Sevastyan #2
Lisa panted. He pulled, at first, then relented, staying where Alexi’s grip kept him. From Sevastyan’s angle, he could see the side of Lisa’s face. Tears dripped down to the carpet.
“There’s nothing to say. Nothing happened,” Lisa said.
“You went roaming. Your training is cracking,” Alexi snapped back.
“You weren’t there!” Lisa screamed.
He reared up, still on his knees, eyes red, face wet.
He moved so fast Alexi almost let him, but instead, Lisa’s head was pulled to the side by the grip Alexi kept in his hair.
They were almost face to face, the two of them, Alexi sitting on the end of the bed and Lisa kneeling up in front of him.
For a beat there was nothing, just the two of them staring into each other’s eyes.
“You weren’t there,” Lisa repeated, voice softening into something small and lost. “I was nothing. And you . . . you weren’t there.” His eyes dropped.
“You were safe,” Alexi said.
Lisa raised his head, eyes flaring. “Safe?”
“No one was to touch you. Or use you.”
“They don’t have to touch you to use you,” Lisa snarled.
“Boy, pick this up. Boy, I dropped my spoon under the table. Boy, you messed up my order, the order I never even placed. Boy, you’re so pretty. Boy, smile. Always more. More. More. More.”
Lisa gulped air. “You. Weren’t. There. They dropped blood into the water. To see the sharks. And you. Weren’t. There. Maybe they didn’t touch me. They just touched everyone else.”
Lisa closed his eyes, tears falling down his face onto his chest. “I might be your fox, master. But in Morocco, I was nothing. Worse than nothing. I would have rather been a dog. At least they’re afraid of a dog.”
Lisa sagged, as if all his strings were cut. His arms came in, close to his ribs, almost covering himself. “You shouldn’t have been kind, master, just to send me back. You broke me. You woke me, and broke me, and then you sent me back.”
Alexi leaned forward, tears in his own eyes. He wiped the moisture from Lisa’s cheeks. “My precious boy, my wild fox.”
Lisa flinched, but he stayed where he was.
“Why attack Jonathan?” Alexi coaxed.
Lisa closed his eyes. “You said I was yours. But then you gave me to Master Sevastyan, and then . . .” Lisa ran out of words. He swayed.
“Did he eat or drink anything last night?” Sevastyan murmured. The picture was coming and it had all the texture of a jagged wound.
“I had Jonathan put water and food down,” Alexi whispered. He sat up straighter and cupped Lisa’s chin again. “Did you eat or drink, little fox?”
Lisa gave Alexi a look of pure loathing.
“Medication?” Sevastyan murmured.
“Answer.” Alexi held Lisa’s chin firmly.
Lisa cast a glance towards Sevastyan. “How could I?” He swayed, his ribs hitting Alexi’s knee. For a moment, his eyes went wide with pain and then they unfocused.
“Alexi,” Sevastyan said sharply, as Lisa went weak, his head falling forward and legs giving out. Alexi caught Lisa’s falling body and got him to the floor.
He blinked up at Alexi, eyes glassy. “Hate you. Made me love you. Hate . . .”
His eyes closed, his frame going loose and slack in what could only be a faint.
“I can get IV liquids,” Sevastyan said into the silence.
“Jonathan!” Alexi called.
His assistant appeared, carrying coffee. “Sir?”
“Did you give Lisa food and water last night?”
“Yes, sir. I put it in a bowl, because he didn’t have his hands. He didn’t want me to hand feed him.”
“And was the bowl empty after?”
“Yes, sir.”
Alexi stared at Jonathan a long time, then sighed. “You’re fortunate that I’ve been trusting you with my slaves for so long. He must have gotten rid of it. What about his medication?”
“It was in the bowl.”
Alexi grimaced. He looked down at Lisa and back at Sevastyan, switching to English again. “I should take him back to Russia. We’ll have to start over at the beginning. Something happened in Morocco, something more than what he’s saying.”
Sevastyan looked down at Lisa. There was a place to which the conversation needed to move. The question was whether or not Alexi’s pride would get tangled up. “You didn’t make him a slave, Alexi. You made him yours, your pet.”
Alexi sighed, shoulders slumping. “Like a dog that’s only tame for one hand.”
Sevastyan nodded.
Between them, on the floor. Lisa stirred. He pulled himself to his knees still swaying, but he turned to face Alexi and dropped into a full bow, forehead to the floor between Alexi’s feet, palms flat on the carpet.
“Jonathan, water,” Alexi ordered.
Jonathan hurried in with a cup. Alexi nudged Lisa upright and held the water to his mouth. Lisa took it, swallowing dutifully until it was half gone.
“Pills,” Alexi said to Jonathan, pulling the water away from Lisa.
Jonathan fetched. Alexi measured the dose into his hand, checking it with Sevastyan, and held them out to Lisa. Lisa took them from Alexi’s palms with his lips and swallowed them down with the rest of the water.
“We’ll start with crackers and applesauce,” Alexi said to Jonathan.
“I can lay out breakfast,” Sevastyan said.
“Jonathan can clean up, if you like. I need to feed Rei and give him his medication as well.”
He didn’t need to mention the fact that he needed to take his own.
The bullet wound in his side was minor, but now it was aching, probably because of how he’d caught Jonathan.
“My thanks.” Alexi nodded to Sevastyan.
Sevastyan went out to the main living area and crossed to his own room.
Rei was exactly where he’d left him, kneeling on the bed in a resting pose.
Sevastyan smiled. Even though Rei had to be worried about his friend, he had kept his composure, and his training.
Sevastyan rewarded him by sweeping him off the bed and into his arms, careful of his slave’s ribs.
He planted a kiss on Rei’s forehead, right above one of the faint burn marks. “Good boy.”
Rei’s lips stretched in a tentative smile.
“Time for breakfast.” Sevastyan carried Rei out to the table and set him on the floor on one of the cushions, guiding him into a sitting position that kept his sprained ankle safe and at ease.
Rei kept his eyes on Sevastyan as he ferried food from the fridge to the table, mostly local cheeses, crackers, fruit, and pickles.
It was rather like a spread of food Ellisandre would have served, practical and extravagant.
“Calm, Rei,” Sevastyan said, catching Rei’s eye as he set coffee down for himself and Alexi. “You can serve again as soon as you’ve finished healing.”
Rei’s cheeks flushed and Alexi’s chuckle from across the room made Sevastyan look up. Alexi had an arm around Lisa and was leading him over. Jonathan appeared to be still in the bedroom, likely cleaning up. Sevastyan made a note to leave a plate for the man.
Lisa was still pale, like he could faint again at any time. Alexi appeared to be taking no chances. He helped Lisa down to one of the cushions and then sat with Sevastyan at the table, both of them on the same corner.
Lisa leaned against the side of Alexi’s chair, all fight missing, only a desperate, lost look in his eyes.
And there was nothing Sevastyan could do in the moment to change it.
If Alexi did take Lisa back with him, Sevastyan would do what could be done to get him free, but it could be months. It might not happen at all.
Alexi made no small talk as they ate, sipping more coffee than eating, but he kept a steady flow of food down to Lisa, who ate everything offered with the same level of submissiveness as Rei. When the meal was over, Alexi took Lisa back to bed and ordered him to sleep.
“I have some business to look over,” Sevastyan said to Alexi. “If you’ll excuse me.”
“No, I should make some calls as well,” Alexi murmured. “I may go for a walk. Will you stay?”
“Of course.”