Page 47 of Crimson Oath (The Firebird and the Wolf #2)

Oleg was who he was, and Tatyana had to learn how to exist in this world. She had to learn how to survive. She had to make alliances of her own.

She felt like a newborn colt, all legs and wobbly balance. She might run someday, but for the moment she was far more likely to fall down.

“This is nice.”

Tatyana looked over and saw Vecchio walking toward her. He was gesturing at the gathering around the bonfire.

“Yes. It’s quite a show for the little ones.” It appeared that every Poshani child in the camp had gathered around the campfire and was excitedly pointing at the sky.

“Nice for grown-ups too.”

Nice? Yes, but much work. The area around the fire had been mowed and raked. Buckets of water had been set out.

“One errant spark and this all goes up in flames,” she murmured.

“Such an optimist.”

“A realist.” She never said it wasn’t worth the work. But valuable things took work. Valuable people deserved it. The Poshani children deserved something delightful, and it was worth the work to give it to them.

Benjamin was looking at the stream by Kezia’s beautiful old vardo. “Keeping an eye on things?”

“I’d be a fool not to,” she said quietly. “Even water vampires can burn.”

“True.”

Vecchio was watching the camp with a gaze that whispered secrets. Tatyana narrowed her eyes and saw him take in the vardo, clock the Hazar hovering overhead. He noticed everything around him.

Watchful. Always watchful.

Oleg said he had been raised by an assassin, but what was he doing in the kamvasa now? What was his purpose?

“Radu asked me to keep an eye out for any errant fire, and I was willing. There are not many of my kind in the camp.” Most of the Poshani vampires were wind vampires like Vecchio.

Did he think that qualified him to take one of the jewel goblets that Rumi and Desiree were talking about? Maybe Vecchio—as much of a newborn as she was—was also looking for a home.

Or his own kingdom to rule.

He smiled at her, still putting on his gregarious mask, though she could see the calculation behind it. “You’re generous to help.”

“I’ve become quite good at putting out fires. I used to work for Oleg.”

Oleg the Terrible. Thinking about him already felt bittersweet.

Vecchio was still there, still watching her. “I see.”

“I very much doubt that.” She lifted some water from the creek and rolled the liquid in her palm. The focus broke her memory of Oleg, and she felt her body cooling down. “But I’m ready when I need to be.”

He gave her his biggest grin. “Good vampire.”

“Ugh.” Did he know how garish his fangs were? He looked like he was getting ready to bite something. Tatyana tossed the water back in the creek. “Put your smile away. I’m not in the mood for your teeth.”

His laughter seemed genuine, and the glance he cast toward the collection of vampires where his mate was sitting was as conflicted as Tatyana’s own mind.

When he spoke again, she barely caught his words. “Vampire life is complicated.”

“So it is.”

What was going on in his mind?

Despite his looks and the vast power differential between them, she felt older than Vecchio. Or maybe she was just more jaded. Maybe his life had been a privileged, soft life of ease.

Probably. If he was the adopted son of a powerful immortal, it was easy to imagine him slipping easily through life, drifting from one amusement to another like the children of the rich she’d seen vacationing in Sevastopol when she was growing up.

She heard the sound of air moving overhead. “The Hazar are coming to watch. Radu will call them down.”

The last thing that Radu wanted would be wind vampires in the air with fireworks going off. That sounded like a recipe for disaster.

Vecchio narrowed his eyes. “Seems like you’ve gotten to know the ins and outs of this place pretty well.”

“I’m observant. Some of us don’t come into immortal life with riches, connections, and extraordinary power.” She watched him from the corner of her eye. “We have to watch for our opportunities.”

Radu shouted at the Hazar, “Come closer. Put out your lights.”

The Hazar started toward the ground, leaving the skies above the kamvasa unguarded .

Radu kept talking to the gathered audience, and Tatyana looked over her shoulder, expecting to see Vecchio standing behind her, but the wind vampire had disappeared.

Moments later, the sky above her exploded with the first firework.

Tatyana nearly jumped out of her skin.

Tatyana returned to her trailer a few hours before dawn to find Oleg already working on a new puzzle. He had cleared off the table and was spreading tiny pieces across the surface.

The moment she saw him, the erratic energy skittering through her system eased, but the wariness remained. “There’s something very strange going on.”

Oleg stood without another word and turned to her. “Tell me.”

He was ready, and his fangs were already down. His body was a coiled spring, and Tatyana suddenly understood why warriors followed this man into battle.

“I am a king who is a weapon.”

She had the unnerving realization that in that moment, she could point Oleg at anyone she wanted and he would destroy them.

Vano. He’d be happy to get rid of Vano.

Vecchio.

Even Radu or Kezia.

She didn’t need that kind of power. She didn’t want it.

Tatyana could wait to tell Oleg about Vano’s threats. Because in the end, he hadn’t really made any. Not anything overt.

“It’s not like that.” She walked to him, put her hands on his shoulders, and his muscles eased. “It’s fine. I’m fine.” She stood on her tiptoes and lifted her face to his. “It’s not an immediate thing.”

When Oleg kissed her, his amnis smoothed down her neck, her back, and her shoulders, calming her without his saying a word. It was a full-body hug from his energy to hers.

Oleg cupped her cheek. “What is wrong?” He bent down and put his nose to her neck. “I smell a wind vampire. Strong.”

Oh damn. She was going to have to tell him about Vano or he was going to overreact.

But she’d also seen another wind vampire that night.

“Vecchio,” she blurted. “We were talking while I was watching for sparks from the fireworks earlier.”

“Was he bothering you?”

“Not in any dangerous way. He… asks too many questions. It’s probably nothing.”

Oleg took Tatyana’s hand and led her to the sofa. “Sit with me. I can sense the tension in the camp even though I’m hiding in this trailer,” he growled. “It’s not unexpected, particularly this close to a power transfer.”

“Transfer?” She sat next to him, but she didn’t reach for the puzzle. “So one of the terrin is going to give up a goblet?”

According to Rumi, when one terrin was ready to retire, that was what they did. They handed over the jewel goblet to their chosen successor, and the Poshani people either accepted that successor or voted for someone more popular. The people always had the final say.

Oleg had said nothing, and a frown dominated his features.

“Is it Radu?” Tatyana got the impression that Radu was the terrin Oleg liked the most. “Is he giving up his power?”

“I do not know,” he said softly. “I tried to discover his intentions months ago, but I cannot say for certain. I know he has an idea that it might be time.”

“It should be Vano,” she blurted. “Not Radu.”

Oleg narrowed his eyes. “Did he threaten you again? I am more than happy to kill him.”

“That seems… excessive.” Yes, she was definitely keeping th at to herself right now. “Actually, he’s been keeping his distance. Maybe I smell like you now.”

“You probably do.” He leaned over and sniffed her neck, smiling with satisfaction. “Yes, you do.”

Perhaps she could warn him away without mentioning Vano. “Do you think anyone knows you’re sneaking into the camp? I don’t want you hurt. And I don’t want to create problems for the Hazar.”

“Radu has probably guessed.” Oleg sat back and stretched one arm across the back of the sofa, playing with a piece of her hair. “But he also likely knows that I am only sneaking in to meet with my lover, so as long as you do not object to me, he will not say anything.”

That wasn’t what she was expecting. Perhaps Vano’s threats had even fewer teeth than she’d imagined. “He doesn’t care that you’ve broken the security of the kamvasa?”

“This deep in my territory, he cannot be surprised that I know they are here. We’re only a hundred kilometers from my castle right now.”

“Your castle,” she whispered. “I nearly forgot about the castle.”

“You will like it. Of course, you cannot live there because I am sure you will want your internet, and I have not allowed them to put internet into the castle.” Oleg pursed his lips. “But if you prefer it, I will allow internet to be built there.”

“You don’t build…” She shook her head. She wasn’t going to try to explain how broadband cables worked to a thousand-year-old vampire when that wasn’t really the issue. “Oleg, just because you’re… courting me doesn’t mean that I’m going to start working for you again.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” He stood and started pacing. “It’s the only place for you. In less than two months, the kamvasa will be finished for the season. You will not be welcome back in the Fire King’s court.”

She watched him pace, and she felt his amnis changing, his energy shifting from waves to spikes. Hard and biting .

“I will find a place,” she said calmly. “I have a few avenues that I am investigating, though I would like to go visit my mother if?—”

“The fact that you are even asking permission is an insult to me!” Oleg snapped.

Tatyana kept very still. “I’m not trying to insult you.”

“Stop that.” He pointed at her. “You cannot still be afraid of me. This stubborn independence is?—”

“I am not one of your people.” She stood and allowed her amnis to wake. She wasn’t a scared newborn anymore. She might not have a fraction of his power, but taking his blood had given her new insight.

She had power too.

“You are mine ,” Oleg said deliberately. “Whether you admit it or not. Your blood knows the truth.”

Tatyana could feel his energy surging in her blood.

She wanted to go to him. She wanted to curl into his body, rub her body against his, and drink him in.

Her body was primed for him. Her fangs were long.

She could walk to him, take his blood, bathe in their shared amnis, and forget everything they were fighting about.

“This is the problem,” she said quietly.

This had always been the problem.

He marched toward her and crossed his arms over his chest. “What are you talking about?”

He was so powerful, so potent, that he burned everything else away, and if she returned to his territory, submitted to his aegis, her soul would turn to ashes.

She would be nothing.

“Oleg,” she whispered. “Please don’t ruin this.”

“I am not ruining anything.” He lowered his voice. “You are the one running. Again you are running.”

“Because I am not one of your people,” she said again. “I’m not a minion to order around. I’m not your soldier. I am not your bookkeeper. And if I?—”

“You can take any role you would like. I would value your counsel on any?— ”

“If I started working for you again” —she could not let him run her over— “then all this?” She motioned between the two of them. “It changes. You have to realize that.”

“Why?” He leaned down until their eyes were level. “Are you saying you like this?” He pointed to the door. “Hiding our connection? Sneaking in the shadows? I would be proud to have you stand at my side, Tatyana Vorona.”

“I like being at peace.”

He took a step back as if she’d struck him. “And I do not give you peace?”

“I want to be with you.” She stepped toward him. “But who you are to the world and who you are to me?” She put her hand over her heart and shook her head. “They are not the same.”

“This place is an escape for you.” His jaw tightened. “And yet I cannot escape the world. Not even here. Not even with you.”

“What are you talking about?”