Page 81 of Unveiled

“Wow, shehasmelted the Ice King,” Rodion mutters. I growl at him, which makes Rafail’s lip twitch and Rodion blanch. He’s been on the receiving end of more than one good beating from me and knows he’s damn close.

“Open your mouth again,” I warn, narrowing my eyes at him. “You fucking?—”

“Boys, boys,” Rafail says. “Break it up. Rodion, apologize.” Rodion’s nostrils flare. He doesn’t like being made a spectacle of in front of everyone.

“I’m sorry, all right?”

“Semyon,” Rafail continues to chide us like we’re fucking high schoolers again, “you apologize for taking things too seriously.”

“Abso-fucking-lutely not. He was talking about my wife disrespectfully. Like I’d let him get away with that. I’d fucking knock his teeth in.”

Matvei whistles low. “Wow. You’re right, Rodion. Semyon really has changed, huh?”

“What? What the fuck are you guys talking about?”

“You have feelings for her,” Matvei says, looking at me with wide eyes, his jaw dropping. “You—Semyon, the original IceKing, incapable of feelings for anybody. We thought you were a psychopath.”

“Who says I’m not?” I shrug.

“It doesn’t matter,” Rafail says, looking back at me with curiosity in his features. “Youshouldlove your wife. It will strengthen your bond. It’s good for you,” he adds. “I love Polina.”

I sit up straighter, looking around the room.

Love is good for me? Do I love her?

“Oh god. I love her.”

The words feel strange but right. “What does it mean to love someone?” I ask, looking between them. “I wanna know. You guys tell me. What does it mean to love someone?”

“How can someone who’s so fucking brilliant not know this?” Rodion asks. “I actually know something he doesn’t. Dude, when you love someone, you’d do anything for them. You’d lay down your life for them, protect them. When you’re away from them, they take up every thought in your mind. You don’t feel like yourself again until you’re with them. And then when you are, you become your whole self again.”

“Hold on with all that bullshit,” Matvei says.

Rafail glares at him, but Matvei nods. “I agree. I’ve never loved a woman, but I’ve loved my sister.” His eyes grow soft, staring into the distance. “No one like her.” His sister was killed in a brutal war ten years ago. He did everything hecould to save her but couldn’t. His sister was my cousin, and we all mourned her loss.

“I loved Gleb until he became a traitor,” Matvei adds. “And my asshole dad and mother.”

“They’re still family,” Rafail responds. “And we’re loyal to family.”

Matvei’s loyal to a fault.

“Love isn’t a feeling,” Rafail says. “It’s not just something in your chest or heart. It’s what you do. If you love someone, you do anything for them.” His voice drops, and his eyes grow dark. “Anything.”

The bartender gives him a curious look, pours another shot of vodka, and hands it over to him. “Well done. I’ll call a momentary truce,” she says with a wink before going back to serving the bar.

“We weren’t fighting, but okay,” Matvei says, taking the free drink. He likes a good free drink.

Love.

Holy fucking shit.

I love her.

“You look like you just saw a ghost,” Rafail says with a grin. “Jesus, brother, you didn’t know you loved her?”

I shake my head. “I knew that I’d protect her, that I was devoted to her, and that I meant every word I said in my vows. But love? No, I didn’t… I didn’t know I was capable of love.”

“Not capable of love,” Rafail scoffs. “You were chasing love when you were five years old, always trying to look up a skirt and find someone who would be devoted to you. Then, one day, your whole world came to a screeching halt.”

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