The Romanov's Pursuit Read Online Free

bombarded her daily. It was why she rarely slept, because whenever she dared to dream, she was haunted by ghosts from her past.
    She’d lost so much over the years, seen too much devastation. In order to hold on to her sanity, Nya decided it was best to distance herself from people. Besides, she’d tried to live a normal life, having interaction with other humans, but then doubt and fear would resurface, giving her a strong anxiety she couldn’t cope with.
    Nya walked along the hiking trail until she found her favorite spot to meditate. Taking a s eat on a moss -covered tree stump, she leaned over and ran her fingers along the narrow stream that ran along the path. She took several deep calming breaths as she tried to fight off the memories that haunted her, but to no avail. Nya supposed this was her penance, to carry them with her for as long as she lived. She closed her eyes and was taken back to a time she tried so hard to forget.
    Nya was born into chains, a worker, a servant, a slave. One without free will. She knew loss even before fully understanding the concept. Her father had been the first. Nya wasn’t quite four when her father had fallen ill after the wounds from a particularly harsh whipping had failed to heal properly. She could barely recall his face but what she did remember he always seemed sad as if he’d given up on life a long time ago. Nya wouldn’t understand until later why he walked with his shoulders hunched and head down as if he bore the weight of the world on his shoulders.
    After her father died, her mother Liza was never quite the same . It wasn’t long before Liza was paired with another man, a big, quiet giant named Jim. She’d overhea r d some of the older women saying the Master wanted Liza to produce more children because it was God’s will. There were several pregnancies but none of them resulted in a healthy baby. Liza miscarried three while two more were stillborn. The last baby, a little boy, died minutes after birth along with her mother.
    Nya was inconsolable. Her mama had been one of the few bright spots in her life. After her mother’s death, one of the older women, whom she referred to as Auntie Mae, had taken Nya under her wing until she died three summers later. While each one of those people had meant something to her, it didn’t quite come close to the pain of her first real love.
    “Push!” Mama Tee coached.
    She didn’t think she had the energy to go on. Hours must have passed as she lay on her straw mattress with two women on either sid e of her, holding her legs apart. She panted and screamed in frustration, wanting this creature out of her body. It had to be a thing of evil to cause so much pain. Every nerve in her being ached and she was exhausted. All she wanted to do was give up and sleep but the wo men surrounding her wouldn’t allow it.
    “I can’t!” she cried out.
    So meone wiped her brow with a damp clothed. “Come on, girl. You’re so close.” Mama Tee’s voice, supportive but laced with steel, meant sh e would accept nothing but her full cooperation. With every bit of s trength left in her reserve, she pushed with all her might. It felt as if her body was being ripped apart but she still gave it all she had left.
    Aft er giving that final effort, she fell back on her cot, too spent to move. Her chest burned from breathing so hard and her body ached. Her eyelids felt heavy and they were difficult to keep open, but then she was met with the sound of a baby’s wail, slicing through the murmurs of oohs and awes.
    “A baby girl,” Mama Tee proudly pronounced.
    Everything felt like a n out of body experience for her as they cleaned her and the baby up. She vaguely remembered someone coaxing her to push one more time, mentioning something about the afterbirth. People offered her words of congratulations, but there was no joy from the momentous occasion of creating life, in fact , she hated it.
    She didn’t even want to hold the baby, but Mam a