Page 101 of Volik

“Is your brother with them still?”

“Nyet. He came with us when my uncle first found us, but after I got settled, Vameer left. He has not lived with family since.”

“Where’d he go?”

“Battle.” He says it without resentment. Like he understands. “It was unheard of, fighting that young. It made him more vulnerable. But he was strong, even then. And with our bloodline, and his rage… Vameer became what we call one of the warrior class. Few remain.”

“But he’s… still alive?”

“He is. I can feel it.” Volik exhales. “But he is missing. I look for signs of him. That is mostly what I do when I am at the university.”

Sorrow for Volik wraps around my throat. “How long has he been gone?”

“One hundred and three years.” Volik leans his cheek against the top of my head. “I will continue to look, until I find him.”

One hundred and three years.

That’s… unfathomable.

I can’t imagine my brother being alive and going a century without seeing him.

“Do you think he’s hiding from something?”

“I am unsure. But I think…” Volik sighs. “I think he is hibernating.”

“Like what bears do?”

Volik makes a sound of humor. “Da. Like the bears. Only I think maybe he lost track of time. Or maybe he cannot wake up.”

Exhaustion dulls the horror I feel at that statement.

Stuck in sleep for that long…

Unable to wake…

I press my mouth against Volik’s neck, filling my lungs with his mint.

Arms shift around me, and I’m lifted as Volik stands.

“Time for you to sleep, Mate.”

I murmur my agreement.

And then I fall into the warmth.

Chapter 46

Volik

Dawn is starting to seep in around her bedroom curtains.

Nix was asleep in my arms before we even made it to the bedroom last night. So I carried her, kept her with me, as I checked that the doors were locked. As I closed her curtains. As I poured a glass of water and set it on the nightstand, in case she woke up thirsty.

Then I lay on my back, on her bed, with Nix sprawled face down on top of me.

And… it was the best night of my life.

Maybe tied with the night before. Because that was…