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“Yes,” I say. “Like mine.”

“Your real name is Elara.”

“I know.”

“So why Elle?”

I look at the screen. The answer should be easy, but it feels strangely private with Nikolai listening. “I chose it,” I say.

Anya turns her head enough to look at me. “You chose your own name?”

“My nickname.”

“Why?”

“Because I liked this movie when I was younger. I liked that she was kind, but she still had a mind of her own. People kept telling her what to do, and she kept finding ways around it.”

Anya thinks about this with more seriousness than I expected. “Was someone telling you what to do?” she asks.

I smile a little. “Lots of people tell girls what to do.”

“That’s rude.”

“It is.”

Nikolai makes a quiet sound that might be amusement.

Anya looks offended on my behalf. “I also want to be like Elle.”

My chest tightens so suddenly I have to look down. “You already are,” I say.

“No, I’m not.”

“You are. You ask too many questions, you’re loving and kind, and you have very strong opinions.”

“I do have strong opinions,” she agrees.

Nikolai says, “Very strong.”

Anya kicks him gently under the blanket. “You like my opinions.”

“I survive them.”

“That means yes.”

I laugh softly. Nikolai’s hand finds mine behind Anya’s back. His fingers close around mine once, warm and steady. He doesn’t look at me when he does it.

That makes it easier to let him.

Anya yawns. “Can I choose a name too?”

“Of course,” I say. “But maybe sleep before making major life decisions.”

“I could be Queen Anya.”

Nikolai says, “Queen Anya still has to finish fractions tomorrow.”

She groans. “That’s unfair.”