of everyone still reaching for the warmth of a mother’s arms, still aching when that warmth pulled away too soon.

"So what," Sienna said, her voice rough, "you’re just going to never be in my life? Is that it?" She lifted one hand and wiped at a single tear that had slipped free, quick and rough, like she was angry at it for falling at all.

"Do you have to leave all the time? Or do I need to get used to hiding, or running, like you, forever?"

Helena’s face softened, but there was no argument in it, only a tired kind of understanding. "I get you, baby," she said.

"And I know how frustrating all of this is, but we can’t kill all of them, can we?" She reached out and gently tucked a loose piece of hair behind Sienna’s ear, her fingers lingering there a second longer than they needed to.

"The world will always have bad people, as long as people still want power. We could get rid of Konstantin. Then what? There would be another. Anyone who knows what’s encrypted in your DNA will want it, Katty."

The name landed strangely in the quiet room. Katty, the short form for Katalia. Sienna had heard her real name spoken aloud only a handful of times in the last day, and each time it landed differently, as a stone dropped into water she had never known was there.

This time, hearing it wrapped in something so soft, so small and familiar, it struck a place in her chest she did not have words for.

"But we can fight," Sienna said, her jaw tight now. "I don’t want to live a life where I have to keep running or hiding, or a life without a mother."

"You don’t have to run," Helena said gently. "You just have to live a quiet and peaceful life."

Sienna let out a short, humorless laugh. Peaceful. As if there was anything peaceful left in her life at all, not while she was married to Viktor, not while every greedy man with a taste for power in three countries would eventually learn her name and come looking for what ran through her blood.

She could not take it anymore.

Sienna turned her face away, toward the wall, her jaw clenched, her eyes stinging, and without another word she turned and walked out of the room, her bare feet moving fast and quietly across the floor, her arms wrapped tight around herself.

"Oh, dear." Helena’s voice came from behind her. She had already started following Sienna, her footsteps light against the polished floor as she moved down the hallway, she had no intention of letting Sienna stay angry before she left.

"Believe me," Helena continued, a small smile touching her lips, "we are going to see a lot more of each other now." Sienna kept walking. "I promise." She didn’t turn around. Behind them, Aria hurried to catch up.

"Wait for me!" Her footsteps echoed through the long hallway, growing louder with every second. By the time she reached them, she was slightly breathless, but that did nothing to slow her down.

"And listen," Aria said quickly, slipping into step beside Helena. "The message to Konstantin was my idea, okay?" Helena glanced at her. Aria pointed at herself as if she needed to make sure there was no misunderstanding. "My idea." She continued before Helena could say anything.

"So, let me set the record straight before you start blaming Sienna for everything." Her hands moved as she spoke, just as they always did whenever she became serious about something.

"Sienna was actually against it. She told me it was a bad idea." Sienna finally slowed down a little. Aria nodded firmly. "She was right, too. She is much smarter than me."

"Most of the time." Sienna glanced over her shoulder. Aria ignored her.

"And yes, you’re right. It was stupid." She sighed. "A very stupid move, actually. I know that now. Sending a threatening message to Konstantin only made things worse. It gave him another reason to come after me." Helena listened quietly.

"But Sienna only went along with it because she wanted to find you," Aria added, her voice becoming softer. "She wanted answers. She wanted to know what happened to you."

She looked at Helena. "So don’t hold that against her." For a moment, Helena said nothing. She simply turned her head and looked at Aria. One eyebrow lifted slightly.

There was something in that look. A quiet, I already knew that. Then Helena shook her head and turned forward again. She continued walking. Aria frowned. "That’s it?" Helena smiled faintly.

"That’s it." Aria stared at her back for a second before following. "Okay, then." She hurried another step to catch up. "But I’m just saying, you can’t blame Sienna."

"I heard you. And stop talking..."

"Okay." Aria finally fell silent. For about three seconds.

"Katty," Helena said finally, holding up one hand, "give me some time, alright. I’ll figure something out. We can work together on something that doesn’t make you a target that everyone is chasing after."

Sienna stopped walking. Right there, in the middle of the hall, her bare feet suddenly still against the cold floor, her back to both of them.

"What," she said, turning slowly as her hair fell loosely around her shoulders, and there was a look in her eyes that made Aria immediately regret whatever she was about to say. Sienna lifted both hands. Her palms faced the ceiling.

"Would you drain every single drop of blood in my body?" The sarcasm in her voice was impossible to miss. She lowered her hands. "Would that solve the problem?"

Aria pressed her lips together, clearly trying not to laugh. Helena simply stared at her. Sienna shook her head.

Then....The front doors suddenly swung open. All three women froze. Sienna stopped mid-step. Aria’s smile disappeared. Helena slowly turned toward the entrance.

For a second, nobody spoke, the cold air slipped through the open doorway, stirring the curtains near the entrance, and then came the sound of footsteps.