“No.”
An eternal moment of cold, black silence. “No?”
Fear pierces me like an iron rod. But even I have to draw this line. “She agreed to this marriage to save her father—”
“Yes. She did. And the both of you are damn lucky I’m a man of my word.” Another length of silence, black and barbed. My father’s voice is very low when he speaks again. “Our bargain protects her father’s life, yes, Nikolai—but not hers.”
I go very still. Stiller than the black glass surface of the lake.
Since my father became the cold ghost he is now, since Maya started getting distant and Zane cut herself out of my life, I’ve lived by one word:soldier.It evokes in me a sense of single-minded loyalty, of no-questions-asked obedience. The word is an anesthetic. It’s kept my feelings numbed for years. It’s kept my conscience almost entirely uninvolved in the work of my family.
But this—bringing danger to Zane’s doorstep to further my father’s agenda? It’s too far. “I won’t do it.”
“In this scenario,” he growls, “you do your job, find and kill Lebedev—and itpossiblyendangers your new wife. In the scenario where you disobey me, I send one of my dogs to your precious cabin door, kick it down, and drag Zane Elin—sorry, ZaneSokolov—out by her hair. They can put a bullet in her skull then, or wait for you to get back from your run. Your choice.”
A chill slithers down my spine, paralyzing. I can’t manage to speak.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t have eyes on you, Nikolai?”
My breath hitches. Of course I knew they had me under watch. But this? Using her against me?Why?
“You’re punishing me,” I say. “What have I done to you, Father? When have I ever disobeyed you?”
“This is not a punishment.” Do I imagine that his voice softens, slightly, almost imperceptibly? “Nikolai. This is a test, son.”
“Why? A test for what?”
“I won’t live forever, Nikolai. And those closest to me… they fear you’re unfit to take over the operation when I’m gone.” He sighs, and somehow, sounds more like the father I used to know, the one who laughed and fished in the lake. “You’ve always been too fond of her. Even when she left our world, you pined for her.”
Heat creeps up the back of my neck. “I never—”
“I don’t blame you. Your mother tempted me outside the family, once. But our love was strong enough to convert her.”
An unexpected wave of grief swells within me. He hasn’t spoken about her in years. Certainly not like this, with longing, with love. I’d almost forgotten he was capable of it. “Zane will never come back to this world. Not for anything.”
“She can resist as much as she wants. But she is yours now, Nikolai. One of you has to give. And if it’s you… well, then. I can’t guarantee either of you will be safe.”
I grit my teeth. The choice is clear.
Prove my father is right, that I’m fit for this job, for his legacy, by going after his enemies and endangering my wife.
Or defy him, lose him, this world, my family – and potentially put a bullet in Zane’s skull.
Soldier.
I ignore the fear in me, and the buried, resentful fondness of Zane.
I look at the black lake. “Alright,” I say to my father. “What do you need me to do?”
4
Zane
“Iwas wondering if I could go home to get some things.” I twist a strand of hair nervously around one finger. Nik hasn’t spoken to me all day, and I’m beginning to think he’s not going to unless absolutely forced. But I can’t handle the stress and boredom of having nothing to do but pace the house and wonder about my future. “I left, you know, kind of abruptly. If I could—”
“What do you need?” He’s been on the phone most of the day. Now he’s on a sleek laptop in one of the upstairs offices, his back to me. “There’s plenty of clothing—”
“My phone has been dead for days. And the gallery—”
