Chapter 43

Chapter Forty-Three

O leg stared at the black chest containing approximately ten million in gold bars.

It was always satisfying to see gold in person. He had millions in numbers on screens, but that meant very little to him. It made the humans who worked for him happy, but at the end of the day, he much preferred to see his wealth in gold.

What the chest contained was a fraction of the gold Oleg owed Zara. He’d only shipped two chests from Odesa, but this one had something much more important than gold.

This one held Luana’s jewelry, and that was what Zara truly wanted.

The fine mahogany chest that lay on top of the gold bars was the real prize. The diamonds and emeralds alone were triple the value of the gold, and that wasn’t counting the finished pieces of jewelry, which were impossible to value.

Oleg had spent centuries collecting wealth, and when Luana became his mate, he showered her with gifts, partly to charm his mate and partly to let the broader vampire world know the power and wealth he could bestow on those who pleased him.

To his disappointment, she rarely wore the jewelry he gave her, choosing rather to hide it away in her personal cache.

Oleg heard Tatyana’s footsteps racing down the hallway and flipped the top of the chest closed. There was no need for her to see Zara’s treasure until it was time.

Tatyana knocked, but she didn’t wait for permission to enter.

He’d have to deal with that when she didn’t appear to be so rattled.

“What is it?”

She’d been working with Oksana in the ballroom, and he could see her amnis sparking. The water in the air drew to her skin, and though her face was pale, her lips were flushed. He wanted to snatch her from everyone’s view and strip her naked, but she was clearly upset about something, so he sat calmly.

She couldn’t seem to speak.

“Tatyana,” he said calmly. “Why are you upset?”

“You killed Luana.”

Oleg froze. Of all the things he’d been expecting her to say, that was not it. “I see Oksana has been chatting.”

“She said it wasn’t a secret.”

“It’s not.” He saw them in his mind, the bright red tesserae adorning the walls of his day chamber in the citadel.

Sire.

Lover.

Mate.

Brothers.

Friends.

“I have killed many vampires,” Oleg said quietly. “Did you think I became the immortal lord of the Kievan Rus because of diplomacy?”

“She was your mate.” Tatyana started to pace. “Her blood was… it was living in you.”

Just as your blood is living in me now. “Yes.”

“You said it hurt you when she died.”

Why was she so agitated? Did Tatyana think Oleg was going to kill her if he tired of her? Oleg sat back in his chair and folded his hands even though the old feelings and regrets were roaring in his mind.

“Luana had to die because she was unwell,” he said. “She was erratic, dangerous, and became obsessed with taking human women off the street and feeding from them until they died, which was completely unnecessary for a vampire her age. In the week before I killed her, she had taken twenty women. Twenty . If I hadn’t done something, the humans would have found her, and she could have exposed us.”

“Yes.” Tatyana nodded, but she didn’t stop pacing. “I understand that.”

“So why does this upset you?”

“It hurt you.”

Did she care that much for him? Oleg felt a crack in his control. “Yes. It hurts when a blood bond is broken even if it is an old one.”

“And it hurt Zara.”

Oleg froze. Where was she going? “Yes. Zara hated me for killing Luana.”

“It was wrong,” Tatyana whispered, her eyebrows knitting together. “Elene told her that when Zara was beating her. She said it was wrong and everyone knew it.”

“I’m sure Elene said that because?—”

“She was trying to calm Zara down! Obviously.”

Nothing was obvious about how this woman’s mind worked. What was churning behind her blue eyes? “I do not understand why you are so agitated. Will you please?—”

“It hurt Zara when Luana died because they had exchanged blood, yes?”

“No.” Why was she asking about his dead mate’s blood? “Luana never gave Zara her blood. They were not mated. That’s why Luana remained my mate until I killed her.”

Tatyana walked to the other side of his desk and stood, her amnis vibrating in the air. “But you did. You gave your daughter Luana’s blood when you made her.”

Oleg narrowed his eyes but said nothing.

“She’s a water vampire, not an earth vampire,” Tatyana said. “You may be her sire, but she carries a lot of Luana’s blood. You said that.”

She wasn’t wrong. Oleg’s daughter carried the last of Luana’s amnis in her veins.

He shrugged. “And?”

“Zara has your blood. She has Luana’s blood. She is a part of both of you. When the time comes to kill her, are you actually going to do it?”

Obviously not because it might kill you too. Not that Oleg was ever going to tell her that.

“Is this why you’re angry?” Oleg unfolded his hands and slowly stood. “Because you think I won’t have the strength to kill Zara?” The corner of his mouth turned up. “Really?”

“I know you have the strength,” Tatyana spat out. “But do you have the will? You accuse me of loving her, but you do too . She’s your blood, Oleg. And the last blood of your mate.” Tatyana locked eyes with him. “Tell me you’re going to kill her.”

Oleg crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his chin up, looking down his nose at the angry woman. “I haven’t decided yet.”

Her eyes went wide and her mouth fell open. “You’re not going to, are you?”

“I am leaning toward… no. I will keep her in the citadel. Don’t you remember what you told me once? It would be crueler to her —harsher—to keep her alive for a century or two. I can confine her?—”

“She needs to die!”

Something in his chest roared in defiance. Nothing could happen to Zara that might hurt Tatyana. It was unacceptable. He would not stand for it. His fire had tasted her amnis, and it wanted more. It was protective. Possessive.

Oleg watched Tatyana carefully. “When I knew she killed Elene and robbed you of your mortal life, I admit I wanted to kill her. But death is swift and merciful, volchitsa. Wouldn’t it be better to let Zara suffer?”

“How can you be so cold?” Tatyana shook her head. “Zara has to die.”

“So you’d have me give her mercy with a swift death? What lesson would that teach those who challenge me?”

“The whole world already thinks she’s dead!”

“Still, it would be far better to let her scrape the walls and bloody her fists against stone while I keep her in prison for a century.” Oleg shrugged. “Let her think about Elene’s death and regret it. Maybe when she understands remorse, I will kill her.”

“I don’t want her to control me!” Tatyana pounded a fist on her chest. “Don’t you see that?”

He did see it, and she wasn’t wrong.

But Tatyana didn’t know that Zara’s death could kill her too.

“It’s not your decision.” Oleg walked out from behind his desk and toward the door. “You’re irrational right now. You need blood. Let me get you something to?—”

“I’m not being irrational! I’m being very rational and very clear. I want Zara dead.” She ran and put a hand on his chest. “Are you going to do it?”

He covered her hand with his and held it there. “I will deal with Zara. You are her child; it’s not your decision.”

She curled her hand into a fist and drew back. “I cannot believe you.”

“I don’t know why you’re shocked, Tatyana.” He cocked his head. “Zara is my child, under my aegis. You’re not my peer in any way.”

“You want to keep a monster alive.”

“And you think of only of yourself,” Oleg murmured. “While I have to think…” Of you. “I must think of the hundreds of vampires and humans who need my power. And sometimes my cruelty.”

She stepped back, shaking her head. “No one needs cruelty.”

“You’re still thinking like a human. Other vampires need to fear me if my people are going to be safe. My druzhina calls me lord because I am strong, not because I am merciful.” He leaned down and murmured, “Just as you will call me lord when your sire is under my thumb.”

“What?” Tatyana’s head jerked back. “Call you lord ? Is that what this is about for you?”

“Once Zara is captured, you will be alone, volchitsa. You will have no sire, no clan. You will be fair game to any vampire who wants to prey on you.”

“And tell me how that is different from every other point in my life.” Tatyana lifted her chin, her lip curling. “I’ve always fended for myself.”

“But you don’t have to anymore.” Placing a hand on her cheek, he stroked his thumb over her silken skin.

Oleg leaned down and gently pressed his lips against hers. He flooded his amnis over her skin, spreading the pleasure of the kiss from his body to hers.

And he felt it. He felt the nascent bond in his blood, the pleasure in her blood answering his. He felt the aching want and the simmering passion that lived in her, the banked purity of her desire for him.

Oleg stepped closer and opened his mouth, waiting for her kiss to meet his.

After a moment of hesitation, she opened her mouth, kissing him back, lifting her hand to the nape of his neck and pushing her tongue into his mouth to stroke against his fangs.

A low growl in his throat when he tasted it. His arms slid around her waist and he drew her body to his, pressing them together so he felt her heart beat against his chest.

Her blood in his mouth, swallowed and captured in his own body. Her amnis threading with his. The bond grew and deepened, elevating her pleasure until he could feel it ringing through his own body like a plucked string.

She was his now. Her passion. Her anger. Her fear. He felt it all in his own blood.

Lifting his mouth from hers, he kept their bodies pressed together as he whispered in her ear. “Call me your lord, Tatyana Vorona. Give me your loyalty. Ask me for my protection, and you will have it. You will be my lover. No one will touch you. You will be cared for, your family will be protected, and you will want for nothing ever again.”

Her hand gripped the hair at his nape. “All I have to do is call you lord and my family will be protected?”

Oleg pulled back and stared into her eyes, willing her to come to him. To surrender. He wanted it. He wanted to take care of her. He wanted to give her everything.

The realization twisted something tight in his chest.

“Call me your lord.” He spoke softly. “And I swear you will never be alone again.”

She would be his. Truly and only his. He would have no other, and he could be content because in this unexpected woman—his little bookkeeper with her sharp teeth—were multitudes. Her mind was a collection of gleaming tessera he could spend eternity learning.

“You want me to call you my lord?” The corner of her mouth turned up. “Bend to you. Bow to you?”

He frowned. “Tatyana?—”

“You said you like my fangs,” she whispered. “Was that because you want to yank them from my mouth?”

Oleg saw the fire in her eyes, and he couldn’t bring himself to hate it even as she rejected him. “So sharp, little wolf.” He dropped his hand and took a step back. “Make sure you don’t chew off your own leg trying to escape from someone who wants to keep you safe.”

Tatyana walked out of the room, and Oleg felt every step she took as she walked away from him.