Page 23

“Stop squirming,” Zane growled, keeping his voice down even though there was no way his brother couldn’t hear with just the three of them in this tiny blocked-off space. He jabbed the end of the needle through Pavel’s flesh a bit harder than necessary, already halfway done with stitching him up.

The bullet had lodged itself partway through him and Zane had already dug it free. Fortunately, it’d missed all major organs, probably only because Aodhan hadn’t been able to see his target.

“Are you sure he’s life partner material?” Aodhan had moved to perch on the edge of a metal stool in the opposite corner, the blaster still held loosely in his right hand. “If he can’t be trusted, we should finish him off now and save ourselves the trouble later.”

“He’s fine,” Zane insisted. “And he doesn’t need to be my partner for life, divorce is a thing, if you recall, brother. We just need to sell it long enough to get Lyra off my back.”

“What’s going on with Lyra?” Pavel was lying on the table, staring up at Zane, and aside from the squirming, he’d been mostly good for the past half hour. Probably to avoid being shot again. But at the mention of the Imperial Heir, his mood noticeably darkened, and when he didn’t get an immediate response, he grabbed Zane’s wrist, stopping him. “Gorgeous.”

Aodhan let out a whistle, but Zane ignored him, attempting to shake Pavel loose. When the other man refused to let go, he sighed.

“She wants to make me her Royal Consort,” he began, only to have to force Pavel back down when he instantly sprang up. “Lay back! What the hell is wrong with you?! Do you want to bust your stitches?!”

“I’ll kill her.” Pavel’s eyes were glowing, a vibrant neon shade that instantly drew Aodhan’s attention.

“Wow,” he tipped his head, fascinated, “those are pretty.”

“Back off,” Zane warned, knowing his brother well enough to know where his mind was going. “They’re mine.”

Aodhan held up both hands and leaned back.

“And you,” he turned to Pavel, “Don’t act like you weren’t eavesdropping.”

“I only caught part of the conversation,” Pavel said. “You were driving pretty fast. I had to use the tracker to locate you.”

“Tracker?” his brother perked back up. “Do tell?”

“No.” Zane pressed a hand on Pavel’s shoulder to keep him down and went back to patching him up. “You’re already at risk of getting infected, the last thing you can afford is messing around and reopening your wound.”

“You poured enough alcohol on him to satisfy a drunkard,” Aodhan drawled. “He’s fine, baby brother.”

“He isn’t fine, he’s got a hole in his gut.”

“Seems all right to me.” Aodhan shrugged. “Besides, from the sounds of things, he lucked out in all of this.” He set his sights on Pavel once more. “I’m guessing from your reaction you’re not a fan of Lyra or her weird obsession with Zane?”

“I tend to take issue with people who covet things that don’t belong to them,” Pavel stated.

“Oh?”

“Stop it,” Zane hissed, closing up the wound and finally moving on to the next step. “Both of you.”

“Why? Aren’t I allowed to be interested in your life?” Aodhan asked.

“No.”

“Harsh. Just because you don’t care about who I date doesn’t mean I have to feel the same. Besides, I’m the oldest, isn’t it sort of my duty to pay attention to the men you try to bring home?”

“I’m not bringing anyone home.”

“You are if you marry him, and if you aren’t going to marry him…” Aodhan lifted the blaster and gave it a little shake.

“I’ll do it,” Pavel interjected.

“Of course you will,” Zane couldn’t help the irritation from slipping into his tone, even though, technically, he needed him to agree now.

“Don’t sound so annoyed,” Pavel said. “Your brother is right, this is a good thing. We’re only moving up the inevitable.”

His hands stilled and his eyes narrowed.

“What’s wrong, gorgeous?” Pavel quirked a brow. “You didn’t honestly believe I was chasing after you for shits and giggles, did you? What part of bashert didn’t you comprehend?”

“Bashert?” Aodhan’s expression altered, switching from mild interest to full-blown intensity as he took Pavel in as if seeing him for the first time. After a moment, the look changed again, he tipped his head. “Have I seen you before?”

“He’s part of the Retinue,” Zane reminded, only for his brother to wave him off.

“That’s not it…” Aodhan snapped his fingers. “You’re the boy who chased after our car when we adopted Zane!”

“You mean when you stole him,” Pavel disagreed.

Aodhan rolled his eyes. “It was all done through legal processing, just because you felt like you had a claim then doesn’t mean you really did. Now that you’re all grown up, I see you’ve come to make good on it though. Good for you. I didn’t take you for a Yurn now, but when you were younger, you looked more like one.

Zane frowned. “You know about the Yurn?”

“Sure,” Aodhan said. “I have to operate on all sorts of people on Emergence, sometimes we get a Yurn or two. Interesting folk. I’ve only ever seen a bashert pair once. It was…enviable.”

“Enviable?” Zane blinked at him, but his brother was still staring at Pavel.

“Yeah, I practically jumped Mercy afterward. We fucked in his office so long, some of the nurses started to bang on the door, worried he’d passed out or something.”

“Who’s Mercy?” Pavel asked.

“My boyfriend, Titus Mercer the fifth. But he’s just Mercy to me.”

“Your boyfriend’s name is Mercy?” Pavel’s gaze went pointedly to the body lying in a heap on the ground to his right.

“Ironic, isn’t it? And hot as hell.” Aodhan grinned, resting an elbow on his knee before planting his chin against his palm. “I like you, future brother-in-law. I think we’re going to be great friends.”

“You are not,” Zane told them both warningly. “And keep in mind this arrangement would be temporary.”

“It wouldn’t,” Aodhan said before Pavel, who was clearly about to voice the same opinion, could manage to himself. “Not if you’re his bashert. Honestly, I’m shocked he hasn’t already collared you.”

“Excuse me?” Zane almost took a step back.

“It doesn’t mean how he’s making it sound,” Pavel reassured and then turned to Aodhan to add, “And I can’t do that, unfortunately. Otherwise, I would have a long time ago.”

Aodhan pursed his lips. “I’ve never heard of a Yurn who couldn’t claim a mate?”

“I’m only part Yurn.”

“Ah.” If anything, his interest was only bolstered with this new knowledge. “Tell me more.”

Zane heaved a sigh. “I’ve changed my mind, kill him.”

Aodhan immediately raised the gun.

He shot between them, arms splayed. “I was kidding! Good Light, what is wrong with you?!”

“I don’t process sarcasm very well, baby brother,” Aodhan said. “You should know this by now. Anyway,” he leaned to the side to try and catch sight of Pavel again, as though none of that had happened, “what else are you then? If you can’t claim a mate, but you can still create the bashert bond…how does that work exactly?”

“I’m still figuring it out,” Pavel admitted.

“And this?” he tapped the side of his skull. “How’s this? I’m rather fond of my brother. I can’t in good conscience leave him with someone on the brink of insanity.”

“I’m fine. I take meds. My mother is a doctor and my father works for a pharmaceutical company. They both monitor me. We believe the mixture of my genetics will prevent me from ever meeting the same fate as many other Yurn.”

Admittedly, Zane did not like how he was currently feeling, listening to the two of them converse about things he didn’t know. He felt left out, and even though, logically, he shouldn’t care that Pavel was maintaining eye contact with someone else—a someone who happened to be his older brother, on top of it all—he found irritation snaking around his insides.

“Terms and conditions,” he stated suddenly, a bit more loudly than necessary. Once he had both of them looking his way, he cleared his throat. “I want to avoid becoming the Royal Consort of the Imperial Heir and—”

“I want you.” Pavel curled his finger through the belt loop of Zane’s jeans and tugged him closer.

“Stop that.” He swatted his hand but gave up when the other man refused to let go. “I’m not looking for this to last forever—”

“You’re wasting your time, baby bro,” Aodhan interrupted him next.

“Would you both shut up and let me finish a damn sentence?”

“Not if you’re just going to spout nonsense. He couldn’t let you go even if he wanted to. He’s already formed the bond. Yurn only have one bashert their entire lifetime.”

“He’s aware,” Pavel said. “I told him.”

“Bet it freaked him out, didn’t it?” Aodhan chuckled. “My brother has his…problems to work through. Commitment has never been his strong suit. It’s all the trust issues. I haven’t helped. I got close to him the first few weeks he was home with us, only to try to drown him in the family pool once I’d gained his trust.”

Zane planted a hand on Pavel’s shoulder to keep him down even though the other man hadn’t yet moved. “It’s all in the past.”

“Is that how he lost his memories?” Pavel’s voice was dark, threaded with barely held control, but Aodhan merely laughed.

“Relax, he doesn’t need you to fight his battles. Zane made me pay in his own way. We’ve been even for years, isn’t that right, baby brother?” Aodhan looked at him expectantly.

“I destroyed his favorite toy,” Zane confessed. “He’s right. I don’t hold a grudge.”

“He always gets his pound of flesh, so to speak,” Aodhan smiled, and it almost appeared as though he was proud. “He very much believes in the eye for an eye concept. Speaking of—”

“You cannot have his eyes.”

“What if I made that a stipulation? He can only have you if I—”

Pavel pushed Zane off and tossed his legs over the table, standing with a flourish that made Zane wince and think of all the work he’d put into patching him up. He picked up one of the small knives that had fallen to the floor along with the body and held it up, inspecting the bloody blade.

He couldn’t be fucking serious…

“Don’t you dare,” Zane growled. “Hart, put that down right now or I swear to the gods I will never let you touch me again.”

Everything around them seemed to go still, the air growing heavy and poised.

“What did you call me?” Pavel turned, the look of excitement on his face throwing Zane for a loop.

“What?”

“Do it again.”

“…Hart? So?”

“It’s a nickname. Finally.”

“It’s your actual name you absolute whack job.” Zane came around the table and snatched the weapon out of his hold, turning to point it toward his brother. “Say one more creepy Berga-the-Butcher-like comment about his eyes and there will be a new grudge between us.”

Aodhan merely grinned.

“Sit the fuck down,” he ordered Pavel, done with the both of them. “Let me check your stitches.”

“It’s fine.” Pavel placed a hand over the gauze, then shifted so that Zane stood between his legs. Hooking his heels against the back of Zane’s knees, he pushed him closer. “Are you really going to marry me?”

“Not if you keep this up I won’t.”

“Fine.” He planted his palms on the table behind him. “I’ll behave. Set your terms, gorgeous. Let’s find some common ground.”

Zane glanced at his brother, but Aodhan laughed.

“Oh, I’m not going anywhere. Do you really think I’m going to just trust you to follow through?” Aodhan clicked his tongue and stood, going to grab the holopad he’d given to Zane earlier. “I wasn’t joking about your commitment issues. No, none of us are leaving here until it’s done.”

He felt a sinking sensation in his gut. “Until what is done, exactly?”

Aodhan held up a finger and then beamed at the camera set in the device he held up. “Hey, babe, got a minute for your favorite surgeon?”

“That depends,” a silky voice came through, along with the shuffling of papers and the occasional click of a key, “what trouble has he gotten himself into this time?”

“Not me,” Aodhan replied. “It’s Zane. Say hello, baby brother.” He spun so the camera could capture all three of them, their images reflected at the bottom corner of the holopad.

Most of the screen featured another man a little older than Aodhan, with inky hair and sharp green eyes. He had on a pair of thick-rimmed glasses which Zane recognized as having been designed by the Void Corporation, but he removed them delicately once he saw Aodhan wasn’t alone.

“Zane,” the man on the screen greeted, though his tone lacked warmth.

“Titus.” He’d only ever met his brother’s boyfriend once before and the guy had given him the chills. Really, he should be grateful, since it would take a real monster to handle someone like Aodhan, and it was his understanding that Titus actually kept him in check. But still. Zane would prefer to keep his distance.

He’d prefer to keep Pavel distant from the older man as well.

“Who are you hiding?” Titus asked, and it was only then that Zane realized he’d instinctually shifted to block Pavel from the camera.

Pavel who, in a move that was most definitely not the definition of behaving, plopped his chin on Zane’s shoulder, giving them all a straight view of his face.

“This is my brother’s future husband,” Aodhan introduced for them. “That’s where you come in, Mercy.”

“No.” Zane vehemently shook his head, knowing where this was going. The move dislodged Pavel, who pulled back with a furrowed brow.

“What’s up?” the other Retinue member asked.

“My man is ordained,” Aodhan filled in with a devilish wink.

“I said no,” Zane repeated. “I have until graduation. This isn’t happening tonight. You can’t just spring a marriage on me.”

“Why are you acting like I selected your groom and sold you off? You’re the one who said you would marry him, remember? You can’t have forgotten, it was less than an hour ago.”

“Aodhan, love, I don’t think you should pressure your brother into such a major commitment,” Titus chimed in, catching Zane by surprise with his help.

“His friend walked in on us,” Aodhan said. “ All of us.” He twisted to show the corpse.

“He’s Retinue,” Zane stated, knowing that he had to keep Titus on his side in order for this to end in his favor. “There’s no way he’d say anything to anyone. He’s also claimed me as his bashert, which means he can’t betray me.” He had no idea if that was how it worked or not but figured it couldn’t hurt to make an estimated guess.

“Is that true, love?” Titus stared at his boyfriend.

“Well, yes—”

“How about we come to an agreement, Zane,” Titus offered. “Would that satisfy you?”

Making an enemy out of his brother and Titus Mercer wasn’t an option, but neither was allowing them to kill Pavel.

Which he hated.

He hated that he’d somehow grown this attached.

But when he pictured the way he’d appeared on that video footage, the way he’d looked at Pavel…Zane wanted to explore that further. He wanted to know if those emotions had been a fluke or if he was actually capable of becoming enamored by someone.

Lyra clearly feared he was.

“I’m listening.” He waited to see what Titus was offering since he seemed to have come up with an idea already.

“Someone needs to explain the actual stakes to me first. I’m failing to see the connection between a dead body and a marriage,” Titus drawled.

“Lyra wants to force him into being her Royal Consort,” Aodhan said. “If Zane marries before graduation, then he avoids that, and if he marries Pavel, there’s no fear of Pavel telling the world I’m a serial killer.”

“He saw you with one body, love,” Titus drawled.

“Oops.”

Zane growled, knowing he’d done that on purpose.

Titus sighed but was obviously used to his brother’s antics. “Here’s what I propose, taking into consideration all the presented facts, we give your brother and Pavel one week. If, by the end of that timeframe, Zane decides he doesn’t want to go through with the wedding, no one will force him.”

A week ? Was he insane?

Dumb question.

Of course he was, look at his choice in men.

“What happens to Pavel then?” Zane asked, but Titus shrugged a single shoulder, refusing to give a set answer. “And what do you two get in return for this generous offer?”

“I’m pretty sure that was sarcasm, Mercy,” Aodhan said.

“Thank you, love, I wasn’t aware,” Titus replied, also in a sarcastic tone. “Family dinners once every two months, monthly if you can manage. I know you’re deep into your studies at this time and don’t wish to interfere with that, so I’ll leave the timing up to you.”

Zane blinked at him, not really following, but when he didn’t say anything else, and Aodhan’s blank expression proved unhelpful, was forced to ask, “Excuse me?”

“Emergence isn’t that far from Vitality,” Titus explained.

“Around fifteen hours, give or take,” Aodhan said.

“You’re more than welcome to stay the night when you make the trip, of course,” Titus continued, “but a traditional family meal is what we’re asking for. We can start with this weekend. You can bring your potential mate with you if you’d like. Fly home with Aodhan. I believe his flight is booked for two days from now.”

“Slight problem,” Aodhan interjected. “I may or may not have shot that potential mate.”

Yeah, there was no way Zane would allow Pavel to make that long of a trip with a hole in his side.

Titus pinched the bridge of his nose. “Then I suppose I will be seeing you three at the end of the month instead.”

“Hey! I can still come home!”

“No, no, you should remain there and keep an eye on things. Make sure your brother really will keep his word.”

“But work—”

“Don’t fret about that, I’ll give you a leave of absence. A perk of being the director.”

“That is a total abuse of power,” Aodhan mumbled, just loud enough that Titus had to have heard.

Zane watched the corner of the older man’s mouth twitch, but he didn’t fully smile. Was he…punishing Aodhan right now? For shooting Pavel? Also…

“Why?” he drew all of their attention back his way with that question. “Why do you need these family dinners? I’m smart enough to know it’s not for my company.”

“Yes, well,” Titus did smile then, though it wasn’t friendly. “There’s a new doctor at the facility who’s been driving your brother mad.”

“He’s got such a great relationship with his siblings,” Aodhan immediately jumped in, rolling his eyes. “Like, we get it. You love each other, blah blah. If Mercy would just let me kill him, I know I’m not the only one who would be grateful for the renewed peace and quiet at the hospital. Seriously, the work environment has gotten—”

“You’re jealous,” Zane surmised.

Aodhan huffed.

“He’s made several comments to your brother about you and the rest of your family and how none of you have ever visited the planet,” Titus said.

Zane considered this and then crossed his arms. “I come for an entire weekend once every two months, do the big family dinner out at some public restaurant, and I pay a visit to the hospital upon arrival. On the month I’m not scheduled to show, I make at least two phone calls where we can fake being close loud enough for anyone within earshot to hear. How’s that?”

Titus cocked his head, thinking. “And in return? Clearly your terms differed from my initial offering. It isn’t in the Solace nature to be generous.”

No, it really wasn’t.

“I get until graduation to come to a decision.”

“That’s four whole months, Zane,” Titus stated. “Either you aren’t very good at negotiating, or you’re trying to play me for a fool.”

Damn it.

“Two months,” Zane said.

“My initial offer was for a single week. Now, unless you want me to get angry and tell your lovely brother to put an end to this and just shoot your friend already, you’ll come back with something better. I won’t leave my man at risk just so you can decide if you’re up for playing house or not.”

This wasn’t going well at all. A week was a ridiculously short period of time, but it was clear Titus meant every word. If he didn’t like Zane’s next offer, he’d tell Aodhan to shoot Pavel, and there was no questioning which of them his brother would listen to.

Fine. With four months until graduation, Zane had plenty of time to find someone else who would willingly give him a marriage of convenience and, most importantly, a divorce once he was ready. He didn’t need that much time to conclude whether or not that person had to be Pavel or if he was going to have to do a little hunting of his own.

“Two weeks.” Zane didn’t think it was much better, but it was probably all he was going to get away with.

“All right, but if you decide not to marry him,” Titus steepled his fingers and set his hands on the desk, “that means he’s no longer of any interest to you.”

He could read between the lines. “You can try to kill him. It won’t be easy though.”

Pavel hummed, but otherwise said nothing, opting to remain quiet and allow them to work this out. As though his life wasn’t on the line.

“Do you have anything to add?” Zane demanded, annoyed that he was just going along with this.

“No, gorgeous,” Pavel grinned. “You’re handling it all beautifully.”

“Then do we have an agreement, Zane?” Titus asked.

He sent one more glare Pavel’s way, but when it became abundantly clear he really wasn’t going to say anything, sighed and turned back to the screen.

“Yes,” he said. “We have an agreement.”