Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

Zarya woke curled in a ball and covered in a soft blanket. For the first time in weeks, she hadn’t dreamed or woken in a sweat-drenched panic.

I will avenge you, Asa, I promise, she swore to her sister’s ghost like she had every morning. Sweet Asa. She had wanted to go to university in Moscow so badly that when Arkadi put a request in for her, Zarya felt like it was the kindest of gifts. Had Asa even made it to the university? Had it all been a ploy to separate them so he could send Asa to be experimented on in the camps?

"Are you awake yet, Wolf Mage? Because I’m going to start poking you with something sharp if you don’t wake up soon." Arkon’s voice drifted through the haze of drowsiness that still clung to her.

Zarya rolled over and found the sorcerer sitting on the armchair opposite her. He looked wired, like he hadn’t slept at all. His eyes were bright with manic energy.

"If you were going to try and kill me, you should’ve done it while I was asleep," she murmured.

"I thought about it," he admitted with a grin. "But then I would have had to deal with the Council of Ten on my own today. You decided to crash their party, so you can suffer the consequences. You’re going to have to sell your kill list idea to them if you don’t want them to hang you."

Zarya sat up and reached for the steaming cup of coffee on the small table beside her. He had brought her breakfast, which was kind of him.

"You really think they could hang me?" she asked before blowing on the coffee to cool it.

"No, but it might help if they think that they could," Arkon admitted.

Zarya hummed. "They are scared of me."

"They are clever like that."

"But you are not?" she asked.

"I lack self-preservation," Arkon replied. He leaned on the soft arm of his chair, propping his head up with a hand. "It makes life interesting thinking you might try and kill me at any moment."

"Been bored without me in the past few months, have you? I suppose that explains why you went to Rogotin, putting yourself in needless danger. If Leonid Siderov had managed to kill you, he would’ve become an even more insufferable asshole," she said.

Arkon’s humor turned curious. "You say that like you would miss me if I was gone, Zarya."

She ignored the slight tingle she felt every time he uttered her name.

"You shouldn’t be so eager to throw your life away. There are a million men in the world like Siderov, but there is only one like you," she said, and because it sounded too complimentary, she quickly added, "Thank the gods."

Arkon laughed softly. "If you keep talking like that, I’m going to think you are trying to be my friend."

"Don’t be ridiculous," she said and took a croissant from the platter of food in front of her.

"Temporary allies is probably safer than friends," he replied.

Zarya bit into the pastry to hide her grin. Smiling at the sorcerer seemed like a dangerous and foolish thing to do.

Arkon gestured to some bags on the floor beside the couch. "I took the liberty of organizing some clothes for you. As amusing as it would be for you to go to a council meeting in my robe, we are trying to get them to take your plan seriously."

"You say that like I need their permission," Zarya replied.

Arkon studied her carefully. "If you feel that way, I don’t know why you bothered to come all the way to Venice at all."

"I told you. I came for you," Zarya replied.

"So, you could look me in the eye when you killed me?"

Seeing his confusion made her take pity on him.

"I had a vision that I could only succeed with your help and teleportation spells. I hate that they are killing magic users for their magic. I hate that I couldn’t see what was happening right in front me. There were lines I never thought Arkadi would cross, no matter how much he feared and hated them."

Arkon’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Do you love him?"

"No. It was never like that. There was family history with us that I’m not ready to talk about it." Zarya wanted to trust him. She just couldn’t yet. "And why would it matter if we did have a relationship?"

"I need to know you’ll kill him when the time comes. Hearts are complicated, especially when they are hurt."

Zarya hated that he could see it. "We weren’t like that, but yes, I am hurt. I expected better from him and the promises he made. We both love our countries, Arkon. The politicians have had their chance to end this war, and they have made it worse. Time for us to do it."

Zarya got up off the couch and picked up the bags. "Thank you for the clothes." She didn’t look at him, and he didn’t try and stop her.

Arkadi had hurt her on so many levels. He had killed Asa, a woman he had claimed was special to him. He did it for power that he couldn’t even wield.

Zarya’s jaw locked, her hands balling into fists. The emperor was about to learn that Viking blood ran true in Zarya, and that the war with the Republic would be nothing compared to what she was going to rain down on him.