Page 49 of One For my Enemy

“True,” Dimitri acknowledged slowly. “I’m not Koschei—yet.”

It was a promise and a threat, a declaration of hierarchy, and it tore at the ties between brothers. Roman felt a shattering of something in his chest, the pieces settling to ash in his mouth and coating the length of his tongue with a chalky taste of fear and loathing, and he didn’t know which one he felt more.

“Leave us,” Dimitri murmured to Lev, who hesitated.

“Dima—”

“Go,” Dimitri said, and Lev obeyed, slowly turning to leave. In their younger brother’s absence, Roman’s blood turned to ice in his veins, subjecting him to a chill.

“Dima,” he began, “I need you to listen to me. I need Marya’s body, and I need itnow—”

“I don’t want to listen to you, Roma,” Dimitri cut in coldly, his prince’s voice tainted with rage. “I don’t want to think about you, I don’t want to see you, I don’t want to hear your fucking voice, I want none of your needs or requests orsecrets—”

“Dima. The Antonovas, you know that they… that they’ll come for me.” Roman swallowed. “As payment. For Masha.” At her name, Dimitri flinched. “Dima, they’ll kill me, you know they’ll kill me, but I can stop it—I canstopit, and Papa will never have to know, if you’ll just tell me where Masha’s body is—”

“Why, so you can sell it for parts?” Dimitri demanded, snapping at him. “So you can sell off what made her what she was, just like you sold what made you whatyouare? You’d kill her and defile her too, brother, honestly?”

“I—” Roman gritted his teeth, fighting a surge of irritation. “She’s already dead, Dima. Hate me if you want, but nothing worse can come to a corpse—”

“No.” Dimitri’s voice was audibly final. “You can’t have her, Roma. You won’t take her from me twice.”

“So you’d let me die instead?”Or cost me you,Roman didn’t say, though he heard the undercurrent of fear in his voice, the longing, and wondered if Dimitri could hear it too. “Dima, please—”

He didn’t register Dimitri stepping closer until after his brother had shoved him against the wall, glaring down at him. “Don’t you dare beg me, Roma,” Dimitri said darkly. “Don’t beg me now, not when I begged you to help me save her life and you refused. You killed her—youslaughteredher—and now you think you deserve better than what she got?”

“Do you really love her more than me?” Roman slid through his teeth. “More than this family, Dima, is that what you’re saying? You’d turn your back on me, leave me to die, all because of her?”

For a brief moment, Dimitri’s jaw went slack.

“Don’t you see?” he said, not quite looking at Roman. “You took her from me, and I would still never give you up. You took her from me, and because of you, I’ll never be whole—but would I let you die, brother?” He looked up then, pained and wearied. “Never. I would never let them touch you, no matter how badly I wish I could be rid of you. You’re my brother.” He exhaled into the palm of his hand, helpless. “You’re my brother, and that’s the worst part.”

“Dima,” Roman said, thinking he saw a white flag and reaching desperately for it. “Dima, please—”

“Whatever happens to our family is on your conscience, Roma,” Dimitri warned, preparing to leave the room and pausing only briefly; only to glance askance at Roman. “Whatever comes of this, it will either be your doing, or your undoing. Whatever happens, you will live with the consequences, but it will not be on my hands.”

Roman froze, swallowing heavily.

“I won’t give you up, Romik, but that’s it,” Dimitri said. “I’m keeping you from death, not letting you live. There’s a difference.”

(If this, then what? If this is the truth of my brother’s heart, then what am I?)

In the end, when Dimitri was gone, Roman was no longer much a believer in destiny.

III. 2

(Promises.)

SASHA:lev

LEV:i’m here

SASHA:my sister is dead

Are you ok,he typed out, and then deleted it.

Of course she wasn’t.

Do you need anyth

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