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“Chiara isnota prisoner.”
Nikolai says coolly.
Dario barks out a humourless laugh, his hands flexing at his sides like he’s ready to swing any second now.
“My sister isnota prisoner? Is that what you’re both telling yourselves? You’re just as crazy as you look if you think that’s true!”
I spot the way Nikolai’s jaw tightens, but he manages to remain calm, though the anger in him clearly rises, matching my own.
“Chiara ismylittle sister!” Dario spits. “She’s not yours, and she’s definitely not a part of this fucked up world. She doesn’t belong here!”
I shake my head, releasing a humourless laugh.
He’s delirious if he thinks that she doesn’t belong here with us.
“Chiara is safe with us.” I say. “She’s safer here than she ever was before.”
Dario steps closer, getting right in my face now.
I can feel the heat of his anger radiating off of him, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he glares at me. We’re both similar heights, and his frame is leaner too, but his fury makes him feel bigger somehow, like he’s ready to explode at any second.
“Safe?” He growls. “You think this issafe,Mikhail? You think what you’ve both done has kept her safe?!”
I take a slow breath, keeping my expression calm even though his words grate against my nerves.
Beside me, Nikolai shifts, his body language sharp and alert, ready to step in if things escalate.
His voice cracks, and I notice the sheen in his eyes. He’s angry, yes, but there’s something deeper there too.
Fear.
Pain.
“Chiara has been through enough already.” He says in a voice quieter now. “Our mother was murdered when she was just a child, and she’s been without her ever since. She was pulled away from the life she once knew, and was forced to build a new life, in a completely new country. And when my sister hadfinallysettled into a place of her own, you both—”
He cuts himself off, shaking his head as if he can’t even find the right words to say.
I glance over at Nikolai, catching the faint flicker of something in his expression.
“I get it.” I say, my tone softer now, though I’m not sure why I’m even bothering. I should splatter his brains againstour walls, but I don’t think my beauty would be too happy to hear of her brother’s fatal end. “You love Chiara. You want to protect Chiara.” His jaw tightens. “Don’t you realise that we do too?” Dario flinches at that, his mouth opening and closing like he doesn’t know how to respond. “She wasn’t taken to be hurt, Dario.” I continue, my voice firm. “You can ask her yourself when she’s up—she’shappywith us. She’s said it herself. Do you think it would be better to leave her out there, so defenceless and unprotected?”
Dario’s eyes narrow, his fists clenching again.
“Don’t act like you did my sister a favour!” He snaps. “You dragged her into this chaos!”
The tension rises between us.
Our father’s voice rumbles behind us, a low warning, but I ignore it.
“She’s alive, isn’t she?” Nikolai says coldly, his words slicing through the air. “There was no protection, and no security in that place of hers. Would you rather somebody else have taken her?”
Dario’s breath hitches.
For a second, I see the crack in his armour. He doesn’t know how to answer that question.
“Chiara is safe with us.” I repeat once again. “And she’ll stay safe, as long as we’re here.”
Dario shakes his head, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.