Hey guys, I hope you're doing well! Here's another long chapter. It has strong language (with a couple f-bombs) and a fairly significant content warning since Alexei is going through all the feels and so much happens :P
Gonna reply to reviews on the previous chapter, thanks so much for the love and to everyone who reviewed!
Tessa Jane: Thank you, I hope this chapter finds you well! Alexei has a dark side and is far from perfect but he definitely cares a lot about Grace, which I love getting to delve into with their romantic moments.
Guest: Stay tuned for what will happen between Alexei and his father ;) Those chapters won't be coming out for a very long time (probably not for another 7-9 months at least, based on my rough posting timeline) but they're already some of my favourite chapters that I've written for Unlocking the Key (and quite possibly the entirety of Embassy Row in Alexei's POV) so I feel it'll be worth the wait!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Embassy Row series and all the characters (except for Tanner and Jordan and Alexei's Moscow friends, who are my own creations). They belong to Ally Carter. I am merely using her characters and plotline to create this fanfiction. I have no intention of profiting off the Embassy Row series in any way. This fanfiction is purely for entertainment purposes and would not exist without Ally Carter's wonderful works.
The events that happen in this fanfiction are not meant to be representative of real life. Any similarities to any real-life events or fictional works is purely coincidental and not intentional (with the exception of the original Embassy Row books by Ally Carter since this fanfiction is literally Take the Key and Lock Her Up but from Alexei's, not Grace's, perspective). The character's actions may not always reflect my own opinions or views. Based on what happens in this chapter (spoiler alert), I do not condone physical violence, criminal activity (including escaping from institutions, car theft, and fiery explosions), or poor incarceration conditions.
CONTENT WARNING: moderate to major
This fanfiction is rated M, for explicit and suggestive themes (such as mental health and abuse), language, and violence. This chapter contains strong language, graphic depictions of physical violence, graphic depictions of criminal activity (such as escape from institutions, car theft, and fiery explosions), dysfunctional parent-child relationships, and mental health struggles (including poor incarceration conditions and delusional thinking). Please read at your own discretion.
Chapter Eighteen: Unhappy Reunion
I looked up to find an unkempt woman standing in the doorway. She wore a nightgown with a dirty, threadbare robe and black army boots. Her dark, shoulder-length hair was tangled, held back with a pink headband. I knew that hair used to be long, running down her back in thick, wavy strands. She looked older and wearier than I remembered but there was no mistaking the bright blue eyes that I saw everyday in the mirror.
My mother, live in the flesh, the first time I had seen her in ten years. Had she been here all this time? It took everything in me not to run to her and ask a million questions, about why she left and why she was here. The only thing stopping me was the maniacal grin on her face, too bright and wild to be normal.
"They said that I had visitors," she said, clasping her hands together. "I love visitors!" I remembered my mother having a melodic voice but it was never this high-pitched or song-like.
She suddenly rushed forward, hands outstretched. I couldn't stop myself from recoiling back in horror. "I never dreamed it would be you!" Who was she talking about? Me? Had she actually recognized me, despite the dazed look in her eyes? Yet, I quickly realized I was mistaken, as she made a beeline towards Grace, stopping less than a foot from her.
"I thought I'd never see you again. I …" She eased closer, staring right at Grace's face, like she was scrutinizing every inch of it. "It's really you." Grace looked at me, a panicked expression on her face that echoed my thoughts. This was not good.
Suddenly, my mother dropped into a low curtsy, prostrating herself in front of Grace. "I am beyond honored, Your Highness." I tried my hardest to not freak out. Clearly, the drugs she was on had detached her from reality.
Okay, so Grace was technically a princess and the lost heir of Adria but did my mother actually know that? Or was she currently in the middle of a fantastical drug-induced delusion? I would put my bets on the latter. This was not the woman I had known and loved. This woman had lost her fucking mind and I feared it was too late to save her.
She slowly rose from her shaky curtsy, extremely unsteady on her feet. But the unnerving dazed look in her eyes and the maniacal smile remained as she exclaimed, "The heir is here! The heir lives!"
"I'm … no!" Grace shouted. Although there may have been some truth to my mother's words, now was not the time to feed into her delusions. We were here to get some answers but the possibility of that happening was quickly diminishing.
"Amelia –"
"No!" Grace snapped, grasping my mother by her arms. "I'm not the heir. Mrs. Volkov – Karina – I am Grace. Grace Blakely. Do you know who I am?" My mother suddenly went silent, her face going completely blank. She stared at Grace, tilting her head slightly like she was trying to figure out if Grace was actually the heir. For a second, I thought I saw a lucid, understanding look in her eyes, like she had broken through her drug-induced fantasy and come back to the real world. But just as fast as it came on, it disappeared, replaced by that vacant, lost gaze as her eyes shifted to me. It was extremely unsettling as she stared at me, unblinking and unwavering, like she was trying to look into the very depths of my soul. It took everything in me not to falter, to make her break her gaze.
"Karina," Grace said tentatively. Finally, my mother broke her unnerving stare, turning her attention back to Grace. She suddenly grabbed Grace's hands and started spinning her around the room, like they were two schoolgirls on the playground. Then, my mother started singing that ancient Adrian nursery rhyme that every Adrian child knew by heart.
"'Hush, little princess, dead and gone. No one's gonna know you're coming home.'"
"Karina, please," Grace pleaded. "I need to ask you about Caroline."
"'Hush, little princess, wait and see. No one's gonna know that you are me!'"
"Karina!" Grace yelled. My mother barely seemed to notice, if at all, as she kept spinning Grace faster and singing louder. Grace looked at me the next time she passed me, the terrified expression on her face matching how I felt inside. I knew I had to do something, anything to make my mother stop. But I couldn't, not when I felt like I was frozen in place, feet glued to the ground. I had never expected this level of insanity from my mother but seeing her like this, completely and utterly unhinged, was enough for me to sever the last ties I had with the mother I knew.
"Karina, I need to talk to you, please. We came a long way to talk to you," Grace begged, her voice cracking. She was getting desperate, which I didn't blame her for, since we had waited so long and come so far. Despite that, our chances of getting my mother, no, Karina, to talk were getting slimmer by the second. I had to keep reminding myself that the mother I knew was long dead and gone and that the person standing in front of us was a mad, mad stranger who just so happened to share a name with my mother.
Karina leaned in close to Grace, as she kept singing. "'Hush, little princess, it's too late. The truth is locked behind the gates.'" Grace froze in her tracks, eyes wide as she looked at me. This verse was never a part of the classic nursery rhyme and we both knew it.
Suddenly, as if being sucked in by the rhythmic strains of the song, I felt myself being pulled into the depths of my memories. When I opened my eyes again, I was four years old, sitting atop a beautiful white horse on the carousel in Valancia. My mother had been standing next to me. I had gotten scared, clinging to my mother as the carousel kept spinning faster and faster. She had sung this very song to calm me down, including this verse she was currently singing to Grace. I froze, a startling realization hitting me. Had Karina always been insane, even from the start, or was that verse really, truly part of that nursery rhyme and I had just never realized it?
In the memory, Karina started singing again. When I looked up at her, I was met not with the face of my mother but with the face of a monster. Her eyes were black holes, her hair a wild, tangled mess, her skin ghostly pale, her teeth razor sharp and decayed. The carousel spun faster and faster as Karina kept singing, her voice becoming more garbled.
"'Hush, little princess, pretty babe. The sunlight shines where the truth is laid!'" My mind whirled, the world around me quickly turning into a wicked nightmare, soundtracked by the nursery rhyme that was fast becoming demonic screeching. I closed my eyes, trying to block out the noise. However, it only got louder and louder, until I felt that I couldn't take it anymore, like my head was about to explode.
"Shut up!" Suddenly, the singing stopped. I blinked, my surroundings slowly morphing in front of me. I wasn't sitting on a carousel anymore but instead, standing in a drab room in a psychiatric hospital. I took a few deep breaths, focusing on the present reality.
When my brain had finally calmed down, I looked up. Karina was looking at me, her eyes wide and curious. Belatedly, I realized I had been the one to shout. I had felt myself getting sucked further and further into the nightmare and knew that if I didn't do something fast to end it, my reality and sanity would get taken away with it too. I didn't need to be locked up like my mother. I had already come close to that once, for a very different reason.
When I glanced back at Karina, she was still looking at me. What did she want with me? It took everything I had not to retreat to the farthest corner of the room when she stood up straighter, her smile getting brighter and more deranged.
"You are very handsome," she said. She turned to Grace, stage whispering, "Isn't he handsome?"
Grace looked at me, like she was seeing me with new eyes. "Yes. He is."
"Is he yours?" Karina asked. Grace looked at me once again. I gave her a warning look. What her and I shared was purely between us. It was nothing Karina needed, or deserved, to know.
"I used to have a boy who was handsome," Karina lamented. A tear fell from the corner of her eye, so fast that I nearly missed it. It was almost enough to make me feel something for her. But then I remembered how she cruelly walked out ten years ago and it was enough to strengthen my resolve. No, she did not deserve my sympathy. My being here to visit should have been considered plenty. After all, I didn't have to come with Grace to get her questions answered. Unfortunately, to no fault of Grace's, the questioning was getting nowhere. I was going to have to take matters into my own hands.
I locked eyes with Karina, holding her gaze to mine. "Do you know her?" I pointed right at Grace. Simple question to test her sanity and orientation. Unfortunately, a dopey smile appeared on her face.
"The heir has risen. The heir has returned," Karina stated. She bent down, like she was going to curtsy and prostrate herself in front of Grace again. I grabbed her arms, stopping her.
"Do you know her?" I demanded, practically growling. If she wasn't going to cooperate willingly, then I was going to have to do this by force. "Did you talk to her mother?"
"Alexei." Grace was beside me, trying to pry my fingers from Karina's arms. I pushed her away, tightening my grip on Karina.
"Do you know her?" I repeated, turning Karina to face Grace directly.
This time, Karina smiled at Grace and I, the most unsettling and wild one I had seen yet. "Of course. It's so good to see you again, Caroline. I have missed you so." I let go of her, not expecting to hear that from her. She was much more insane than either of us had realized, having lost her grip on reality long ago.
Suddenly, she lunged forward, pulling Grace into a very awkward hug. I stepped back in surprise, not expecting her to move so fast, especially since she had likely been bedbound and drugged for a good majority of the last ten years. Nonetheless, Grace's face softened as she gave into the hug, sinking into Karina's embrace. I mentally commended her for her compassion, something I had run out of long ago.
Karina said something to Grace, too quietly for me to hear.
"I …" Grace pulled back, glancing at me like she was going to do something I wouldn't approve of. "I missed you, too. You know, I was trying to remember – when was the last time I saw you?" Huh, that wasn't actually a bad idea. Maybe if we could convince Karina that Grace was Caroline, she would be more likely to open up and answer our questions. Besides, Grace looked exactly like her mother so I supposed that wouldn't be too much of a stretch of Karina's imagination.
Unfortunately, that backfired, as Karina pulled away from Grace. She headed over to the window, looking out at the grey sky and barren land before singing that damned nursery rhyme again. Just when I had a flicker of hope that maybe we had gotten through to her, it instantly shattered. Now, I truly feared that she had lost all ties to reality and was stuck in her own fantasy world, soundtracked by that classic Adrian nursery rhyme. Were we wasting our time by staying here?
"Karina, I need to talk to you about the last time I was here," Grace said. So she was still going to pretend she was her mother, at least for the time being. It may have worked with someone less insane. But Karina was so entrenched in her own version of reality that she didn't even acknowledge Grace, instead continuing to sing.
"Karina!" Grace yelled, louder and sharper than before. Clearly, she was getting close to her breaking point too. "Karina, do you—"
Karina suddenly stopped singing, her gaze fixed on the dirty window. "That's peculiar." I took a quick peek out the window. There was nothing of interest to see. However, if she was trapped in her own reality, then she was likely seeing something very different out of that window, a product of her delusions.
"Posmotri na menya!" I shouted. Look at me. I needed to look into her eyes, to get a hint at what she was seeing. I needed to know just how far she had gone and just how much we had lost her.
Karina briefly turned towards me, fear in her glazed-over eyes. She suddenly blurted out a string of Russian, almost too fast for me to follow.
"What?" Grace asked. "What did she say?"
I shook my head, not believing what I had heard. "She's talking crazy." She had to be. I didn't know how else to explain what had just come out of her mouth.
"What did she say?" Grace pleaded. Knowing her, she wasn't going to rest until she found out. But did she really want to know just how far gone Karina was? I hadn't even wanted to believe it myself but now, I felt I didn't have much of a choice.
I slowly took a deep breath, cursing myself for repeating Karina's words, making them much more real than I wanted them to be. "She said they're going to storm the gates and kill the heir. She thinks it's two hundred years ago, Gracie. And she thinks you're your mom. We should go. She can't help us."
This was it. This had all been for nothing. There was no point in asking her any more questions, not when she was so far into the deep end and beyond saving. I turned towards the door, ready to head out, when it unexpectedly opened. Viktor stood in the doorway, a big, bulky healthcare aide behind him.
"She just got here," Grace protested. "You can't make us leave yet." We had only been here for what, ten to fifteen minutes? I was ready to leave but clearly, Grace wasn't done here. If she wanted to stay, then I would stay for her. Yet, as I glanced at Karina, who was still staring out the window and singing that goddamn nursey rhyme, I wondered if it was really worth it to stay.
"We're not leaving," Grace asserted again.
"I quite agree," Viktor said. "You're not going anywhere." However, I didn't have time to figure out what he meant because the healthcare aide suddenly lunged forward, pushing past Viktor, towards Grace. In that moment, it didn't matter what Viktor had meant. I knew what this aide's intentions were and I knew what I had to do.
My fighting instincts kicked in as I ran towards the aide, jumping up to meet him in the air. I plowed into him, using his weight against him to force him towards the ground. We fell, me on top of him. I tried to drive his head onto the floor. However, the aide twisted, his arm whirling around towards me. I barely had time to turn my head as his fist made contact with my cheek. I recoiled back, feeling the sheer power of his pure, bulky muscle. The aide turned to push me to the ground, swiping my jaw in the process. I grunted as I hit the ground, but not before driving my knee into his groin. He moved a few centimetres off me, which was all the opening I needed to knee him hard in the gut and flip us over so I was once again on top.
With that, I was swept up in a full-blown brawl with the aide. He was absolutely massive, with bulky muscle, nothing like the lean muscle I was used to with my father, Jamie, and Dominic. Although there was force behind his hits, making them ache on impact, his bulk slowed him down. I was slim with lean muscle, my agility giving me the upper hand. I had faltered initially but I was back on my game now, knowing I had the clear advantage.
We kept fighting, exchanging blow after blow. My mind and body were focused on nothing but the fight, my only objective to absolutely destroy this guy after he made the tiniest move to attack Grace. If he wanted to get to her, then he had to go through me and there was no way in hell I would let him. This was like the fight with Spence, except Grace meant so much more to me now. The threshold was much lower and the stakes were much higher. It was all or nothing and there was nothing I wouldn't do to this man to keep Grace out of harm's way.
The aide made a move at me, no doubt to get me back onto the ground. I quickly spun out of the way, wrapping around with a powerful kick to his side. He briefly winced in pain. Taking advantage of his hesitation, I used my momentum to leap onto his back, wrapping my arms around his neck. I squeezed hard, putting my full strength into it.
The aide was disposable and I needed to get him out of the picture fast. Only then could I have my fun with Viktor, taking my time to ensure his road to death was a slow and torturous one. After all, he was the real mastermind behind all this, the one who messed with our minds and caused us grief for many years prior to this day. I had already lost my mother to this place. I didn't want them to take my girlfriend too, not after all the suffering this place had already caused her.
I thought I heard someone calling my name but I kept squeezing, applying unrelenting pressure on the aide's neck, even as my arms screamed in pain and ached for reprieve. The only thing I saw was red and the need to completely annihilate the aide. He squirmed underneath me, his massive, bulky body making it hard for me to stay upright. But I wasn't going down with him. Not when I was so close to knocking him out. I felt the aide getting weaker underneath me, a sure sign he was going to give in at any second. I squeezed as hard as I could, applying another burst of pressure.
"Alexei, no!" I snapped out of my daze. Grace was looking at me, a horrified expression on her face and absolute terror in her eyes. I briefly glanced down at the man in my arms, the gravity of what I had done starting to weigh on me. But I didn't have time to process that, as a much scarier realization caught my eye.
"Gracie!" I glanced to the right, where Viktor was sneaking up behind her, a loaded syringe in his hand. Her gaze followed mine, the horrified look on her face morphing into a dreadful, cold fear. This wasn't good. I had to take down Viktor before he even thought about getting that syringe anywhere near her but his stupid aide still wasn't down yet. I found one last burst of strength in me, squeezing even harder, harder than I thought was possible. Finally, the aide slackened in my arms, as his oxygen cut off and he went unconscious.
An animalistic sound snapped me back to the alarming scene playing out in front of me. Viktor wielding the syringe like a weapon, swinging it down towards Grace. No, he couldn't do that to her. I wasn't going to let him.
I threw the aide's body down on the ground, not caring about how rough I was being. I hopped over him, running towards Grace, to get her out of Viktor's way. However, she had grabbed Viktor's arm and was spinning, taking it with her as she bent it at an unnatural angle, twisting it until the needle was inside his leg. Viktor cried out in pain but I just stood there, watching with pride as Grace slowly pressed down on the plunger, emptying the contents of the syringe inside him. I should have known she could hold her own. After all, I knew what it was like to have a military parent. Jamie had received extensive fight training from his father, as did I. Surely, Grace would have picked up a few tricks of her own, no doubt this being one of them.
Viktor slowly slumped to the ground, while Grace stood over him, watching with an expression that I couldn't quite make out. I rushed to her side, now that we were finally alone and had gotten ourselves out of that mess. I put an arm around her waist, pulling her close to me. With my other hand, I tilted her chin up, until her eyes met mine. They were frantic, darting, her pupils dilated, but they were alive, just like her very being.
"Are you okay?" I breathed, looking down at her intently. She stayed silent, looking at me with worry and relief. Neither of us were really okay, not when we had just gone through the ringer, but we were alive and we had each other. I wasn't ever going to let her go again, not when I had come so close to losing her.
"I told you they were storming the gates," Karina said, rudely interrupting my moment with Grace. For God's sake, what was she going on about now? I reluctantly let go of Grace, moving to where Karina stood by the window.
"Fucking hell," I said, low and in Russian so Grace wouldn't hear. As if we just hadn't gone through hell and back with Viktor, it was now coming for us again in the form of a mob of SUV's rolling down the road at breakneck speeds, sending dust clouds billowing into the air.
"Well, I guess now we know why they changed their minds and let us in," Grace said, joining me at the window.
"Yes. And why they insisted that we wait so long," I said. I grabbed Grace's hand, pulling her towards the door. "We must leave. Now!"
Unfortunately, she stayed put, turning to look at Karina, who was running her hand along the wall and singing that stupid nursery rhyme again. "But, Alexei –"
"We must leave her," I said harshly. I had to get Grace and I out of here, before it was too late. We weren't safe here anymore. While Grace may not have been ready to leave Karina yet, her questions remaining unanswered, Karina had already been dead to me for so long. It didn't matter to me if she made it out of this alive. It was far too late for her to be saved.
"But …" A loud blast shook the room, interrupting Grace's protests. I held my arms out to steady myself, only for Grace to crash into me. I immediately grabbed her, pushing her down onto the ground. I threw myself over her, protecting her from harm. If someone was going to make it out of this alive, I wanted it to be her.
I gagged as dust filled the air, seeping into my eyes and spilling into my lungs. I did my best to shield my face, while also keeping Grace covered. I counted down from ten in my head, waiting for the remains of the blast to clear, when a very familiar voice rang out.
"I told you there were explosives." I looked up, coughing as I rubbed the dust out of my eyes. The fog slowly cleared, revealing a small figure standing against the dark grey sky. Rosie. She looked extremely smug as she took in her surroundings, like she had just saved the day in an old Western drama.
"What are you two waiting for? We've got to go. Now!"
The convey of SUV's were driving through the wide-open gates, making the situation more dire by the second. The guards who had been so eager to toy with Grace and I earlier were nowhere to be seen. Had they sent for reinforcements? Or were they part of Viktor's scheme all along?
"Now!" Rosie shouted again, before jumping out of sight. I followed Grace as she ran towards the hole in the wall. I spotted a roof a short distance below us, which Rosie was currently running across. She reached the end of the roof, climbing down a ladder leading to the back of the facility.
"Go, Gracie. Now," I said, pushing Grace towards the roof. Rosie was our only route of escape and we had to take it. However, Grace just looked back at Karina, who was completely oblivious to the danger we were in. I couldn't believe she was still singing, like nothing had happened and we didn't have to run for our lives. But if we didn't save her, then who would?
I reluctantly spun around, cursing as I walked towards the woman who had raised me, picking her up in my arms. I ran towards the wall and climbed through the hole, doing my best to navigate the rubble with the squirming woman in my arms. I tried to tune her out as I sprinted across the roof. Once I reached the metal ladder, I set Karina down. I instructed her to follow me as I climbed down. Unfortunately, she stayed put, singing her head off, so I had to force her onto the ladder, practically pulling her down one painstaking step at a time. I could only pray that we'd make it before the guards caught up to us. I didn't want to think about what fate awaited us if that happened.
After what felt like an eternity, we finally made it down the ladder. I turned around, only to spot a massive SUV with Megan behind the wheel. This didn't look like a good idea.
"We borrowed it," Rosie said nonchalantly. I didn't question her further but should have known there was more to this ridiculous escape plan. Once again, I picked up Karina in my arms, running behind Rosie and Grace to the open SUV door. The four of us piled into the middle seat.
"Hold on," Megan said, as I slammed the door shut behind me. Not a moment later, the SUV spun in a massive circle, dubiously fishtailing its way towards the side of the compound. I rammed into the car door, barely able to hold onto the door handle, let alone buckle my seatbelt. Nonetheless, Megan kept driving, bumping along the rough terrain.
The cloud of rock, dirt, and gravel slowly cleared, revealing our tiny car surrounded by four massive SUV's. I looked behind me, expecting to see the guards jumping onto the roof at any second now. The explosion was not going to go unnoticed and I didn't know how much time we'd have before our missing presence became noticed too.
"They'll find us," Grace said. "They'll chase us and they'll find us and –"
"They're not going to chase us," Noah said, turning around in the passenger seat.
"Of course they are!" Grace shouted, her voice full of despair. Right then, I wished Karina wasn't in the car with us so I could pull Grace close to me and let her know it was going to be okay. I didn't want her to have a mental breakdown, not here, not now, when things were so dire. "They will never stop chasing me. You guys have got to leave. It's too dangerous. I'm too dangerous. You've got to –"
"We have a Plan B," Megan said calmly, her eyes still on the road.
"What's Plan B?" Grace asked, bewildered. Suddenly, a deafening boom rang out behind us. I turned around, only to see a cloud of black smoke. Only when it cleared was I able to appreciate the massive mess in its wake. The first thing I spotted was the flames, everywhere in sight. The car that Grace and I had taken to get here was now ablaze. The front of the compound and the parking lot was filled with burning debris. Even the guard shack was consumed by the fire, as it burnt from the roof down. And through it all, a thick layer of smoke clouded the compound, a harbinger of the fiery storm that raged on below it. It was beautiful but terrifying, and very deadly. A few seconds too late and we may have been caught in it ourselves.
"That's Plan B," Rosie said nonchalantly, as Megan kept speeding down the dirt road, leading us away from the fiery, hell-ish inferno and into the unknown.
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter will be up between Oct. 8 and Oct. 18.
So the squad has broken Karina out of Binevale. What do you think happens next?