The Life of Anna, Part 5: Emerged (63 page)

When Alex looked at her, her heart pounded at
the love she saw and felt. She opened her heart to him and felt
every ounce of his love for her. She knew right then and there that
she could not let Kronos break their marriage bond. They belonged
together. He was a part of her and she was a part of him. To
separate them.... Was Kronos powerful enough to separate two rivers
that joined together into one? Which drop of water belonged to
which river? It was impossible to know. It was the same thing with
their souls, their spirits. To remove Alex from her would be to
remove herself.

Anna smiled at Alex, hoping he could feel her
own love for him. His eyes softened and he gave her a gentle smile,
and she knew he knew. She sighed in happiness.

Alex looked back at his task and as he
reached for the band of metal just below the crown of Devin’s cock,
Anna briefly wondered if she would feel the pain. In slow motion,
Alex’s hand moved upwards and there was a terrible ripping sound
and then Devin let out a horrifying scream.

Anna winced and closed her eyes, leaning back
against Kronos. He squeezed her shoulder gently. She didn’t feel
any of Devin’s pain and was relieved. When she opened her eyes,
Devin was huddled on the ground, tears streaming down his face, his
body shaking with silent sobs.

He was alone in his suffering. Like she had
always been.

There was a sick gratification in hearing
Devin’s scream as Alex ripped the horrible piece of metal from
Devin’s cock. It was surely only a fraction of the pain Devin had
inflicted upon Anna over and over again, but Alex was satisfied
that he had finally been able to hurt Devin physically.

With a grim smile on his face, Alex stood
over the huddling, trembling, crying man who had caused Anna to do
the same thing countless times. Devin would likely never be able to
have sex again, which Alex thought was fitting. The man would be
lucky to be able to pee.

The room was silent, save Devin’s whimpering.
All the men watched in horrified fascination as Devin was
de-Eldered. A warning to any man who would consider doing something
similar in the future.

When Devin had quieted, Kronos went to kneel
behind him and put his hand on his head. “I remove the Immortal
essence from your body. When it is gone, you will no longer be an
Elder.”

Devin stiffened and hissed as, Alex assumed,
Kronos drained him of every drop of Immortal essence. When Kronos
stood, Devin lay still, staring off into space and making Alex
wonder if it had killed him. He blinked once and Alex knew he was
alive.

Kronos turned to Anna and motioned for her to
come to him. Anna did and the Immortal put his hands on her head.
“I free you from your bonds of slavery,” he said quietly.

Alex grunted as he felt a sharp tingle in his
head. Devin jerked on the floor. Alex looked at Anna and his heart
swelled at the beautiful smile on her face.

“I free you from your obligations as an
Elder-Mistress,” Kronos said.

Alex’s stomach began to churn as he realized
what was coming next. Kronos would sever their marriage bond. He
closed his eyes against hot tears and clenched his fist. When the
bond was severed, would it shred his heart to pieces? It certainly
seemed that it should.

“The woman standing in front of you is a free
woman,” Kronos said loudly.

Alex opened his eyes and saw Kronos standing
behind a smiling, peaceful Anna. The Anna Alex knew from their
wedding day. Oh, he didn’t need to think about that day. It hurt
too much.

“She is no longer an Elder-Mistress. She is
no longer a slave.”

When would Kronos deal the final blow?
Waiting was going to drive him insane.

“Do you acknowledge this?” Kronos asked the
men in the room.

Affirmations in every language were heard
throughout the room and Anna grinned up at Kronos. The Immortal
gave Anna an affectionate smile and then guided her over to
Alex.

Alex blinked rapidly and set his jaw against
the coming severing.

“Behold your free wife, Alex. Take good care
of her.”

Alex’s jaw dropped open as he stared up at
Kronos. “What?”

Kronos grinned. “You are a worthy man, Alex.
I saw your thoughts when I asked if you would free her. Only a man
who is willing to let her go free is worthy of this precious
creature in front of me.” He gave a deep chuckle, then added in a
soft, affectionate tone, “Besides, she wouldn’t let me sever the
bond.”

Alex looked down at Anna, who was looking up
at him with an adoring smile. “Is that okay?” she whispered.

A huge grin split Alex’s face and he grabbed
her around her waist and he held her so tight, he was afraid he
might break her ribs, but she was holding him almost as
tightly.

“Oh, my Anna. My precious Anna.” He murmured
into her hair as tears streamed down his face. He tipped her chin
up and kissed her. “
Ich liebe dich, mein Frau, mein Liebe,
mein
Leben
. I love you, my wife, my love, my
life.”

“I love you, too,” Anna said, gazing lovingly
up into his eyes. “My husband, my love, my life.”

In the darkness, an ear-piercing scream
echoed through the small room and into the hallway, down the stairs
and into the main house. The screams occurred regularly, but no one
desired to have them muffled. At least not for now. There was a
level of satisfaction that came along with the terror-filled
sound.

Devin sat straight up in bed, drenched in
sweat, eyes darting around the dark room, looking for the source of
his pain. His shirt was as wet as if he’d been out in a rainstorm;
the blankets as well. The room reeked of sweat and fear. No matter
that the window was kept open at all times, nothing would rid the
room of the smell.

He was alone. Alone with the nightmares that
had haunted him for months. Ever since the night he’d lost Anna and
his life as an Elder.

How long had he been here? Days? Weeks?
Months? Years? Did it matter? He would be here until he died,
haunted by Anna’s memories.

He did everything he could to keep from
sleeping, to keep the nightmares away. The nightmares that Anna had
placed in his mind. But no matter how hard he tried, eventually
sleep overpowered his will and he slept, and dreamed.

And screamed.

“...Happy birthday dear Anna...happy birthday
to you.”

Anna grinned as her friends and family
finished singing to her. She was twenty-six today and it was by far
her best birthday ever. Her heart swelled with happiness as she
hugged Alex and then blew out the candles.

The celebration took place in the dining room
of the Kunze
Landgut
, which had been outrageously
decorated for Anna’s birthday. Alex had insisted on going all out
for her birthday since he’d missed so many. He’d told her he had
presents for every year he’d missed and indeed, when they walked
into the elegant room, a huge stack of presents stood in the
corner.

Not only were Alex’s family there to
celebrate, Aaron, Seth, Tony, Greg and Stefanie were there too.
Then again, Stef was at the house a lot. She and Kurt had become
engaged a few weeks prior. Kurt had stayed with Anna and Alex in
New York during Nutcracker and, to Anna’s delight, he and Stef had
hit it off. When Alex and Anna moved to Germany after the first of
the year, Stef and Aaron had come with them and the three of them
had been dancing with the Stuttgart Ballet since.

Aaron had completely recovered from Devin’s
attack and was dancing as wonderfully as ever. He and Anna had
danced Sugar Plum in their last American Nutcracker performance.
Aaron had told Alex that they weren’t moving to Germany and leaving
him behind. Anna was happy Aaron had come, even though it had taken
him a while to get over Cameron. He and Cameron had decided that,
as much as they liked each other, they didn’t see a future
together. Aaron had seemed to hit it off with a few of the women in
Stuttgart and Anna liked teasing him about it.

Devin had been taken to St. Petersburg with
Vlad and imprisoned in the same room Alex had lived in while there.
He would spend the rest of his life in that small room. There was
no chance of escape.

Applause erupted around the table and Anna
giggled.

“What did you wish for?” Stef asked with a
laugh.

Anna grinned. “I didn’t. I have everything I
could ever wish for.” She hugged Alex again.

Alex kissed her cheek. “I am happy to hear
that.”

They ate cake and laughed and talked and Anna
thought it the most wonderful day. When it was time for presents,
Anna stared at the pile in bewilderment. “It will take me days to
get through all these,” she said with a grin.

“I’m okay with that,” Alex grinned.

Aaron handed her a card. “This is from Hugo
and Jasmine.”

Hugo and Jasmine had started dating shortly
after Nutcracker rehearsals began. With Jasmine healed, it turned
out she was a really sweet girl and Hugo had fallen for her. They
were a very cute couple and Anna was so happy for both of them.
Anna opened the envelope and pulled out a cream-colored card. She
laughed. “Looks like we’ll have a few weddings to go to this
summer,” she said to Alex, handing him the card.

Alex grinned. “Good for them.”

Anna began working her way through the
presents, piling books and jewelry and clothing and fur coats next
to her and laughing the whole time.

“I have many years of presents to make up
for,” Alex said with a grin and a shrug.

After all the presents had been opened, she
grinned and looked at Wilhelm, who smiled at her with a sparkle in
his eye.

“Alex,” she said, turning to him and giving
him a long kiss. “This is by far the best birthday I can remember.
You are the best friend and husband I could imagine.” She kissed
his cheek. “Now, I have a birthday present for you.”

Alex frowned in confusion as Anna handed him
an envelope. “My birthday isn’t for several months.”

Anna shrugged. “I couldn’t wait. It’s kind of
time sensitive.”

Alex chuckled and opened the envelope. He
pulled out a card and laughed at the silly picture of a baby on the
front. He opened the card and a slip of paper fell out. He picked
it up and froze when he looked at it.

Anna swallowed nervously and glanced at
Wilhelm, who smiled encouragingly. She looked back at Alex staring
at the black and white photo. He looked up at her with wide eyes,
brimming with tears. “Really?” he whispered.

Anna nodded and bit her lip. Alex lunged at
her, hugged her tightly and kissed her passionately. She faintly
heard the other’s asking what was going on. Only Wilhelm and Ilsa
knew what the photograph was of.

When Alex finally pulled away, his eyes were
so filled with emotion, it brought tears to Anna’s eyes. “Is that a
good present?” she asked in a soft voice.

“The best I could imagine.” He grinned and
picked up the photo and showed it to the others in the room. It was
a mess of white and black lines with a little circle on the one
side. “We’re having a baby,” he announced proudly.

Shrieks from the women and shouts from the
men echoed in the room as Alex and Anna were hugged and
congratulated. Anna was back in Alex’s arms the moment they were
done and he hugged her again.

“How did you get pregnant without me
knowing?” Alex murmured in her ear.

“I asked your dad how to do it. I wanted to
surprise you.”

Alex grinned at his father. “
Danke,
Vati
.”

Wilhelm walked over and patted his son on his
shoulder. “I’m sure you will be as proud of your son as I am of
you.”

“A son?” Alex asked, wide eyed.

“I’m fairly certain,” Wilhelm said with a
grin. “It usually is.”

Alex beamed as he looked at Anna. “You have
made me the happiest man,
Schatzi
.”

“How could I do any differently, Alex?” Anna
whispered with tears in her eyes. “You are my husband. My love. My
life.”

Thanks for reading my book. If you enjoyed
it, won’t you please take a moment to leave a review at your
favorite retailer?

Thanks!

Marissa Honeycutt

Marissa's story of Anna began with a dream
about being kidnapped with Adam Savage from the
Mythbusters
(Yes, really). Over the next year and a half,
it morphed into the story you just read. She has several other
stories in progress, one of which is based on her kidnapped
dream.

When she's not writing or editing, Marissa is
taking care of two young boys, training to be an astronaut, running
her household, wrestling with gorillas, playing around on Facebook,
promoting whirled peas, and busting her tush for her accounting
degree. She enjoys chocolate, air conditioning in the desert's
summer heat, really good strawberry margaritas, sleeping, and
shopping.

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