Luerna dared to glance up, but found her brother’s cold blue eyes on her. She bowed her head, unsure where to look.
“If my father isn’t worried about the Utkins, neither am I. But get me all the information on the Borisyuks. I could do damage control while I’m here.
Luerna couldn’t stop herself. “Don’t you think father did enough? I mean, he stripped them of everything.”
Adrik sipped his drink before he replied off the shoulder. “He tried to rape our sister. Should I forgive so quickly?”
“Did he really try to rape her? I mean, who would do that in our home? It doesn’t make any sense.”
Adrik turned to face her, surprised she would come to their defense, but Rurik gripped her bicep harshly and interrupted, “Don’t listen to her. She’s medicated.”
The disrespectful comment wasn’t lost on Adrik, and his sharp blue eyes flicked to Rurik. Luerna almost jumped in victory, preparing for Adrik to stand up for her. Her little brother was always the defender and hated Rurik for years. He opened his mouth to say something but snapped his lips shut for some reason and turned away. Luerna sank and bowed her head.
She should know better by now.
“Should I have him removed?” Rurik pursued.
Luerna knew he didn’t give a shit about Levka. He only wanted to be as accommodating to her younger brother, like a dog. Adrik replaced Alexei as heir and now had power. Rurik knew who to suck up to.
“Just leave it alone,” Luerna bit.
Rurik’s fingers dug into her arm, and she hissed.
“No,” Adrik decided. “No reason to disrupt this beautiful night.” He glanced at Rurik’s hold and said, “Give my sister and I a minute.”
There was a hint of hesitation. Rurik squeezed her before letting go and leaving.
Luerna rubbed her arm as Adrik turned to her. With a hand on her back, he shifted her through the crowd till they slipped down a walkway into a small alcove. “Why are you defending Levka?”
“I’m not,” she screeched.
He rolled his eyes at her terrible lie. “Are you fucking him?”
“No–”
“Your whole attitude changed the moment you saw him. And if I noticed, Rurik would have as well. I can’t protect you if I don’t know what you’re doing. What’s going on?”
She shook her head, desperate to answer him honestly. “Nothing. But what happened with Kira isn’t what we thought. He wasn’t going to rape her. He just didn’t want to marry her.”
“That’s an interesting solution.”
She winced. “It was stupid. He knows that.”
“You’re friends, at least. Talk about stupid. Rurik will find out-”
“He won’t–”
“He will, and when he does? I am halfway around the world. He is in charge here. Our uncles will back him up. He can lock you in a cellar and I won’t be able to stop it. Rurik is Papa’s favorite for whatever fucking reason. I cannot go against him. So whatever’s going on, end it. Promise me.”
Luerna had an endless supply of resentment toward anyone that wanted to tell her what to do. “Don’t think you can come here and assess in five seconds what’s going on.” He snatched her hand to keep her from walking away.
“You’re not telling me everything. And the only person that can help you is me.”
“I don’t need your help.”
Alexei and Gil approached with knit brows. “What’s going on?”
Adrik stepped back, releasing Luerna.
