Chapter 55

• But Andrei, two years older, had always been the leader, the protector. He could still remember six-year-old Viktor panting as he struggled through the snowy two miles to school. Wait for me, Volodya! Wait for me!
• But he’d never waited. If you want to follow me, keep up, Viktor . Stop being slow.Now, as Andrei remembered that long-lost adoration in his brother’s eyes, his heart gave a strange, sickening jump in his chest. Tightening his jaw, he pushed the memory away. He looked at Illyra.
• “No one will ever threaten you or yours again.”