Chapter 49

Chapter Forty-Nine

S he sat in a parking lot on the edge of the border crossing, sucking down a bottle of blood-wine and knowing that there was no way she could make it into Georgia on the main road.

She had no papers. No ID. She was terrified to leave the truck when the scent of humans was all around her. She’d raided the blood stores in the kitchen before she left Oleg’s house, and she had a case of blood-wine in the old truck, but even as she drank, her throat was starting to burn.

She grabbed her phone, quickly turned it on and looked at the map, searching for a road that might lead away from civilization. The truck would drive over rough terrain. If she could find a place to cross the river, she could probably make it into Georgia and then contact Grimace.

Or maybe she would simply lose herself in the mountains for a while. She could find a cave. Hunt animals for blood. She knew animals were an option. She couldn’t die from exposure unless it was the sun. If she could find a cave, she might be safe.

There were lots of caves in the mountains, right?

She just needed to get far enough away from Oleg that she could make a plan.

But right now she needed to get away from this border crossing because Oleg might have come back to the house before dawn. And if he came back before dawn? All bets were off.

She saw a road on the map that ran parallel to the river, weaving through warehouses and residential areas. She turned off her phone and decided to follow it.

It was four in the morning and she had just over two hours to find some kind of shelter before dawn. She had the case of blood-wine and a duffel bag of gold and jewels. She already knew she’d need help to sell any of the jewelry, but she could deal with that later.

Later?

She nearly laughed at her own foolishness.

This was the stupidest thing she’d ever done in her life save for the time she’d walked into a vampire’s office building in Odesa, thinking she had leverage.

Why hadn’t she just taken the loss? Forgotten her back wages?

She could be back in Sevastopol right now, listening to her mother complain about life, chatting with friends online whom she would never meet in person, and looking for work to supplement her mother’s meager pension.

Instead, she was running from a possessive vampire lord after she stole his treasure, hoping that she’d find shelter before the sun burned her alive.

“Tatyana, you’re an idiot.” Okay, yes. She was an idiot. But she was her own idiot. That was something.

Right?

She maneuvered through the border town, avoiding the glances of any passing cars as she drove like she knew where she was going.

She had no idea where she was going.

A rush of panic nearly choked her.

She couldn’t turn back now. Oleg was going to be furious. She’d stolen from him and taken off, risking exposure and maybe embarrassing him in front of his druzhina.

She had to keep going.

Tatyana wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand and turned left, still heading north though the road twisted and turned.

She missed him already. He was like an addiction in her veins, a longing hunger she wanted to sate even more than her thirst.

She couldn’t do it.

Tatyana could see the river on the other side of a barbed wire fence. It snaked across a shallow riverbed under the moonlight, a threaded channel of rocks, water, and mud.

She turned right onto a gravel road, heading into a dark stand of trees.

A pair of lights appeared behind her.

Fuck.

She pushed down on the accelerator, willing the car to go faster. If there were humans in the car, she was a danger to them, and she hadn’t forgotten Lazlo’s warning.

Kill a human in my territory and I’ll kill you.

She knew he wasn’t joking. Not even a little bit. This was still Oleg’s territory, right? And Oleg’s territory meant Lazlo’s territory.

More than that, she didn’t want to kill anyone. The soldiers breaking into her room were one thing—they’d been there to kill her—but a random police officer patrolling the border? They were just doing their job. She didn’t want to be a murderer. She didn’t want to be a monster.

Tatyana turned left as the road twisted, and she saw a black silhouette in the distance, a massive warehouse completely devoid of light. Beyond that, there was another gravel road and what looked like it might be a bridge.

Yes .

Somehow, on the other side of the river, there was shelter. The mountains were there. She could find isolation. She could be lost.

The lights behind her seemed to speed up.

Tatyana punched the engine, racing toward the river on the other side of the chain-link fence. She braced herself as the truck crashed through the fence, somewhat surprised by how easily the old gate fell over. She gripped the wheel as the road turned into gravel and then into mud.

She could see the river in front of her, gleaming in the moonlight. The water looked shallow, and the truck was built for off-road. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d plowed her way through mud. The key was to pick up enough speed to make it across.

She floored the truck as the vehicle behind her started honking wildly.

Tatyana ignored it, and her heart raced as she crossed the first part of the river. The water splashed up around her, soaking the windows and flowing under the base of the doors.

The truck behind her kept honking. The driver was leaning on the horn, and she could see lights on the other side of the river switching on. Someone had spotted her truck.

Shit!

Whoever was following her was not afraid of attracting attention, which meant it was Oleg or it was the Russian authorities.

Damn it, damn it, damn it.

Not once did she let her foot off the accelerator. Not when the truck jostled her and she nearly hit her head on the roof. Not when it went sliding over the mud and started to fishtail.

She steered into the spin and righted the truck only to gasp when she went over a particularly large boulder in the middle of the river and something caught the axle, bringing her to a cold stop.

Tatyana grabbed for her duffel bag and backpack, forcing the door open as she stepped from the truck into knee-deep, frigid water.

“Tatyana!”

She heard Oleg shouting in the distance. She glanced over her shoulder and saw fire lighting up the far edge of the river.

“Tatyana Vorona, stop!”

She scrambled to an island in the middle of the river, a small outcropping of rock that would probably be submerged when the rainy season came, but for now it was an island in the middle of the rushing water. She slung her backpack over her shoulders, gripped the duffel bag to her chest, and turned to him.

Go back.

Walk across the water.

He’ll be angry. But he’ll forgive you.

The voice whispering in her mind was insidious and tempting.

Oleg was pacing on the far bank of the river, his Land Cruiser parked on the edge of the water, the front wheels barely dipping in.

“Tatyana.” He walked to the edge of the river and held out his hand. “Come back. I promise I will not harm you.”

The only person with him was Mika, who slowly got out of the Land Cruiser, his eyes fixed on Tatyana.

She couldn’t read Mika. And she couldn’t read Oleg either.

Tatyana was standing in the middle of a river, and she had no idea what to do.

“Come back now, while you can.” Oleg held out his hand. “You’re crossing into the Fire King’s territory, volchitsa.” He shook his head. “And even for you I will not start a war.”

Oleg was lying. He would start a war for her, but it would be stupid to start one with the Fire King over something as minor as a runaway newborn vampire.

“What are you doing?” Mika was irritated. “She wants to leave and take her chances with Arosh? Fine. Leave her to him. She’s caused enough trouble already.”

“Shut up.” Oleg glared at the truck in the distance and the thin woman clutching a backpack and a duffel bag. She was soaked to the skin, and her face was pale as the moon. “Tatyana, come back. We need to find shelter. Dawn is coming.”

He already had a safe house picked out within driving distance, but there wouldn’t be enough time if she kept walking.

“Tatyana!” Oleg’s patience snapped. “I command you to return to me!”

She lifted her chin and turned her back to him, facing the opposite bank of the river.

“How could that not have worked?” Mika muttered.

Tatyana started trudging over the rocks, and a moment later Oleg felt it.

“Fuck.”

Mika felt them too. “Oh good. Arosh’s children have arrived.”

Oleg watched as two wind vampires landed on either side of Tatyana.

They looked at Oleg, then at Tatyana. One had silver-grey hair and didn’t speak. The other was a beautiful dark-haired woman with flowing black clothes and a sword on her back.

Tatyana took a step backward even as the silver-haired wind vampire held up his hands.

“Hold,” the dark-haired woman said. “Are you in danger?”

Tatyana looked at Oleg, then back to the two vampires. She shook her head. “No. I mean… I don’t know.”

The silent wind vampire cocked his head and stared at Oleg.

“She is a vampire under my aegis.” Oleg raised his hands. “There has been a miscommunication, and she took a wrong turn. We mean no offense to your lord. She is a newborn, and this is a misunderstanding. Tatyana, come back to this side of the river.”

“If she is under your aegis,” the woman said, “she is trespassing on Arosh’s territory, Varangian.” She drew her sword. “That would be an act of war.”

“I’m not under his aegis!” Tatyana shouted, still clutching her duffel bag. “Please! I’m not. I’m…” She looked at Oleg, who held out his hand.

Come back. He pushed his longing through the thin bond he could feel tugging on her like a silken string. Please come back.

If she walked away from them, if she returned to him, nothing would happen.

“Tatyana, just stay calm and come back.”

Oleg knew that as dangerous as Arosh’s patrols were, they were not overly aggressive. He and the Fire King had lived without conflict for centuries.

“This is a misunderstanding,” he repeated. “This young vampire is mine. She will walk back to me now, and when she has returned to me, I will send a token to Arosh to apologize for this tres?—”

“I’m not his,” Tatyana said, clutching her duffel bag to her chest, her eyes darting between the silver-haired vampire and Oleg. “My sire is dead. I have no aegis. I was turned into a vampire against my will only a few weeks ago, and I don’t want to fight with anyone.”

Tatyana, what are you thinking? How could she trust them? She was taking a chance. Making a gamble.

Just as she had done with him.

Tatyana took a small step toward the dark-haired woman. “I have heard that the Fire King will protect human women. I was human less than a month ago. Will he still protect me?”

“Tatyana!” Oleg’s fire leaped at her words, and a burst of flames rose between them.

The dark-haired vampire kept her sword raised, but she turned it away from Tatyana and toward Oleg. “Are you telling me that you run from this vampire’s wrath? That you seek protection from him?”

“I don’t…” Tatyana’s face was pale in the moonlight as she looked at Oleg, then back to Arosh’s guard. “I just want a safe haven. Just for a little while, until I can find my place.”

Your place is with me! Oleg paced, his fire growing hotter and higher. Mika was shouting at him, but he could hear nothing, see nothing, nothing but Tatyana slipping from his grasp.

“Young one,” the dark-haired woman asked, “who killed your sire? Was it the fire vampire who chases you?”

Oleg bared his fangs and froze, glaring at Tatyana.

“I did it,” she whispered. “I killed my sire.”

The dark-haired vampire took a step back, and Oleg could see the stiff set of her shoulders. “ You did?”

Oleg’s fire died, but his rage still burned, shot through with fear for Tatyana’s safety. Tatyana had no idea what she had just admitted to, and she had only her youth and obvious distress as a defense.

Mika grabbed water from the river and sent a calming mist over Oleg, enough that he could think clearly.

The two wind vampires were signing to each other in a language that Oleg didn’t speak.

The dark-haired woman let out an audible sigh. “Young one, Samson, son of Arosh the Fire King, has offered you sanctuary in the Fire King’s court under his personal protection.” She was looking between Oleg and Tatyana as if she knew there was more to the story. “As long as you harm no one, you may claim shelter.”

Tatyana’s eyes turned to the silver-haired vampire. “Your name is Samson?”

The silent vampire nodded.

“And you’re offering me a safe haven?” Tatyana looked back to Oleg. “What is the price?” She clutched her duffel bag to her chest.

“There is no cost,” the woman said. “What you have heard is correct. The Fire King’s court has long been a place of sanctuary for women in need.”

Women in need. Oleg scoffed. As if he would ever hurt Tatyana.

Tatyana looked over her shoulder, then took a step toward Samson. “Really?”

“I am Daria, and I can guarantee that my brother Samson has no ulterior motive.” She held out her hand. “Come. Leave this vehicle, and we will fly you to our father. Dawn is coming. We don’t have much time.”

“Okay.” Tatyana’s eyes were locked on Oleg’s. “I will go with you.”

“No!” Oleg shouted. “Tatyana, come back.”

Tatyana walked to the edge of the water and stared at him. “I can’t.”

You can.

She was a mystery, and she always had been. Every time Oleg thought he understood her, she turned and slipped away from him like water running through his fingers.

Oleg took another step into the river. “You won’t hide in Arosh’s harem forever.” The cold water cooled his rage as he kept his eyes locked on Tatyana’s. “And don’t forget: I am a very patient man.”

Tatyana’s gaze never left his, not even as the silent wind vampire wrapped his arms around her body and lifted both of them into the air. She and Oleg stared at each other until Tatyana disappeared into the darkness.

And then she was gone.

Mika tugged his arm. “Come, Knyaz. Both of us know this isn’t over.”

She left.

She left him.

Oleg’s fangs pierced his lip, and he felt her flying away, the thread of their bond stretching into the sky and deep into the mountains.

Stretched but not broken.

She might have left him, but he would find her.

And she would be his.