Chapter 45 #2
“You will return home with the team. You will issue a statement reaffirming your commitment to Velkarya.”
None of it surprised me.
“And to your partnership.”
Beside me, Mila shifted on her feet.
“You will avoid further public displays.” Vasiliev’s eyes gleamed. “Both of you.”
“And if we don’t?”
His expression didn’t change. “Then future assignments may become more difficult.”
I almost laughed. More difficult. Years of my life reduced to two words.
Mila spoke before I could say anything else. “And if Luka trains somewhere else for a while?”
Vasiliev gazed steadily at her. “Velkarya has invested heavily in its athletes.” He continued speaking, outlining obligations and expectations I could have recited myself by now. I switched off.
None of it was new. The wording changed. The message didn’t.
The dragon pin gleamed when Vasiliev shifted in his chair, drawing my attention back to the table.
“You have until departure Monday morning,” the official said at last. “The team flight leaves at ten forty.”
I gave another nod.
And just like that, the meeting was over.
When the door finally closed behind us, Mila expelled a long breath.
“They’re terrified.”
A laugh escaped me before I could stop it. “It feels that way to me too.”
She turned toward me. “And?”
I knew what she was really asking.
What do I want?
For days I’d been turning that question over in my mind, convinced the answer would arrive as certainty, maybe in some grand moment of clarity.
I reached into my pocket and felt the edge of Helen’s business card beneath my fingertips.
This time, the thought of everything it represented didn’t fill me with panic.
Mila watched me for another moment, then gave me a knowing smile.
“You’ve decided.”
I pulled the card from my pocket and gazed at it.
“Maybe.”
Mila laughed. “That’s the closest thing I’m getting to a yes, isn’t it?”
I didn’t answer. Instead, I pulled out my phone.
Her eyes widened. “Are you going to call her now?”
I looked at the screen, at everything waiting on the other side of one decision.
“Not yet.”
Mila rolled her eyes, but said nothing.
I slipped the phone back into my pocket.
The choice was no longer theoretical.
By Monday morning, I would either be on a flight home or walking away from everything I’d spent my life building.
Surprisingly, the thought didn’t terrify me.
It felt inevitable.
Dean
By the time Luka and Mila finally reappeared, the rest of us had migrated to a quiet stretch of corridor close to the athlete exit. Ethan was in the middle of explaining, in great detail, exactly how many pizzas he intended to order.
I spotted them first. “There they are.”
The conversation stopped immediately.
Ethan took one look at Luka and pressed a hand against his chest. “Thank God.”
Luka frowned. “For what?”
“We weren’t sure you’d survived.”
Mila laughed. “What did you expect?”
“Any meeting that starts with federation officials and ends with the phrase private word automatically sounds like the opening chapter of a spy novel.” Ethan let out an exaggerated sigh of relief. “And here you are.”
“Yes, still alive,” Luka informed him with a smile.
“For now.”
Luka blinked. “Thank you for your confidence.” The corner of his mouth twitched.
The sight was enough to get me breathing normally again.
Mila slipped an arm through Donna’s and began steering her toward the exit. “Come on. If we stand here much longer, Ethan will start discussing pizza toppings. Again.”
I snorted. “You’re too late. What do you think he’s been talking about ever since you left?”
The walk toward the Metro was loud and chaotic, everyone talking at once.
I held Luka’s hand, our fingers laced. Athletes passed us in both directions.
Volunteers waved. Several people stopped Luka and I to offer congratulations.
One elderly volunteer hugged Luka so enthusiastically that he looked completely bewildered for nearly half a minute afterward.
By the time we reached the Village, everyone was cold, hungry, and still talking over each other.
“We’ve got an hour before we meet in the lobby,” Noah announced.
“What are we supposed to do for an entire hour?” Ethan complained.
Noah arched his eyebrows. “Shower? Change clothes?” He smirked. “You forget, I know exactly how long it takes you to get dressed.”
“Ooh, insults.” Then Ethan stared at a guy heading toward the elevators. The guy turned and smiled at him.
A slow, deliberate kind of smile.
Ethan coughed. “On second thoughts, I might be a little late.” Then he made a mad dash over to the elevator.
Brooke guffawed. “Does anyone expect to see Ethan again tonight?”
I slipped my hand into Luka’s. “An hour seems like a very generous amount of time.”
Luka glanced sideways at me, his eyes twinkling. “It is.”
“Whatever shall we do to fill it?”
A snort came from behind us, followed by another. I turned. Unfortunately, the entire team was still within earshot.
Nathan was grinning his head off.
“What?” I fired at him.
He held his hands up. “I didn’t say a word.”
Brooke snickered. “You didn’t need to.”
Luka looked from Noah to Nathan as though trying to determine whether they were serious.
Noah clapped his hands before the teasing could continue. “Enough. Lobby. One hour, people.” As everyone began drifting away, he called after Luka and Mila. “Oh, before I forget. Closing ceremony tomorrow night.”
Mila nodded. “What about it?”
“You’re sitting with us.”
She blinked. “The American team?”
“Of course.”
Luka frowned. “I am reasonably certain that is not how national teams work.”
“It is how it works at the closing ceremony.” Noah waved a hand dismissively. “Everyone walks in with their own delegation. After that, nobody cares, or at least, that’s what I’ve been told.”
“That’s true,” Brooke added. “It’s complete chaos.”
“The best kind.” Nathan smiled. “You spend two to three weeks making friends with people from all over the world and then suddenly you’re supposed to stay with your own team? Nobody does.” His eyes gleamed. “So we’re adopting you.”
Mila laughed. “I don’t remember agreeing to this.”
“You don’t get a vote.” Donna sounded smug.
“That’s concerning.”
“It’s tradition,” she retorted. “And you’re still sitting with us.”
Noah pointed at both of them. “You belong with the US team.”
Mila looked at Luka.
Luka looked at me. His smile held no trace of uncertainty.
“One of us definitely belongs with the US team.”