Page 137 of To Catch A Rogue

The catacombs soared above her, the immense stone ceilings vanishing into the darkness. Light spilled down the stairs, but it was just enough to see by. Nikolai knelt by a small altar, his black cloak splayed down over him like a fallen angel’s wings.

Nadezhda knelt in the corner and bowed her head.

Seeing him again brought the same sense of shock, as if she was looking into the eyes of a ghost.

But her brother's expression had never been this cold or forbidding. Nikolai's eyes were as dark and emotionless as a shark's.

Not for the first time, she wondered what had happened to him in the intervening years.

"Ah, little bird," he murmured, rising to his feet. "Come to visit again?"

He lit a taper and moved toward the seven candles on the altar, the candlelight the only hint of life in his dark eyes.

"I hoped to discuss a certain proposition that might benefit the both of us."

Nikolai blew the taper out, and the light in his eyes died. "Barely walked back into my life and wants something from me. How shocking."

The muscle in her jaw twitched. "How am I supposed to greet the brother who works for my enemy? Should I throw my arms around you? Kiss you on the cheek? Reminisce about old times?"

His gaze slid sideways, locking on Nadezhda. "Have you not been given jobs to do?"

"Yes, knyaz. At once, knyaz."The beautiful young woman pushed to her feet, her eyes glittering darkly as she turned away.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that?"

Nadezhda stilled in the doorway, then turned and signed something swiftly at him. Then she was gone, vanishing up the stairwell in a flurry of green skirts.

"What was that she said?" Lark had missed most of it. "Better than...?"

His face twisted sourly. "Better than calling you the Crippled King. My thanks for saddling me with that particular problem. For someone with no voice, she's particularly mouthy."

"You didn't have to take her." Lark cocked her head.

"I suffered a moment of weakness. Perhaps my conscience isn't entirely dead." Sinking onto the carved stone throne in the corner of the room, he rested both hands on the armrests. "Now, what do you want?"

Here came the crux of her mission. "I came to ask a favor."

Leaning forward, he rested his elbows on his thighs. "I don't do favors, Irina."

"Well, there's something in it for you too."

"I'm listening."

Bending down, she drew a swift map on the dirt floor.

"This is where they’re keeping our friends."

"The House of Upyr." He didn’t sound surprised.

"You knew. You knew all along where the duke was." She clenched her fists.

"I make it my business to know everything. And I never said I was your ally."

"No, you're Sergey's pet."

The muscle ticked in his jaw. "I warned you to leave. I told you many times you were not welcome here in this country."

"Why?" It was the one thing she couldn't quite figure out. "I thought you didn't care about what happened to me."