Throne of Power (Throne Duet #1) by Rina Kent

Adrian takes a sip of his drink. “He was an orphan who was brought up by reputable hitmen.”

I grin, snapping my fingers. “Exactly. But I always wanted to find my real family.”

“It took you thirty years to do that?” Damien questions.

“You would be surprised how long it takes to track down an accident that happened decades ago, especially since I didn’t have much info to go on and was busy with killing and stuff. Seven years ago, I decided to dedicate my time to finding my family. That’s why I left.”

“And you spent seven years searching for your family?” Rai shoots back.

“It’s a long, tiresome journey. Do you want a play-by-play account?”

She ignores me and takes a sip of her coffee then grimaces and slides it away on the table.

Damien grabs another cigarette and shoves it in his mouth before he speaks. “I say he can’t be accepted back in.”

“I also say he can’t be part of the brotherhood anymore.” She agrees with him, and my jaw tightens underneath the welcoming smile. “This is not a child’s playground where he can waltz in and leave as he wishes. Vlad?”

Vladimir, who has been silent, watching the scene with Adrian, releases a breath. “Kyle was given the title of a Vor by the previous Pakhan. We can’t simply get rid of him as if he never existed.”

“Vlad!” Rai hisses, but he lets out a grunt in response.

“Yeah, Vor.” I point a thumb at myself. “That’s me, remember?”

“Let’s vote,” Sergei finally says. “Those who want Kyle punished and exiled, raise your hand.”

Damien and Rai do so at the same time. I smile on the outside, but the need to shake her the fuck up grips me out of nowhere. Since when is she on that arsehole’s side?

She keeps glaring at Vladimir, probably so he will follow her lead, but he doesn’t.

“Now, those in favor of Kyle returning to the brotherhood, raise your hand,” Sergei says in his calm, very Russian-accented speech.

Igor raises his hand first, then Kirill and Mikhail follow. Vlad and Adrian are next. Those two are the smartest. They know my skills are more important than the brotherhood’s laws.

Sergei raises his hand last, crushing Rai and Damien by six to two. When they all drop their hands, he says, “Welcome back to the Vory, Kyle. If you leave this time, you’ll be punished.”

I make a cross sign and grin. “I’ll serve the brotherhood until death does us part, cross my heart and hope to die.”

Rai stands up, her face reddening underneath the thick layers of makeup. “If you’ll excuse me.”

“Wait.” Sergei stops her before she takes a step. “You agreed to marry Igor’s eldest son, and he is here now.”

Jackpot.

“You agreed to marry me?” I pretend to be surprised. “I thought it was going to be Anastasia.”

“Rai volunteered to get married on Anastasia’s behalf,” Igor explains.

As I thought she would. When I got Igor to plant the seed in Sergei’s head about marrying Anastasia off, I figured it’d somehow come down to this. It doesn’t take a genius to know Rai would sacrifice herself for the girl she’s been sheltering ever since they were kids.

“I…” She trails off, probably wanting to backpedal, but she realizes the highest principle in the brotherhood is to keep your word. The moment you lose that, no one will respect you.

“Have you changed your mind?” I push.

“No.” She meets my gaze with her lethal one. “I’m a Sokolov, and we keep our word.”

Sergei nods in agreement with a hint of pride at his grandniece. “It’s settled then. Bring me the dowry, Igor.”

“Will do, Pakhan.”

Rai looks like she’s about to throw up, but she kisses Sergei’s knuckles and leaves, the sound of her heels loud and confident in the silence of the room.

I smile as the door closes behind her. The second part of the plan is done. Time to move to the third.

I grin at Sergei. “If you’ll excuse me, I need a word with my fiancée.”





5





Rai





My heartbeat is about to explode into hot lava as I march down the hall.

Ruslan tells me he’ll get the car ready and I give a nod as he leaves before me. I remind myself to greet the staff back when I pass them by so I don’t seem like an arrogant bitch. I don’t mind being that way with the members of the brotherhood, but the staff is another story.

Both Dad and Dedushka taught me to respect those beneath me and to burn those against me.

I stop at the corner to catch my ragged breaths. My chest rises and falls so hard, almost like I’m coming out from a run.

Only, the scene I witnessed inside was worse than a run. It was a whole nightmarish marathon.

My legs shake no matter how much I try to force them to remain steady. It’s like they’re done holding me up for the day. The gold-rimmed pillar turns blurry, and I quickly wipe the evidence of frustration from my eyes.

It’s done. It’s over.

To be part of the brotherhood means to always keep your word. I can’t get out of this marriage, even if I want to.

It’s already cemented and ready to be sealed.

Why does it feel like there’s something breaking and resurrecting in my heart at the same time? It shouldn’t be this way. I should be plotting a heinous murder scene where Kyle will be the victim. Maybe then, this raging fire inside me would finally ebb. Not only that, but I would also manage to save myself from this marriage.