That’s probably what they want me to do. If I retaliate, I get punished even worse. Broken down. Beaten.
I can’t become weak or I won’t be useful to Alina.
As good as it would feel to break free and get a few hits in on my brother, it’s not worth that temporary victory right now. I have to think about Alina, and I have to try to think two steps ahead of Gavriil.
“You seemed tense when I came in. Are you in pain?” Gavriil asks me as he tilts his head to study me.
“I was thinking about when I was locked in our closet while you were away,” I tell him, seeing a faint ripple in his serious expression. He remembers. I know he does.
Gavriil looks away from me, tucking his hands into his pants pockets as he slowly roams around the cell. “Did you learn your lesson?” His voice is calm enough to be dangerous.
“I learned a lot of things from our father, but I only learned one thing from his punishments,” I reply, my eyes following him.
“And what was that?”
“He was a cruel bastard.”
Gavriil cracks a small, amused grin. “He loved his punishments.”
AsPakhan, he didn’t just punish us when we stepped out of line. He had a whole organization of men to take his anger out on, and he expected damn near perfection from everyone. That’s why he was feared more than he was respected.
“You inherited that from him.”
“Don’t guilt trip me,Bratishka,” Gavriil warns me, his smile fading. “Unlike our father, I have your best interest in mind.”
At least hethinksthat he does.
“If that’s true, then let me see Alina again,” I tell him. “It wasn’t fair of you to finally let me see her and then cut our visit so short.”
Gavriil barks out a cold laugh. “Wasn’t fair of me? We’re no longer children. Fairness doesn’t matter any longer. And you seem to have misplaced your gratitude, after everything I’ve done for you.”
I grind my teeth together for a second when he throws that shit in my face, keeping my harsh words at bay. “Bring her down here at least. Give us five minutes. I just want to make sure that she’s okay. Is she eating? Staying hydrated?”
“You saw her with your own eyes,” Gavriil says as he wanders closer to me. “She’s perfectly fine. She’s looking quite good these days.”
His teasing tone makes anger boil under my skin. I don’t want to know what he means by that.
“Gavriil.”
My brother’s eyes meet mine before he shakes his head. “No. You need to prove your full loyalty to me.”
His obsession with control will be his downfall. I’m fucking sure of it.
“If you weren’t such an arrogant bastard, you would be begging me to help you with whatever is going on out there,” Itell him. “I know that there’s some sort of threat. I’ve seen how unnerved your men are. You’re losing control.”
Gavriil casts a silent glance over his shoulder at the two guards, who immediately look down at the floor. I don’t feel sorry for ratting them out. “I have everything under control.”
I give Gavriil a pointed look, damning his stubbornness. It’s always gotten him in even more trouble. “If you had it under control, then your men wouldn’t be pulled from their posts so much to deal with it.”
Gavriil narrows his eyes at me. “Don’t tell me how to lead. It’syourbetrayal that’s costing my men their lives.”
I frown at his accusation. I made him weak with my own choices. Now he’s dealing with the fallout, and our men are the ones suffering for it.
My heart stops when he pulls his necklace out of his shirt. His and mine. “You never deserved your half.”
“A necklace doesn’t mean anything.”
He smirks and puts the two ruby halves away again. “Then why did you give yours to Alina?”
