She’s come to see me willingly.
Because you’re useful to her. A resource. She’s sticking close in case something comes up.
Her murmured “maybe” pulls me from my thoughts. It seems distant, like she’s paying little attention. She turns away from the desk and wanders through the rest of the room, studying the space. She’s unpeeling my safety net, leaving a trail of perfume everywhere she goes until stopping by my futon.
“Anastasia said you often sleep here.”
“Like I mentioned the other night, the noise from the servers is preferable to silence.”
“They gave me the room beside yours. It’s lovely. Better than the dorm room. Hell, I think that entire dorm could fit in the single bedroom.”
Logically, I understand Ana’s reasoning. Being alone in the guest wing wouldn’t be pleasant. But besidemyroom…Fuck, Ana.
In the midst of my silence, she ducks her head and slowly goes for the stairs. “Guess I’ll finish unpacking. Vanessa went to make a few arrangements with the school’s dean. She said it’ll be a day or so until I can start.”
I only nod and watch her mutely as she leaves. This time, I don’t count the steps.
When the basement door shuts, my lungs inhale the sweet lingering toxins.
Peaches and motherfucking vanilla.
26
SERAFINA
It’s strange, unpacking in a place that shouldn’t even be in my vocabulary. To hang clothing inside the closet using hangers that are not mine, setting my makeup and hair tools in a bathroom that isn’t mine, plugging phone chargers into a bedside table that isn’t mine beside a bed that isn’t mine.
In a home once belonging to a man who hurt my mother but is now controlled by a woman who’ll be my brother’s future.
A knock at the door draws me away from the window, the exterior showing at a vast forest. Hundreds of trees are starting to shift from summer green to fall hues of orange, reds, and browns. It’s a different viewpoint of nature than what’s in Italy.
The door opens a few inches, and Anastasia’s head pops inside with a wide grin. I like her. She’s easy to talk to, very friendly in a manner so opposite to her twin. “Hungry? Vanessa just got home, and she brought pizza. Figured it’d be appropriate for your first night.”
Doubtful anywhere in Moscow has pizza to rival Italy, but being hungry for substantial food, I say, “That’d be great.”
She pushes open the door a few inches more, scanning the space my bags have blown up in. “Settling in?”
I tread from the room and follow her down the hallway. “It was nice of Vanessa to let me come.”
“That’s simply Van.” It’s unnerving this woman is more of a sister to Vanessa than I will ever be, but I can’t be angry over something that makes sense. “Is my brother continuing his guard duty?”
“Unless that changed, yeah.”
“Huh.” Without commenting further, she leads me down the stairs to the left, down a connected hallway that’ll eventually lead to a separate dining room, a library, and random sitting rooms mansions like this seem to be equipped with.
When they took me on a tour earlier, nowhere unfortunately had a TV. For the next little while, my laptop will have to do, so I can stay current with my shows.
In the dining room, Vanessa’s setting up plates while Veles streaks from her side to greet us. “Come eat.” She gestures to the chair beside her at the head of the table.
Anastasia drops into the chair to my right and immediately drags two slices of pepperoni onto her plate. She devours her first bite with a moan.
“Keep it to yourself, Ana.” To me, Vanessa smiles. “Help yourself.”
I reach for pepperoni as well, while Ana mumbles, “You train half the day and see how hungry it makes you. I have a show coming up, and everything must be perfect.”
Intrigued by the conversation of her job, I tilt my head at her. “How many hours a day do you practice?”
After leaving here last time, I watched almost every performance I could find online. She’sreallygood. Her shows go for hundreds of dollars per tickets—sometimes even into the thousands for box seats.
