Free A Shade of Kiev 3 by Bella Forrest Page A

though still beautiful, she appeared to be at least thirty.
    “I’ve seen you before,” I whispered. “Anna?”
    “Kiev,” she breathed, her eyes widening. I was surprised she recognized me, since my eyes hadn’t yet returned to red since Mona’s disappearance. They were still green, like hers.
    “What are you doing here?” I asked, eyeing her protruding stomach.
    “Kiev!” Erik bellowed.
    “Shut up!” I hissed. “I said I’m coming.”
    I turned back to Anna, now looking at her with urgency.
    “I-I was kidnapped here,” she said, her voice cracking. “I don’t know what they want with me.”
    She looked terribly thin for a woman as pregnant as her and she had dark shadows under her eyes, her skin pale. They weren’t feeding her enough. I didn’t need to be a physician to know that she might not make it until birth if she remained here.
    I didn’t know why, but panic coursed through my veins. I sped back over to my siblings and snatched the keys from Helina’s hands. Ignoring my siblings’ protests, I raced back toward Anna.
    It was as though my intelligence had shut down and I was acting on sheer adrenaline, all consequences forgotten.
    I unlocked her cell and ripped open the gate. She screamed as I towered over her. I crouched down and placed a hand over her mouth.
    “I’m not going to hurt you,” I whispered into her ear. “I know you’ve every reason not to trust me after everything you know about me. But I swear, I’ll not hurt you. You need to get out of here. If only for your baby’s sake, come with me. This is a risk you have to take.”
    Her breathing became slower and she stopped fighting against me. Though her eyes were still filled with distrust and fear, desperation took over.
    “Just don’t say a word and keep close to me.”
    I ripped off my cloak and swung it over her shoulders, attempting to cover her large stomach as much as possible. I pulled the hood over her head to cast a shadow over her face.
    Scooping her up in my arms, I arrived back just a few seconds before Isolde came walking down the steps, giving me time to place her feet down on the ground next to the other humans.
    “You’re ready?” she asked, casting her eyes around the group of humans.
    I gripped Anna’s shoulder, keeping her positioned close to me and shielding her as much as possible from Isolde’s view by guiding her to walk behind the other humans. It was a blessing that my siblings had picked out some tall men from the cells. My cloak did something to hide her bulging form, but it wasn’t enough for me to feel confident allowing her to walk in clear view of the witch.
    Erik and Helina eyed me and Anna nervously but didn’t say anything now that Isolde was present. We herded the humans out of the prison and made our way through the castle back to the dungeon where the gate was. We gathered them all close to the hole in the floor and Isolde began pushing humans through one at a time. I kept a tight grip on Anna’s arm. As Isolde turned on the last few humans, I stepped forward.
    “I may as well do the rest,” I said.
    Her eyes rested on me questioningly. Then she grunted and jumped through the gate. I pushed the rest of the humans through except for Anna.
    I looked at my siblings.
    “You two go next.”
    They stared at me and Anna again.
    “Kiev, what is going—”
    Before she could finish her question, I pushed her into the gate. Erik understood that now was not the time to ask questions and he jumped in after Helina.
    Then I looked down at Anna. Her face had drained of all blood as she looked down at the abyss. She gripped her stomach.
    “I don’t know if I can—”
    “You’ve no choice. You either come with me… or you get locked up again in that prison.”
    I held my hand out to her. She bit her lip and, trembling, reached for my hand.
    “I suggest I go down with you at the same time. I might be able to cushion you somewhat on the other side.”
    I fastened the cloak tighter around