Page 76 of Depraved Royals

“Alright,” Mama says. She turns her attention to Idina and Vera. “Come inside. I’ll tell Fyodor you’re here. But if he says you must leave, you’re all going, except for Dani. Understood?”

Idina nods, and when Vera sees it, she nods too.

We wait as Mama remonstrates with my father. His delight at my return rapidly switches to anger, his voice rising.

I can’t hear him too well, but the occasional word is clear.

Traitors. Murderers. Twisted. Sick.

I watch Idina’s face as she listens, but her expression is neutral. Her flat affect is weird, but I guess she’s nervous.

Mama comes downstairs.

“We can go to him,” she says. “You Antonovs need to keep well back from Fyodor’s bed unless he says otherwise.” She turns to me. “He’s doing this for you, Dani. He’s injured and vulnerable, but I don’t believe you’d do something like this if you weren’t sure. I told him that, and he’s willing to talk.”

I look at Kal. He has his heart set on this working out, and he’s right - it’s our last shot. So I have to project confidence and back him up.

But I’m not as confident as I was. There’s a gnawing pain in my stomach, but it’s not morning sickness. It’s anxiety.

Get a hold of yourself, Dani.

What do I know anyway? Kal is okay with this, and he knows Idina best.

Papa doesn’t look as unwell as he did yesterday. He sits up in his bed, a cup of coffee beside him on the nightstand.

We all file in awkwardly, like kids who’ve been sent to see the head teacher. Papa reaches for me, and I sit on the chair beside him.

Idina and Vera stand at the foot of the bed. Papa stares at them in silence.

Eventually, he speaks.

“Vera Antonov,” he says, cocking his head. “You look like your father, which means you also kinda look like me.”

Vera shifts her weight from one foot to the other. “Yeah,” she says. “W-w-weird.”

I glance at Kal to see him staring slack-jawed at his sister. She didn’t stammer when she came here and said all those horrible things to me. What’s going on?

Papa doesn’t comment on it. “I’m your Uncle Fyodor,” he says, pointing at his face. “I wish we were meeting under better circumstances,dorogaya.”

I don’t know how to feel about him calling her ‘sweetheart,’ but I don’t think he gave it a thought. The effect on Vera is palpable, though. Tears spring to the corners of her eyes, and I wonder if anyone has ever called her by an affectionate pet name in her entire life.

Papa’s eyes slide over to Idina’s. He holds her gaze, but when he speaks, it’s not her he’s addressing.

“Kal, you give me your word first,” he says, “because, despite everything that happened, I still think it might be worth something. My Dani says you love her. Do you?”

Kal’s voice is solid and sure.

“Yes, I do.”

“Are you and your family here to end this?”

Idina answers.

“Yes, Fyodor, we are.” She moves closer to my father’s bed, but he doesn’t object. “I’m done with all this. I want it to be over.”

Papa beckons her with his finger, and Idina stands beside my father’s bed, opposite where I’m sitting. Mama stands behind me, her hand on my shoulder. As Idina sits at the foot of the bed, Mama and I both draw a tight, nervous breath.

“What have you come here to say?” Papa asks.