Page 50 of Crimson Oath (The Firebird and the Wolf #2)

Tatyana

T atyana was shocked to find herself in an entirely new location when she opened her door that night. She hadn’t realized they were moving that day; they had only been in the previous location for one night.

The Vashana Zata is almost here.

She felt the tension in the air, and as she stepped down into the long grass of the meadow where the wagons had been circled, she looked around, trying to understand what felt so different.

The camp setup felt… hasty. The usually meticulous preparations of the darigan were not evident. Grass hadn’t been trimmed. Wagons were still in the process of setting up. It felt like the kamvasa had moved quickly, and she wasn’t sure why.

Security breach?

She couldn’t feel Oleg, and she wanted the assurance of his blood nearby. Anger tumbled with longing in her mind. She wanted him, but she didn’t want to want him.

Her craving for the vampire was bordering on obsessive. Was this how he felt after taking her blood?

Tatyana had thought that his taking her blood was a greedy, selfish move to control her, but now that she’d taken his, she realized that it was also a huge vulnerability.

I was looking for an excuse to hunt for you.

She was still being hunted, but was it truly personal—as Oleg claimed—or was he hunting her as an amusement while he had other motivations?

She wanted to believe what he said, that she was his true reason for being here. That he wanted her for herself, not as part of some scheme or power play.

And part of her did believe him, but was that the influence of his blood in her system?

Vano and Ivan only gave me the reason I needed.

Vano and Ivan. Tatyana didn’t know the full implications of what they were scheming, but she knew that a Poshani terrin cutting deals with a regional governor under the nose of the other vampire authorities could not be good.

“Tatyana!”

She turned and saw Kezia walking toward her. “Good evening.”

“An unexpected move.” Kezia was smiling, but Tatyana saw tension around her eyes. “No doubt there was something unsatisfactory about the previous location. The darigan want everything perfect for Vashana.”

Tatyana saw that Kezia was trying to convince herself. She remembered making excuses like that in university when she was the new student and the others in her dormitory had done something that left her out. It was an excuse to justify the anger and worry of being excluded from a decision.

“The darigan decide much for the kamvasa,” Tatyana said.

Kezia nodded. “We trust them with our lives.” She crossed her arms over her chest and watched the humans scuttling around the camp.

“How are they chosen?”

Kezia cocked her head. “You are very curious for a guest.”

“I’m curious…” Tatyana started. “I’m curious about everything, I suppose. I’m new to this life.”

Kezia smiled. “I forget that you are so young. It’s rare for us to have a vampire in the kamvasa who is so new to this life. Most have not accumulated the wealth necessary to buy passage.”

Tatyana shrugged. “Unless their sire dies and leaves them a fortune and they are left at loose ends.”

“Is that what happened to you?”

“Are you asking where I got my money?”

Kezia’s eyes brightened. “No, I am not. I don’t believe women should have to explain themselves. Men usually don’t.”

“Exactly.”

Kezia inclined her head toward her own trailer. “Would you care to join me for a drink?”

Why not? Perhaps Kezia could shed light on the strange tension that seemed to waft through the air like the scent of paprika and meadow grass.

“Thank you. I would enjoy that.”

They walked across the meadow toward Kezia’s trailer, a large wooden affair with a rounded top made of heavy cloth. There were windows on each side and one on the back.

As Tatyana looked closer, she realized they were false, only a decoration bordered by carved wooden shutters. The side panels were painted deep green with gold and red flowers detailed in intricate designs.

Tatyana paused to admire it as Kezia stepped onto the back porch.

“It’s a vardo.” She smiled. “I know my brothers prefer more modern conveniences like your trailer, but my houses in town are quite modern, so when I am in the kamvasa, I enjoy being sentimental.”

“It’s beautiful.”

“And it’s more secure than it looks.” She waved Tatyana closer. “Come. We should share a drink. You’re quite private, you know. A little hard to get to know.”

Was she?

“I think I’m still more comfortable around humans,” Tatyana said quietly as she ducked her head to enter the trailer.

“That’s understandable,” Kezia said. “Vampires are scheming liars who plan in centuries instead of years. You’re quite right to distrust us.”

It appeared bigger on the inside, and the top arched overhead, also painted with traditional Poshani designs.

“Your vardo is a work of art.”

“Yes.” Kezia looked up. “Many years ago, I had a human lover who painted all this.” She waved a hand. “She was very gifted.”

“You must have trusted her very much.”

Something flickered in Kezia’s eyes. “I’ve heard it said that to be trusted is a greater gift than being loved.”

Tatyana tucked that away in the back of her mind as Kezia pointed her toward a velvet-upholstered sofa built into the side.

Her nose twitched. “What is that scent?”

Kezia glanced at her from the corner of her eye. “Peppermint schnapps. A bottle mysteriously fell from my bar.”

“Mysteriously?”

Kezia poured two glasses of blood-wine and handed one to Tatyana before she sat across from her. “Quite mysteriously.”

“You think someone broke into your trailer?” It wouldn’t even occur to Tatyana. “Would someone do that to a terrin?”

“A Poshani would not,” Kezia said. “But we have outsiders in the camp.”

Benjamin Vecchio.

Tenzin .

Madina.

Not Darius.

“René,” Tatyana murmured. “The Frenchman?”

It wasn’t René who had been lingering around Kezia’s trailer the night of the fireworks though. It had been Benjamin Vecchio.

Kezia narrowed her eyes and leaned forward. “Now why would you suspect René?” She lifted a hand. “I’m not saying you’re wrong.”

“I don’t know.” She did know; Oleg had confirmed that René DuPont was a thief. “Perhaps he reminds me of the young men in Sevastopol when I was a teenager. You could tell the ones who were only pretending to be rich to get money from people.”

Kezia’s fangs glittered in the gold light from her glass lamps. “You think René is a con artist?”

“Maybe not a con artist but an opportunist?”

She leaned back and smiled. “You are not wrong. My brother Radu asked that I invite him this year.”

“Why?”

“That’s an excellent question.” Kezia tasted her blood-wine. “Both my brothers have been keeping secrets from me.”

Tatyana sipped her wine. “You don’t look angry.”

“Why would I be? I have secrets of my own.”

Tatyana offered another name even though her gut was saying she was wrong. “Benjamin Vecchio might be considered an opportunist by some.”

“By me.” Kezia sipped her wine. “But apparently he and his mate decided to leave us, and as I am not missing anything other than a broken bottle of schnapps, I doubt it was him or Tenzin. They are both very accomplished thieves.”

Tatyana blinked. “What do you mean?”

“Ben and Tenzin are both very good at… we’ll say retrieving lost things. It’s their business these days.”

“But you said they are gone?”

“Yes.” Kezia’s eyebrows went up. “Vano said they requested permission to leave. Quite extraordinary, but he made it sound like it was some kind of family emergency, and considering both their families?—”

“They’re gone ?” That’s what had felt off. There were two trailers missing from the kamvasa. That was the imbalance Tatyana sensed when she stepped outside.

“Things like this happen rarely, but they do happen.” Kezia lifted one shoulder. “What can you do? They will not be welcomed back for a century at least. That is the penalty for breaking one’s contract even in an emergency.”

Well, that explained why the darigan had moved. If Vecchio and his mate had truly demanded to leave, the kamvasa could not remain in the same position for security reasons.

That meant that Oleg’s presence was still undetected unless Vano had chosen to rat her out.

“And how are you finding the kamvasa this season, Tatyana Vorona?” Kezia lifted her glass of wine. “It seems you have made yourself very much at home.”

She was tempted to tell Kezia what she’d witnessed between Vano and Rumi or that Vano had threatened her, grabbed her in the shadows, and tried to intimidate her.

Tell on me, and I’ll tell on you.

“I love it here.” Even with Vano’s scheming, it was the absolute truth. “In all honesty, given the choice, I think I would never leave.”

The following night, Tatyana walked toward the cooking wagons, needing to reassure herself that Rumi, Desiree, and Katrina were still there. She hadn’t seen them in a few nights, and now everything seemed uncertain.

The tension was even more distinct in the human areas of the kamvasa, though more humans had gathered and there was a general air of festivity.

Children ran through the camp, chasing each other while wearing flower crowns and fancy dresses as their mothers shouted at them to keep clean.

Dogs barked in happy chorus, and slow-blinking cats peered from the tops of trailers and covered wagons, watching from the darkness with gold eyes.

Small fires had been lit in each circle, and men and women gathered around them, chatting and smoking cigarettes and pipes. She drew a few curious glances, but the Poshani who knew her nodded and drew the curious stares away.

“Tatyana!”

She turned when she heard her name and saw Rumi waving for her. She walked over, and Rumi greeted her with an embrace.

Tatyana asked, “How are you?”

Rumi’s eyes were bright. “Vampire drama, yes? This move disrupted all the original plans for the dinner because we were going to do a pit roast, but what can you do, right?” She shrugged. “The security of the guests come first.”

“We don’t deserve you.”