Chapter 81: Puppet?

Nikolai stood on the balcony, an unusual position for him, and sighed as he adjusted his breathing to the chill of the wind that cut across his skin. His presence there was so rare that it almost seemed as though he didn’t belong. The thought amused him slightly, and he wondered if Ophelia was even aware of his unusual behavior. It almost made him smile. The balcony doors were framed by heavy black curtains, a precaution he had taken anticipating that she might try to flee. After all, she had wings. He watched as she had taken to the air, her golden wings unfurling dramatically before she disappeared into the ominous clouds. Nikolai closed his eyes, trying to banish the troubling vision that had haunted him since then. Earlier that evening, he had pursued Ophelia to the ballroom, but his attention had been abruptly diverted by something—a smell that seemed to call to him. It was a fragrance of delicate, freshly blooming flowers, tainted by dew from the previous night. In a world wher