Nate cocked his head. “…Even though the two of you are together?”
“We are not together.” He speared a small sausage on his plate and shoved it into his mouth, chewing more violently than necessary. “That bastard.”
He’d mumbled it past the mouthful, but Nate with his insanely good hearing picked up on it anyway.
“Weren’t you just scolding me for disrespecting the Emperor?” he tsked. “Being a hypocrite doesn’t make you a very convincing role model, brother.”
“You’re twenty-three years old.” Nuri rolled his eyes.
“But I still have to do as you say?”
“Yes.”
Nate snorted. “Hypocrite.”
It’d been forever since the two of them had gotten to sit together for a meal like this, and for a moment Nuri allowed himself to just enjoy his brother’s company. They’d been separated for years, largely due to him and his inability to leave Silver in the midst of a “work emergency”, yet at the first sign of real trouble, his brother had gotten on a ship and returned to planet for him.
“Neve?” he asked, still feeling guilty over having missed her graduation. More so now that he was aware Silver had lied on his behalf. While he was curious about why that might be, he was also aware it was most likely going to cost him.
“Spoke with her this morning,” Nate said. “She’s pissed that you didn’t contact her the second you woke up.”
“My multi-slate didn’t fare as well as I did in the crash.”
“Figured. That’s what I told her, in any case, so be sure to back me up and make it clear. Her internship started today but she’ll be done by around five their time.”
“Did you tell her…?” Nuri couldn’t bring himself to say it, clearing his throat awkwardly and feigned needing a drink. He downed half the contents of his cup in one gulp.
“That you’re doing the Emperor?” Nate made a face. “Of course not. She’d throw a fit.”
“Neither of you are very fond of him, but the Riens are the reason you were both able to move off-planet. I wouldn’t have been able to afford the flight tickets, let alone room and board on Vitality if not for this job.”
“At least we would have still been together,” Nate mumbled.
“Hey.” Nuri rested a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around and you’ve been forced to raise Neve on your own.”
“It’s whatever.” Nate brushed him off but smiled. “I know the sacrifices you’ve made for our family. You don’t have to get all emotional on me.”
“And…you aren’t mad?” Nuri wished he didn’t have to ask, but things between them had to be settled before he told Nate he needed to leave. It was great he’d had the foresight not to fill Neve in, but that didn’t mean Nate himself was okay with it.
“That you’re being dicked down by the Emperor? The guy who’d hogged you practically my entire life? I mean,” he shrugged, “sure a little. But not for myself. You realize what this means for you, right?”
Nuri frowned and Nate sighed.
“I get that you’ve always had a secret thing for him, but he’s an emperor, brother. Even if things on this planet are run differently than most, his station still matters. He isn’t just a typical CEO.”
“I know that.”
“Do you? Where do you think this is going? Is he serious about you? Are—”
Nuri held up a hand. “It isn’t like that.”
“No? What’s it like then?” Nate shifted in his seat, lowering his voice even though it was still just the two of them in the room. “Did he pressure you into it? Were you forced? Men with power like that are used to getting what they want. It’s easy to break laws when youarethe law.”
“Sounds like you have experience.” They spoke about Nate and Neve’s lives on Vitality often enough, but now Nuri doubted that he’d gotten all of the details.
Nate waved off his concerns right away, however. “You know Vitality is also run differently than most other places. Between the Brumal Mafia and the morally gray Imperial rulingfamily I’ve picked up a thing or two about people in power, and what they’re capable of.”
“And yet your first act here was to get physical with the Emperor of Ignite?” Nuri chided. “I take back my insinuation that you’re an adult now. Age clearly doesn’t make a difference in that regard.”
