Page 34 of Crimson Oath (The Firebird and the Wolf #2)
Tatyana
I n the quiet hours before dawn, long after Rumi, Desiree, and Katrina had turned in for the night, Tatyana walked away from the kamvasa, nodding at the Hazar on the perimeter who caught her eye.
“I’m just going down to the lake,” she told the guard.
“We’ll be watching,” the man said with a slight nod.
The Hazar were ever-present at night, the guardians of both the humans and the vampires in the kamvasa. They were a silent army that only surfaced when necessary. Sometimes to report something to Radu or Kezia and sometimes to return an adventurous child who had wandered too far.
She felt the vampire’s watchful eyes as she walked down to the edge of the glassy lake, the moon and stars reflected in the mirrorlike surface.
She sat on the edge, perching on a fallen log, and watched the water react to her amnis, crawling up the shore to touch her bare feet where she stretched them toward the water.
The night was balmy—the heat of the day had lasted well until midnight when a slight breeze picked up and swept over the lake, bringing relief to the humans with air cooled by the water.
They had arrived in the small valley two nights before, and in the distance, she could see a tall mountain range. She still had no idea where she was geographically, but for the first time since she’d become a vampire, she was starting to feel at home.
It had nothing to do with the comfortable trailer where she’d collected a small wardrobe, stacks of books, and an interesting collection of rocks from the rivers and lakes they’d passed.
It wasn’t the journals she’d started to keep again for the first time since she was a child.
It wasn’t the ever more familiar rhythm of Poshani, but that was part of it.
Within the isolated bubble of the Poshani kamvasa, Tatyana had remembered that she loved music and she missed dancing.
She remembered what it felt like to joke with friends.
She remembered what it was like to close her eyes at dawn and not fear what might be coming the following night, because she knew who she would see, and she knew what they expected from her.
The kamvasa was starting to feel like home, and she felt an ache in her heart that they had already passed midsummer.
Two more months and this refuge would be gone. After that? What was she supposed to do?
The water kissed her feet, soothing the electric energy that had started to churn in her blood.
Safe.
You are safe.
The water reassured her, and Tatyana took a steadying breath. Whatever happened after the kamvasa came to a close, she realized that she could find her way in the world. She felt more confident moving among vampires, and she’d even considered talking to Radu about a job.
She could live for a long time on the money she had, but Tatyana knew she needed employment to be happy. Perhaps there was some part of the Poshani business she could help with.
After a peaceful hour, Tatyana stood and made her way back to the heart of the kamvasa, nodding at the Hazar who’d been watching.
She found her trailer with ease even though it was identical to the others in the center of the camp.
But the moment she put her hand on the door, she froze.
It couldn’t be.
His scent was unmistakable. She could feel his amnis in the air.
Her blood came to furious life, and she yanked her trailer door open, prepared to start yelling for the Hazar, but the moment she walked into her trailer, his hand came over her mouth.
Oleg bent down, locked his eyes with hers, and pressed his forehead to hers, his lips against the fingers that were pressed to her mouth. “Shhhh. It’s me. It’s me.”
She tore his hand away and hissed, “I know it’s you!”
He didn’t move. They were frozen, inches apart, and her amnis was raging.
Not in anger.
In the safety of her silent trailer, there was nothing but him and her. His skin smelled of earth and ashes. His breath was warm on her lips.
She wasn’t afraid. She was furious.
And so hungry for him she wanted to weep.
Tatyana put her hand on his neck and closed the inches left between them, meeting Oleg’s mouth in a furious kiss.