“How…” I swallow, finding it hard to speak. “…did…?”
He finishes my sentence for me. “How did I find you?”
I nod.
“Your fist was barely sticking out of the snow. I wouldn’t have seen it except for the ring on your finger. I caught a glint of the moonlight reflecting off the metal band.”
Thane pauses, tears welling in his eyes. “I was sure I’d lost you…”
I look down at the gold ring with the Durov dragon etched in black stone. It was my grandfather’s ring.
I know it is a sign and a feeling of destiny washes over me.
I look up at Thane. “Thank you…brother.”
Thane clasps my hand, fighting to hold back his emotions. I can only imagine how he felt when he found I was missing.
“Unfortunately, many lives were lost in the avalanche,” Thane informs me. “Including your two men.”
I close my eyes, the guilt of their deaths weighing heavy on my soul. Their final act on this Earth was to protect me.
“Blyat…” I groan as I drift out of consciousness.
When I wake up again, my head is much clearer, but I am burdened with guilt.
I look over at Thane, who has not left my side. “How did you survive, moy droog?”
“Somehow, I was one of the few who wasn’t thrown from the train. Thankfully, it hit a huge boulder and came to a stop before we went over the cliff. Everyone who remained inside made it out alive.”
I shake my head, realizing how close I came to losing him, as well.
“I’m sorry, comrade.”
He looks at me oddly. “There’s nothing for you to be sorry about. It was an accident.”
“You are wrong.”
Thane furrows his brow and says more firmly, “Nyet.”
I burn with shame when I admit, “You were right. We shouldn’t have been on that train. This is my fault.”
Thane leans in close. “There is nothing wrong with visiting a place you’ve dreamed of seeing since you were a boy.”
I shake my head. “With great power, comes great responsibility.”
“I never meant—” he starts to protest.
I hold up my hand to stop him. “It is true, moy droog. I understand now. Not only must I spend this money with purpose, but I must also protect myself at all costs. I do not have the luxury of dying.”
For the first time since the accident, Thane’s expression softens. “Now, that is something I can stand behind.”
Acceptance
Two days later, after being discharged from the hospital, I send my comrade back to the States. Then I head home with Igor.
I am broken by the accident and need time alone to recover. Instead, I find my four brothers waiting for me when I arrive at the mansion.
Staring at the four of them is like looking into a mirror. There is no mistaking we are related because we are all carbon copies of our father.
Rather than showing sympathy for my near-death experience and the loss of my men, they greet me with fury.
“What right do you have to decide our future?” Vlad demands.
I find it telling that he is unconcerned that I almost died. I suspect a few of my brothers would have preferred it if I had. I stand straighter in response, despite the sharp pain caused by my injuries. I refuse to show any sign of weakness in front of them.
“You decide your future, not I,” I snarl.
“Bullshit! You have our financial lives in your hands.”
I narrow my eyes. “No. You are the ones responsible for providing for your families.”
“Does that mean you plan to rob us of the stipend?” Andrev demands.
I huff with disgust. “No one is robbing you, Andrev. Explain how I can steal something from you that you do not own. The inheritance is mine, and the stipends come from that inheritance.”
“So, you do mean to stop it?” my youngest brother Pavel cries out.
“Don’t do this, Anton,” Timur warns me.
I shake my head, appalled at all four of my brothers for acting like helpless babes. Being a sadist, I feel an urge to rile them. “You are all able-bodied men. There is no reason you should live off the teat of my inheritance when you are capable of work.”
Andrev’s face grows red as he shoves me in the chest. “Don’t insult us, whipping boy.”
I react without thinking and sock him in the jaw. The pain in my back is excruciating, but I watch with satisfaction as he drops to the floor.
When Vlad rushes me, I stand my ground with a smirk on my lips. I am happy to teach him the same lesson.
“Stop!” Timur yells when Vlad pulls his fist back.
To my disappointment, I watch my older brother lower his arm. However, his gaze still burns with rage.
After Pavel helps Andrev back on his feet, the idiot goes for me again.
“I could take you—and all three of them—at once. You know that, don’t you?” I warn.
Looking at each of my brothers in disgust, I tell them, “I find your actions strange when I am the one in charge of the money. Instead of groveling at my feet the way you did with Father, you choose to attack me instead.”
Timur suddenly looks remorseful, then glances at Andrev and Vlad. “Anton is right. This is not how family treats each other.”
“I do not consider you family,” Vlad states, spitting at my feet.
“Good to know where your loyalties lie…brother,” I reply with biting sarcasm.
I turn to Andrev next. “Do you have something to add?”
“If you do this, you will not only be hurting us but our children. Mother would not approve. Family always came first with her.”
I deeply resent him bringing up our mother when he defended the man who killed her.
“You do not have the right to speak of her,” I growl. Turning to all my brothers, I yell, “None of you do!”
Timur, who has always been the most reasonable of my brothers, addresses me. “You will always be my brother, no matter how you treat us. But, I am begging you, Anton. Do not forsake our families in your need for revenge.”
My eyes narrow. “This is not about revenge, Timur. This is about the four of you becoming men. You have been coddled like children and look at what it’s done to you.”
Vlad’s sarcastic laughter fills the room. “How can you act all high and mighty when you have been receiving the same stipend we have?”
My voice grows cold when I remind him, “I earned it with every lash my father gave me. I never had the opportunity to act like a spoiled child because my childhood was ripped from me.”
The room grows silent.
As much as my brothers resent me, they witnessed the beatings. They know exactly what I endured.
“So, is that it, then?” Pavel asks me. “Is there nothing we can say to change your mind?”
“An apology would help,” I say drily.
Vlad and Andrev glare at me.
Timur is the first to break the silence. “I am sorry for confronting you like this. This should have been a civilized conversation among brothers.”
I shake my head. “This…” I make a sweeping gesture toward them all. “…is nothing. I expected this. What I need is an apology for banning me from Mamulya’s funeral.”