Page 33 of Crimson Oath (The Firebird and the Wolf #2)

Oleg

I t was three weeks after they started that Oleg finally felt a stir in his amnis.

“South.”

Lazlo was driving. “What?”

“We need to head south.”

He’d taken Tatyana’s blood multiple times before she left him, both for greed and for her own good. He could use that blood bond to find her. He could also use it to protect her.

He’d used it to pull the pain of her sire’s death from her and keep her alive. He’d gathered the pain of Zara’s death into his own body as he felt her amnis die in his own blood.

The combined pain of his and Tatyana’s loss had sent him to his knees.

Tatyana’s blood had tormented Oleg when she left and comforted him when she was near.

Now he could feel it stretch and reach out, the amnis he carried with him searching for her elemental power and drawing Oleg closer to her physical location.

He was so sure of her whereabouts, Oleg felt that if he looked over his left shoulder, he’d catch a glimpse of her from the corner of his eye. “We need to drive southwest.”

“We just came from there, but if you say so.” Lazlo pointed to the map in the dashboard. “Look at that and find me a route.”

The first week of searching, they’d left the paved roads and driven through the wilderness, traversing gravel and dirt paths, exploring remote farming regions, forests, and isolated river valleys.

The second week, he started to feel hints of her blood in the air as Tatyana’s amnis stirred to waking in his veins.

But now…

“I can feel her.” He grabbed the map and looked for a route that would take them closer. They weren’t traveling off road yet, but they would. Eventually they would be on foot.

“When we get close enough, we’ll have to park the vehicles,” Lazlo said. “The Hazar will be patrolling.”

The Hazar—Poshani wind vampires famed for their keen sight and martial skills—were Oleg’s greatest threat through this endeavor. They would attack first and ask questions later if they deemed an immortal a threat.

The Poshani planned their routes carefully, threading their way through isolated villages and getting near enough to urban centers to restock their supplies without drawing an excess of attention to their people.

It was an intricate puzzle as complicated as one of their traditional dances, and Oleg had always respected them for it.

Unfortunately, that caution and stealth was standing between him and his prey.

Mika, Ludmila, and Oksana were in the rear vehicle, leaving Lazlo and Oleg in companionable silence.

Lazlo kept his eyes on the dark road as they bumped through a forest. “Is she worth this, brother?”

“What does that mean?”

“You know what I mean,” Lazlo grumbled. “We’re risking the anger of an old ally so you can find this woman.”

“Despite what you all think, I am actually concerned that Vano could attempt a coup within the Poshani clan.”

Lazlo grunted. “He’s always been too friendly with Ivan.”

“Exactly.” They had acquired a government map that estimated the roads, but it was only slightly accurate. “There is a fire road about half a kilometer ahead. Turn left on it.”

“Yes, boss.”

“And yes.”

“Yes, what?” Lazlo said.

“She’s worth it.” Oleg kept his eyes on the map, refusing to look at his brother. “I think she has the potential to be a very extraordinary vampire.”

“You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t want to collect pretty, bright things and fix them on the walls of your castle.”

Oleg frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“You’ve always been drawn to the unusual,” Lazlo said. “You collect women like that. That’s why you were drawn to Luana.” He looked to the side. “I’m not implying that this one is mentally unbalanced like Luana was, but…” Lazlo nodded. “She’s interesting.”

“I don’t collect women.”

“Of course you do.” Lazlo slowed down and steered the Land Cruiser onto the narrow dirt road. “You like rescuing the birds with broken wings and fixing them. We all do it. That’s how we make amends.”

“For what?”

“You know for what, you idiot,” Lazlo grumbled. “We destroyed entire cultures under his command. We leveled towns and turned rivers red with blood.”

The haunting sound of human screams whispered in the back of Oleg’s mind. “We had no choice.”

“We did!” Lazlo barked. “We could have chosen death. We could have all chosen death, and some of us did.”

Oleg stared ahead. “What would our deaths have accomplished? Death would have been easy ,” he spat out. “We could all become sad martyrs weeping before our gods and begging forgiveness from our ancestors while the world we left behind burned to ashes.”

Lazlo nodded slowly. “You’re not wrong.”

“If you and I, Pavel and Rudov, and the rest of the decent ones had chosen death, all of the Kievan Rus would be ruled by Ivan and his kind.”

“Did I say we were wrong?” Lazlo shrugged. “I’m only saying we all choose our own way of making amends. Some of us try to keep the wretched mortals from destroying the earth, and you took the shattered remains of a monster’s empire and made it slightly less violent and brutal.”

There was nothing Oleg could say to that, so he kept quiet.

“So if you want to collect interesting and beautiful women to make your eternity slightly less horrible, I cannot blame you for it.”

“I am not collecting Tatyana Vorona,” Oleg muttered. “She’s infuriating. Headstrong. Dismissive. And so stubbornly independent I’m probably going to have to lock her up to keep her safe. I am beginning to believe she has a death wish.”

“And if she does?”

“That’s unacceptable .” Oleg felt his fire itching to break over his skin at the thought.

Lazlo was silent for a long moment, then burst into laughter.

The sound was so startling that Oleg could only stare.

“You fucking idiot.” Lazlo wiped bloody tears from his eyes. “She’s nothing you want and everything you need.” He burst into another peal of laughter, then slapped Oleg’s shoulder. “I love it.”

“You’re an idiot and you know nothing,” Oleg muttered.

“You’re going to fall in love with her. You’re half in love already.”

“Please shut up or I will kill you.”