Why does Ursin Volkov continue to ruin my family?
Why is this happening? Why couldn’t I have a normal time at school?
Vanessa’s fierce expression, the firmness of her tone she used on my brother—an admirable feat—breaks with an exhausted sigh. She drops onto the couch between mine and Lev’s place.
“What a mess.” She nudges stray hairs from her face. “Are you okay?”
Okay? Not even close.
For one, Vanessa Volkov, my recently discovered half-sister through Ursin Volkov’s actions, is sitting in my dorm room. She’s impeccably dressed in tight jeans and a leather jacket, with an expression to command everyone at this school if she wanted to. Whereas I’m a mess in sweats and a shirt double my size because it’s comfortable and reminded me of Lev. She commands an empire while I’m subjected to Zeno’s rule.
“I was.” My arms cross over my chest, attempting confidence but weighed down by despair. “Until Zeno started demanding I leave. I get it, but…”But nothing.I’ll have to do this because Zeno won’t budge.
“I see both sides, Serafina, I really do. He’s trying to ensure you’re safe, but your frustration is understandable. With the Vitales’ game up, it’s a matter of ensuring this doesn’t come back onto you.”
“At leastyouget it. Can you use your magic and make him see?”
“If I had magic, a whole lot of things would have gone differently. Come sit.” She inches toward Lev’s side, patting the couch beside her. “You look like you’re about to fall over. After last night, you probably shouldn’t be standing.”
Last night seems so far away. With a resigned noise, I drop onto my side of the couch, pulling my legs up. It makes my bruises ache, so I quickly stretch them instead.
Observant, she notices me flinch. “You’re in pain.”
“He bruised my thighs.”
Her nostrils flare as she twists to face me, one leg coming beneath her. “Lev said he didn’t get far enough, but was that the truth?” She pauses, my own eyes roving my face—Ursin Volkov’s eyes, as I’ve learned. The one feature her and I share. “If you lied, it’s okay. I’ll discreetly get you a doctor, and neither of them will be the wiser.”
If she’s on Zeno’s side over me leaving school, at least with this, something unfurls. A bridge connecting us, like true siblings, that she walks acrossfor me. It makes everything happening feel heavier but also impossible to process. She’s basically a stranger yet being as kind as if we’ve known one another our entire lives. A sister when I’m still not sure what that means.
“Lev got there in time.” It feels strange to talk about him to technically his boss. “Thanks, by the way, for letting him come here.”
“He’s not someone Iletdo anything, but you’re welcome. He’s been decent to live with? Hasn’t driven you crazy?” She glances at his laptop resting nearby, a charging cord connecting it to the wall behind us.
“He’s been great.”
She only smiles, glancing towards the two bedrooms. She stares so long, I’d believe she sees the fact I made his bed my own last night. Her lip gets pulled under her teeth, and she chews on it for a while. “Zeno’s concerned because Rome is near the Vitales’ territory, but what if you transferred schools?”
“And went where? I doubt any school in this country would be good enough to pass Z’s standards.”
“Moscow.”
“Russia?”
“Why not? Vitale won’t think to look for you there, and even if they caught wind, they won’t be stupid enough to launch an attack on me.”
“If they do?”
“Then they’ll lose.”
“You’re suggesting I transfer to another school in a whole other country?”
Could I? Would I want to? It’d mean not giving up my degree, but I’d be leaving everything I know. Home. Language. Culture. Madre.
“It’s the best middle. Zeno won’t risk you staying, but you want to continue school. We—the Bratva—me—will hide you in Moscow. A few phone calls, and I’ll have you enrolled within the week to one of our English schools. You can stay at the mansion. We’ll drive you into the city for classes.”
Burden. You’re a bother toanothersibling who’ll change routines just for you.
Not a burden.I could nearly hear Lev chiding me.Vanessa’s offering.
