Page 19 of Phantom Flower

“Hi,” I said. My voice was hoarse. “Didn’t know you were coming.”

Kento tilted his head as he scanned me from head to toe.

“I wasn’t planning to. Something caught my attention.”

He pulled out his phone, tapped the screen a few times, and turned it toward me.

The video played on silent. Me getting into Dimitri’s car yesterday.

My stomach dropped. “What?”

“Mind explaining what you’re doing next to a Morozov dog?” Kento’s voice was dangerous. The kind of tone that used to make people back off in Tokyo.

I arched an eyebrow, crossing my arms. “How is that your business?”

He set the phone down, straightening to his full height. He was taller than me, broader from whatever training he did when he disappeared for months.

“I think it’s very much my business when my little brother is getting dragged off by Russian brutes. The Void Kings, Rei. Are you fucking stupid?”

I knew he hated them. Rumors had always swirled about Kento and that blond one—Ilya, I think. Something about Kento supposedly fucking his sister last year and the resulting fights.

I never paid much attention.

I didn’t keep tabs on my brother. He had made it clear a long time ago that he preferred it that way.

“What I do doesn’t concern you,” I said.

The red flower in my hair suddenly felt too bold for this conversation.

“You haven’t been around in months. Don’t start pretending you give a shit now.”

Kento’s jaw ticked. He opened his mouth to respond—probably something mean—but the sound cut him off.

My mother swept in, Daniel trailing behind her like the parasite he was.

The second she saw Kento, her face lit up with delight.

“Kento! Sweetheart!” She rushed forward and threw her arms around him. He didn’t hug her back, arms hanging stiffly at his sides, but she didn’t seem to mind.

She never did.

“You haven’t been home in so long. I missed you.”

Kento muttered something noncommittal. My mother pulled back and glanced between us.

“Stay for breakfast. Both of you. It’s been forever since we’ve all been together.”

To my surprise, Kento nodded once. “Fine.”

Daniel gave a fake, polished smile, but he stayed quiet.

Last time he tried playing stepfather with Kento, my brother pulled a gun on him and threatened to put a bullet in his head.

Daniel hadn’t tested that line since.

We all sat at the long dining table. Servants brought in food, but no one touched it much. I poked at my plate. Every time I swallowed, I remembered Dimitri’s voice in my ear: Your life is mine now.

They all started talking, but I wasn’t listening.