Page 54 of Crimson Oath (The Firebird and the Wolf #2)

Tatyana

H er mind was shattered .

“I’ll leave you now. Just think about what I asked.”

Oleg kissed her forehead and returned to his trailer before dawn, leaving Tatyana staring at the wall.

He wasn’t asking her to marry him, he was asking for her to be some kind of queen. A ruler. His mate .

Tatyana barely understood what that meant.

She’d jumped straight from falling in love with the scary, dangerous, and strangely honorable vampire lord to considering whether she was willing to tie her life to his for eternity.

Nothing really prepared a person for that.

Tatyana wanted her mother, but that wouldn’t help either. Anna would sit her down, tell her that marrying a king was a horrible idea, that she’d never have a moment’s peace. Wasn’t there a nice clerk at the city office who didn’t mind a wife who only came out at night?

No, her mother was not going to be any help at all.

What would Rumi say?

Oleg Sokolov’s marriage proposal was not something that Tatyana could ask Rumi and Desiree for advice about. She had a feeling Oleg would end up wiping their memories quite thoroughly if she did something like that, and she didn’t want her friends’ brains altered without their consent.

Marriage?

Like… in a church? Could vampires go into churches?

They must have been able to because Oleg told her he was godfather to Elene’s children, which would imply that he’d been at their baptisms, which would mean?—

She was spiraling.

What he was asking was crazy. She wasn’t old enough to get married, especially to a thousand-year-old vampire. She wasn’t anyone’s queen. She had no idea what it would be like to lead.

Did that mean she’d have to occasionally take up a battle-ax and go defeat his enemies like when Zara had attacked the house in Sochi?

Would she have to sit in on business meetings?

Were there diplomatic events?

What exactly did a vampire queen do?

If Tatyana hadn’t been vampire, she would have been awake for hours. Luckily, the sun rose as inevitably as the turning of the clock and dragged her into a deep and dreamless sleep.

The following night, Tatyana was standing in the meadow and watching the final preparations for the grand Vashana Zata with thoughts of Oleg still racing around her mind.

She didn’t want to sit with the rest of the immortals who seemed to be in some kind of grandstand that faced the stage, so she lingered in an area just to the right of the main stage and waited for anyone who looked familiar.

Oleg was in the stands, wearing another immaculate suit and the cape he’d had on when they walked around the camp. He caught her eye from across the meadow but offered only a nod. She saw him speak to several immortals sitting nearby, but mostly he spoke to Mika, who was sitting to his left.

He left the seat on his right side empty.

Madina and Darius were sitting behind him. René DuPont was also there, along with the other vampire guests, most of whom were wearing traditional clothing of various sorts.

Between the flower garlands draped everywhere, the stage in the middle of the meadow, and the general aura of revelry, Tatyana felt like she’d accidentally walked onto a movie set.

“What’s wrong with you?” Rumi walked up to her, waving a hand in front of her face. “You look like someone walked on your grave.”

The vampire lord of the Kievan Rus asked me to marry him and be his queen.

“I had a strange night last night.” It was all Tatyana could manage. “And tonight feels…”

“Even stranger?” Rumi grimaced. “The tension is high. Everyone is putting on a good front for the children because they’re so excited, but Vano had another altercation with some of the darigan last night.”

“Oh?”

“I don’t even know what it was about this time, but he was accusing them of insubordination and implying that he was going to get revenge on their families.

” Rumi sighed. “It’s such a mess. He needs to go, but then there’s just going to be another power-hungry old man taking his place, so I don’t even know what’s best anymore. ”

Ben’s warning about events turning violent popped into her mind, and she kicked herself for forgetting to bring some of her essentials and her gold.

Damn Oleg. He’d completely distracted her.

“What are you doing down here?” Rumi asked. “You need to be up with the guests. ”

Tatyana crossed her arms over her chest. “I wanted to sit with you and Desiree.”

Rumi smiled. “I know you forget sometimes, but you do have fangs.” She cocked her head to the side and looked at Tatyana. “There’s something different about you tonight. Did something happen?”

I exchanged blood with a very powerful vampire, and I feel like I could throw a vardo across the lake.

Tatyana shook her head. “Not really.”

“Is it Oleg?”

She blinked. “What? No!”

“Is he bothering you?”

You have no idea.

“No, it’s not that. I just…” Tatyana sighed and stood up from where she leaned against the wagon. “I don’t have any formal clothes. I didn’t bring any and there aren’t any to buy.”

“You look perfect,” Rumi said. “You look Poshani .” She lifted a finger.

“Wait a moment.” She waved a woman over who had a rack of flower crowns.

“Here.” She grabbed a flower crown with ribbons woven through the branches and placed it on top of Tatyana’s head.

“There you go. You’re as fancy as any of them now. ”

Tatyana wanted to hug her, but that would be awkward. She wanted to thank Rumi for accepting her. Thank her for the simple and profound gift of calling her a friend.

“I’ll go with the other vampires,” she said, “but find me later? I have a feeling that I’m going to miss the good parties if I stay with the old people.”

Rumi laughed. “You’re not wrong.”

Tatyana made her way through the crowd, and as she approached the platform, she hesitated for a moment when she saw the finery of the vampires in the stands. But remembering Rumi’s words, she lifted her chin and walked up the steps.

“Surati, welcome to the Vashana Zata.” A Hazar guard stepped aside and allowed her up the steps into the dignitaries’ section. “You are most welcome.”

“Thank you.”

“Tatyana!” René DuPont waved her over. “Come and sit with me unless you’re royalty and I don’t know about it.”

Tatyana cast a quick peek at Oleg, who glanced at the seat next to him.

She froze, her eyes sweeping over the gathered group of vampires who were all staring at her. Oleg must have seen the panic in her eyes because he shook his head slightly and flicked his cape out so that the seat next to him was partially covered.

Okay, so no public statements if she wasn’t sure yet.

“Thank you.” Tatyana spoke to René, but she was looking at Oleg. “I’m not royalty, just a grateful guest.” She sat and folded her hands in her lap.

“Poshaniya!” Kezia stood on the stage and shouted.

A roar from the crowd that sounded like they were ready for a show or a sporting event.

“Poshaniya!”

Another, louder roar.

Kezia was clearly running the program. “We gather tonight!”

She stepped to the front of the stage, and the crowd of Poshani roared and waved their hands in greeting.

René leaned over and spoke softly as the audience erupted. “I believe you’re friends with Ben Vecchio, are you not?”

Wait, what? Why was René talking about Vecchio?

“We’re… friendly.”

“So you know that he and Tenzin did not leave willingly.”

Tatyana’s eyes went wide. “What?”

“Vano tried to dispose of them,” René said. “Very unpleasant, but no harm done. I have been instructed to keep an eye on you if things become complicated.”

“What do you mean, dispose?”

“I mean exactly what I say. ”

She glanced at Oleg. Did he know about this? Should she tell him?

She tore her eyes from Oleg. “Thank you for your concern, but I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

“If you’re worried about the Russian, don’t be.” René chuckled a little bit. “He’s as slow as all the old ones.”

Oh, you are an idiot. “That’s an interesting assumption.”

Tatyana suddenly wished she’d been less shy about publicly claiming her relationship with Oleg.

The Frenchman nodded at the stage. He couldn’t seem to keep his mouth shut. “Do you see them? All lined up, the humans who actually think they have a chance to become a terrin?”

“Do they?” Tatyana looked at the front of the crowd and saw a group of mostly middle-aged men and a few women sitting with what looked like cheering sections behind them. “I thought only vampires could become terrin.”

“Yes, but they expect to be changed,” René said. “That’s what they want, the immortality. Only the most foolish want the power.”

The power. Yes, only a fool would want the power.

“Brothers and sisters,” Kezia shouted, “welcome to Vashana!”

Another ecstatic cheer from the crowd, and the vampires in the grandstand clapped politely.

“As all of you know, this is the Vashana Zata, a special night held only once every hundred years. Because of this occasion, we have invited a few trusted guests from the kamvasa.” Kezia gestured to where Tatyana was sitting. “Our guests honor this trust and the privilege they have been granted.”

There was murmuring in the crowd as all the humans in the audience turned.

Tatyana smiled and waved, but then she noticed that no one else was waving and dropped her hand.

René chuckled beside her. “You’re a lamb, aren’t you?”

“Oh?” She was tired of him already. She turned to René and gave him the most dead-eyed stare she could muster. “People usually call me a wolf.”

Was it her imagination, or did Oleg clear his throat? Was he hiding laughter?

The corner of Tatyana’s mouth turned up.

They had a private joke, and something about that felt warm and thrilling at the same time.

Kezia was still talking on the stage. “This night will decide the next hundred years of leadership.”

René was still whispering to her. “A little bird chirped in my ear that you and Vano are not friends.”

“Who told you that?” He was right, but Tatyana didn’t want to share her business with a thief.