Page 200 of Cashmere Ruin

“Shutup.”

“—You.”

“THEN WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?!”

It’s the roar of a wounded animal. It’s a howl, desperate and raw, a lone wolf’s last breath.

It’s also the best chance I’m going to get.

I grab his wrist, twist the knife out of his grip, and press my blade against his neck. “Don’t move,” I warn the room loudly. “Or else I’ll slit his throat.”

But Carmine’s men have already raised their guns.

“Are you trying to get them killed?” Yuri hisses. He tries to struggle free, but my headlock’s too strong.

“I’m trying to finish this.”

He exhales against the knife. I can feel the fight draining from him, every muscle in his body giving in. No—givingup.“Fine,” he mutters. “Do it then. Put me down.”

That’s when I remember.

“Even the most loyal dog will bite if backed into a corner.”Yuri’s voice rings clear in my memories, a ghost from a lifetime ago.

Before, I couldn’t recall my answer. But now…

“Will it?”

Now, I can hear nothing else.

“Then I’ll just have to put it down.”

My own voice echoes in my head. Haughty, arrogant—the face of pride itself.

I close my eyes.

And, finally, I listen.

“Blood is the only tie I need. The only tie we can trust.”

“Did you mean what you said? That if the child hadn’t been yours…”

“Of course. Who in their right mind would keep around someone who’s nobody to them?”

“I’m just saying, thevorymatter.”

“They’re not blood.That’swhat matters.”

“Matvey, there’s something I need to?—”

“You don’t need to say anything. You’re forgiven. After all, we’re blood.”

“That’s… why you’re forgiving me?”

“You’re my blood. No one else can say that. No one in the whole world. Do you understand?”

“… I understand.”

“Blood is everything to me.”

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