Pulling Lev up by his collar, Alexi looks him in the eye as he draws the knife across his cousin’s throat. A grisly spray of blood spurts from poor Lev’s neck, some of it hitting Alexi’s face and his suit.
His expression never changes.
Wiping his blade clean with quick, methodical movements, he nods to the guards to take a very dead Lev away.
“You see?” Anatoly says, spreading his arms, “Loyalty to family. Above all.”
“Loyalty to family,” several shaken dinner guests murmur. Others are staring as the body is dragged out, and two of Inessa’s friends are weeping softly.
“Gentlemen, let’s share a drink in my study,” he continues. “The ladies, I’m sure, have their own arrangements.”
I watch Alexi walk through the doors leading to the garden as everyone else hastily clears the room.
“Come on,pukhlyy,you don’t want to stay in here,” Inessa leaves, but I don’t follow her. I slip out the garden doors, looking for Alexi.
He was forced to kill his flesh and blood. At the dinner table like it was entertainment. I see a single light glowing in their greenhouse and head in that direction.
Alexi’s mother loved flowers, and this is the most beautiful place on the estate. The air is thick with the scent of gardenias and roses and the warmth feels wonderful after the chilly night air. At the far end of a row of fragrant lavender, I see Alexi. He’s used one of the greenhouse’s hoses to rinse off Lev’s blood, his shirt’s gone and his dress pants are soaking wet. There’s blood trickling down his forearm.
“You hurt yourself!” I blurt, without thinking and hurrying forward. His head shoots up, face twisted with fury.
“What are you doing here?”
I’m staring at the slice he’d made on his left arm with the knife he used to kill Lev. “I- I’ll get some bandages. I could…” Now that I’m just a few footsteps away, I can see a line of straight, even scars marching up his forearm. “Why would you hurt yourself? Let me-”
“Get the fuck out, youglupaya malen'kaya devochka, you stupid little girl!” he roars, striding toward me with his fists clenched.
“I just want to help-”
His hand, now bloody from the cut, grabs me by the throat. “Get. The. Fuck. Out,” he enunciates. “You will never speak to me again.”
My legs are shaking so badly that his grip around my neck is the only thing keeping me upright. “I’m sorry,” I whisper. He scoffs, pushing me backward before he turns and disappears further into the greenhouse.
Chapter Two
In which life is short and death is cruel.
Lucya…
Two months later…
“Girls! Come and meet an old friend.” Uncle Rurik shouts across the room, drink in hand and a big grin on his face.
At my father’s funeral.
A gargantuan man is standing next to him, looking like a cross between a human and a wild boar. I can almost picture his tusks. He’s looking behind me at Inessa and he licks his slobbery lips.
My dress is itchy and too tight around my waist and stomach, and I put my arm over the stretched fabric. Inessa grabs my hand. “Come,sestra.Let’s get this over with.” My hand is sweaty in hers, but she squeezes my fingers encouragingly.
“This is Inessa and Lucya, my beloved brother’s daughters,” Uncle Rurik says, waving his hand expansively and slopping his vodka on the floor. I notice he doesn’t bother to introduce the man to us.
“A delight to meet such beautiful ladies,” the man rumbles, eyes still on Inessa. “I am Szymon Wozniak. I will be doing business with your family.”
“Oh?” Inessa smiles weakly, “Well, a pleasure to meet you, sir.” To our enormous relief, our mother is beckoning us, her lips in a tight line. “Well,Mat',Mother, is calling, we will leave you men to your talks.”
“We’ll meet again,” Wozniak says, not bothering to hide how his attention is focused on Inessa’s breasts.
“What was that man saying to you?”Mat'grabs our arms, pulling us out into the hall. Her beautiful face is gaunt, all the fine wrinkles around her eyes and lips seem to have deepened in the last few days.
