“Do you drinkpovik, my lady?” Luka’s voice was hard now, rising to her challenge unconsciously. “I thought your taste ran more to honeywine.”
Maya shrugged. It was true that she’d never been one for the harsh alcohol that Luka and Volkov seemed to prefer. She much preferred the sweetness of honeywine, the slow burn as it slid down her throat, and the pleasant warmth of it in her belly after a nice dinner.
Whereas Luka seemed well on his way to getting drunk. Again.
How often did he do this, she wondered, drinking his nights into oblivion?
“I don’t mind a glass now and then,” she said firmly.
Luka’s hand went to the bell on his desk, and Maya tutted. “No need.” She got to her feet, reaching out for the little bar table at his side.
Luka glared at her. “I can get the glasses myself.” He heaved himself to his feet, his face going almost white as his feet took his weight.
“Luka, wait—”
She watched as he nearly collapsed back into his seat, jaw clenched in pain, sweat on his brow.
Idiot man. Maya shook her head as she pushed him down more fully into his seat by his shoulders.
“Would it kill you to ask me for help?”
Luka glared at her. “I don’t need your help.”
“Yes, but I’m offering it anyway,” she snapped, knowing she shouldn’t let herself be goaded into losing her temper, but all her even-temperedness deserted her when it came to Luka. Right from the very beginning, he’d always gotten under her skin.
“I’m not one of yourprojects, Maya,” Luka snarled. “You can’t fix me with your tinkering, no matter how much you might wish to.”
“I don’t want tofixyou,” Maya huffed. “You’re not broken.”
Luka went still at that, and when he looked up at her again, his eyes glittered strangely. “Well, I think you’ll find there’s no real difference,” he said softly. “I can’t ride, I can’t run—hell, I can’t even walk from one of this room to the other without wanting tothrow up—” He broke off and smiled bitterly. “I finally look as useless as I feel.”
“Luka—”
“It’s alright,” he said, waving a hand, dismissing her concern. Maya remained silent, unsure of how to reach him. Perhaps it was time to make a strategic retreat for now.
“Well then, I shall bid you goodnight,” she said softly, and Luka looked up at her in surprise. Evidently, he’d expected her to keep pushing.
So, she simply nodded at him, and left the room. As she lay in bed that night, Maya frowned up at the ceiling. There had to be some way she could help Luka.
~
Over the next few days, it seemed that the more determined Maya became to see Luka, the more he hid himself away. He tried to hide in his rooms whenever he could, and Maya spent most of her time getting the butler or Stoffel to chase him out for meals.
Well, it was no matter. She was a scientist, after all. She would try all avenues open to her until she found one that worked. It was how she’d worked on all her inventions—she would list out all possible ways forward, and she’d try them all until one clicked. Experimentation, her mentor, Mister Gusev had called it.
So, back to the matter at hand: Her first method, getting the butler to bring Luka out of his rooms for his meals wasn’t working.
Stoffel had no effect either. In retrospect, sending people that Luka employed to do her bidding had been ill-thought-out. They had no authority over him, that was made clear when Luka sent them packing as soon as they set foot in his rooms or his study, which was where he usually preferred to hide away.
Butshewas different. Luka seemed content to let her stay, without gainsaying her authority here, perhaps she could extend it to his person, as well?
She decided to make her move that night, when Luka didn’t show himself at the dinner table. Again. It had been nearly a week since she’d arrived at Kamenev, and she was no closer to talking to Luka aboutanything—let alone the marriage his sister had arranged for him.
She had to break through the walls he’d built around himself andtalkto him.
She gave him another few hours after the dinner table had been cleared, waiting to see if he would break his self-imposed silence and come out of his room, but when the hour struck eleven, she decided that enough was enough.
She was going to speak to Luka tonight, come what may.
