It’s that seed of doubt that’s been planted, but without any evidence to support it, I don’t know what else to do.
Picking up my phone, I dial Bardil.
“Hi, Marlen, how are things going?” he asks.
“It’s going good. I wanted to get an update on the wild goose chase you sent her family on. Are they still clueless that we’re involved?” I ask.
“Totally, I switched it up last week and planted a bunch of evidence pointing to the Ivanov family,” he says smugly.
“The Ivanov family? Why? We only spoke about leading them to the North West, to no specific family, and especially not to a smaller group like the Ivanovs.”
“What difference does it make?” he snaps, annoyed that I’m not pleased with him.
“Are you serious? The North West families are monsters. And when you directed the leads in that direction, it wasn’t targeting anyone’s family in particular. It was meant to be a bunch of dead ends. The chances of it escalating into violence were practically zero. However, they are disgusting people in those territories, and if the Abashins did end up attacking them, it would be a service to this world to be rid of them. TheIvanovfamily, on the other hand, has done nothing wrong. Targeting them like that is such a cheap shot. I don’t play that way, Bardil, and you know it,” I growl.
“They won’t even be able to defend themselves. So they wouldn’t have time to deny anything,” Bardil complains. “It’s a brilliant scapegoat.”
“I don’t want a scapegoat. That’s not the point of this whole thing.” My temper is growing.
“I don’t get it. They’re our enemies,” he argues.
Shaking my head, I press my fingers against my temple. My brother is clueless. He doesn’t get it. The Ivanov family is our enemy, but they are respectful and keep their distance. We don’t see eye to eye, but we also don’t mess with each other. If I send another family after them for no reason, it will be a betrayal of our unspoken agreement to leave each other alone. It’s not right. It’s not fair to them. And they don’t have the power to defend themselves. They would be taken out easily.
“Put an end to this immediately, Bardil,” I snap, deciding it’s pointless to try and explain this to him. All I need at this point are solutions, nothing else.
“Marlen…”
“Put. An. End. To. It. Bardil.” I snap each word with force, leaving no room for him to argue again.
“Why do you care so much about our enemies? What’s gotten into you?” he huffs like a child, scolded and embarrassed.
“Nothing’s gotten into me. Our family acts with honor in a world that severely lacks it. I won’t bend my morals for any reason.”
Bardil takes a deep breath on the other side of the line and slowly releases it.
“Fine, I’ll call it off. I’ll fix it,” he reluctantly agrees.
“Call me when it’s done. And do itnow.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m doing it now.”
Bardil hangs up the phone, and I clench my jaw. Sometimes I don’t understand him. I don’t get his way of thinking. My brother has a lot to learn about the right way to do things.
Chapter 14 - Stefania
It’s late morning, and I’m in the library, browsing for my next read while Marlen is at work for the day. Humming to myself, I trace my fingers over the book spines, waiting for something to catch my eye. Rows and rows of gorgeous leather covers and crisp, inked pages.
A glimmer catches my eye, and I stop, my finger resting on a thick black book wedge between two pale brown leather ones.
“A walk through the dark woods,” I mutter, reading the gold lettering embossed onto the black spine. I slide the book out from between the others. It’s heavy in my hands. Solid and weighted with potential mystery and magic. The cover is beautiful. Black leather with a gold snake twisting around the front, its eyes piercing and captivating.
When I tilt it in my hand, the gold catches the light and shines through the high library windows into the sun.
Smiling, I nod, satisfied. “You have been chosen,” I declare, speaking to the book.
It’s a chilly day with grey clouds and a cold breeze. The perfect day to curl up on the sofa and read with a mug of tea. Heading downstairs, I turn toward the kitchen to make the tea, the book clutched safely in my hands.
Unexpectedly, though, as I turn the corner into the kitchen, I bump into a tall man whom I’ve never met before. My heart stammers, and I come to a dead stop, freezing in place in the kitchen doorway.
