Page 3943

They proceeded deeper into the facility, now with Vasiliy’s mind racing about what he might say to his grandson when he saw him.

The fallout between the boy and his father had been horrendous. It was so bad that Nicholae even gave his own reaper an ultimatum: either allow him to leave forever or release his soul then and there.

The boy simply could not abide being a part of this family any longer. He preferred death to staying here.

And that separation had torn Vasiliy’s heart in two. He’d tried reaching out many times, hoping to play the mediator between his son and grandson as he’d so often done before, but after the first couple of attempts, the boy stopped responding altogether.

It wasn’t until the death of Nazar, Nicholae’s father, that the boy finally reached out again. But even then, it had been a small message. An offer of sympathy for Vasiliy’s loss, rather than any expression of his own sadness.

Even to this day, Vasiliy did not know precisely what had transpired between the two of them to make things so bad. For a while, he’d thought it was some clashing of ethical convictions regarding their relationship with Abolish--and certainly, that was at least part of it--but he’d also never felt like he’d gotten the full truth out of Nazar, either.

Maybe now, with Nicholae’s return, that missing puzzle piece might finally be slotted into place.

He wasn’t going to hold his breath, though. Nor was it a particularly pressing concern, at the moment. The absolute last thing he wanted to do was grill his grandson upon their first meeting in years.

That was precisely the kind of thing that might make him run away again, for good this time.

When they finally reached the lab, Vasiliy wasn’t even thinking about the Project, anymore. Regomiss kept telling him to calm down, to not look so worried, but if anything, that was just having the opposite effect.

Then he saw the boy.

Taller than he remembered. A lot taller, actually. Wow. That blond hair was unmistakable, though. Still hadn’t cut it, huh?

“Nicholae,” said Vasiliy as he approached.

The boy turned to face him, and it was only then that Vasiliy saw just how much like a boy he no longer looked. That was a fully grown man standing there now.

Physically, at least.

Nicholae regarded him for a long moment, letting it linger. “Grandfather.”

Abruptly, Vasiliy was no longer uncertain about what to say. He ignored the boy’s stoicism and hugged him. “You should’ve told me you were visiting, you little jackass.”