Sevastyan
Sleeping on the plane had only been possible until the first nightmare.
After that, Sevastyan had stayed awake, ruminating.
Nothing had worked to completely shift the impending sense of fate and loss inside his chest.
In the end, what had tethered him was holding onto the braid Ellisandre had left in his hair and staring out the window.
Jun was a good man. He’d look after Rei, when all was said and done.
And even after Rei was safe with Jun, Ellisandre would still have eyes on him.
He’d be able to protect Rei from afar. Rei would be able to be in the light again.
A message came through from the Yadro as Sevastyan left customs in O’Hare.
He opened the message as he walked towards the baggage claim.
There was one more condition being added to Merchari’s demands on Jun.
They wanted him to return all the properties the United States government was turning over to him.
His father had run a long con, using Jun’s US identity to live a double life, putting multiple parcels of land and houses under his son’s name.
Now that Jun had reclaimed his US identity, those properties were legally his.
The Yadro was demanding those properties be transferred back to Bak Sahyuk, or their chosen representative for him.
Was that demand coming from the Yadro, or from Jun’s father?
He shook his head. The Yadro could try with that demand, but those properties would be tied up in courts for years with many eyes on them. This was a demand he would expect from his mother, not the directors. Someone was grasping at straws and somehow getting it through.
Ellisandre’s security had stood down at the condo before he arrived.
The living room and kitchen were empty. Sevastyan removed his shoes at the door and checked his messages again.
Ellisandre had just texted that they had landed in O’Hare.
They’d go back to their own place, change, and meet Sevastyan and Rei in the back staircase beneath The Residency.
Sevastyan flexed his hands. The memory of Rei’s battered face was all he needed to keep his feet moving. He opened the door to the back of the condo.
His boys were side by side, together, in the large bed. Lisa, gun in hand, was facing the door as Sevastyan opened it. He had one palm resting on Rei protectively. As soon as he saw Sevastyan he lowered the weapon and dropped his eyes.
“Good work.” Sevastyan stepped closer, sliding his fingers through Lisa’s loose hair in praise.
Rei stirred at the sound of Sevastyan’s voice. “Master.” He pushed himself up on his knees, presenting himself.
Sevastyan brushed a kiss against his temple. “Up, both of you, living room.”
Both slaves followed him. Sevastyan pulled off his heavy layers and tossed them over the end of the couch.
He gave a rundown of the trip, the Yadro’s decisions and stipulations, and the timeline.
Lisa and Rei listened from the floor on their knees.
Sevastyan paced as he talked. That sense of doom was expanding with each inevitable word.
He needed Ellisandre. The idea of walking out the door with Rei and possibly leaving him behind made his throat tight.
Logically, that would not be the plan. He needed Rei for however long it took to finish off the Merchari.
Alexi would be suspicious and Sevastyan’s status would be under scrutiny if he showed up without his fabled slave.
And then there was the loss of Rei’s observation and mind.
But if they demanded Rei stay, if that was the condition for their protection and cooperation, if they claimed Rei and drove him away like the bastard he was, he wouldn’t harm Ellisandre’s family, or Jun. Not when they meant so much to the people he loved.
“Meeting at the Residency is set for eight a.m. Lisa, I’m leaving the condo with you,” Sevastyan finished.
Lisa’s eyes flashed up once and dropped again.
Rei didn’t move at first. And Sevastyan couldn’t.
This was the end, then. The beginning of the end, at least.
Rei would step into The Residency and it would enfold him.
The buzzing had already started in Sevastyan’s head.
This was what Ellisandre had been protecting him from the night before.
This had been what the braid was for, all to get him through this moment. But they weren’t there.
It was just him and Rei, no Ellisandre in sight. The thundering in his brain was drowning out even the memory of their voice.