Chapter 22
They didn’t even get a foot in the station doors, and Aster was on them like a shot. Gunnar’d expected it to be Rina, but a glance showed her tucked in at the bar, deep in a drink and talking quietly with E. She scowled at them both as she rose. Behind her, E shrugged. The rest of Nizhny’s hunters waited around the tavern, no doubt on Rina’s orders. The room silently screamed with the marinating tension.
“Audrey, you went to the leshy, yes?” Aster spoke in English, which showed just how anxious she was, given how she harassed Audrey about her garbage Russian on a regular basis. Aster glanced back at Rina, who was closing in fast, then back to Audrey with an expectant expression. “Yes?”
“I did,” Audrey said as she took off her hat and scarf, setting them on the nearest table.
“And?” Aster prodded.
“He’s willing to work with Rina to find an agreeable arrangement with Nizhny.” Audrey smiled. “And he told me his name.”
Relief flooded Aster’s scent, her smile brilliant. Then she spun on a heel, marching right into Rina’s path as she stormed toward them. It surprised Gunnar when Rina didn’t shove right by her, instead coming up short, her expression severe. Aster had to reach high to rest her hands on Rina’s board shoulders.
“Listen first. Please,” Aster asked more than stated in a voice that didn’t carry, then released her.
Rina closed her eyes for a second, exhaling harshly through her nose, before she pointed at Gunnar and Audrey, then jerked her thumb at the stairs. “My office, now.”
“Yes, of course,” Audrey said, stumbling over herself to go, now, her gaze skirting away from Rina’s as she all but ran by her. Gunnar took a more casual approach, hands in his pockets.
Gunnar took his post beside the door, wincing when Rina slammed it behind her. Audrey sat, satchel in her lap, her leg jumping with a mix of nervous energy and excitement. He crossed his arms, inhaling deep; Rina was outwardly calm, but her scent reeked of frustration. Not the best state of mind for a powerful Aperien who was furious at them.
Rina still didn’t look at them, the cold shoulder childish on the surface, but Gunnar sensed she was doing her best to control her temper. She wasn’t a volatile woman. In the time they’d been here, he’d never seen her this angry. He wondered what exactly had her temper up so high. The defiance from someone she’d trusted? The embarrassment of the disobedience being so public?
That she’d been wrong?
Rina stood in front of her map, back to them. “My wolves?”
“At their dens, all accounted for. No injuries or anything like that,” Audrey said.
“And how did you manage to take my entire pack?”
“I promised Yuri all the zmei meat and bones we have left for the pack.” Audrey blushed now, speaking faster. “All I asked was for an escort through the woods. I thought maybe Yuri would come alone, but he brought all of them and then Yuri insisted on accompanying me into the leshy’s forest . . .”
Rina rubbed her forehead.
“I wanted to help,” Audrey added quietly.
Rina spun, snarling as she flattened both palms on the desk, leaning in close to Audrey. “You want to help by ignoring my direct orders?”
Audrey’s spine stiffened.
Ah shit, here we go. Gunnar knew what came next.
“You didn’t give me direct orders beyond ending our conversation. You didn’t want to try.” She lifted her chin. “You never said I couldn’t try.”
Gunnar had never seen Rina so utterly baffled, and Audrey took her stunned silence as permission.
“The leshy doesn’t want conflict. He understands you’re building a home here. If you’re willing to guarantee the continued respect of his territory, he’ll create a road through his forest.” Audrey used her esquire tone now, and she spoke with confidence despite her scent radiating nerves as much as stubbornness. “He will allow residents of Nizhny passage unbothered, provided they remain on the path. If any threats to Nizhny enter his forest, he’ll prevent them from reaching the settlement proper.
“While the leshy does not need to leave his forest, he agrees to abide by your laws as the greater Independent territory he resides within, provided you agree to his terms. He would retain the right to punish those who break this agreement himself.”
Rina scoffed as she pushed away from the desk. Audrey swallowed a few times, and Gunnar did his best to be a statue. The Aperien was coming around; he didn’t dare disrupt this delicate transition.
“Aster is crawling up my ass, as if this place wasn’t a dream that could be ripped out from under us at any time.” Rina laughed, shook her head again as if chasing away thoughts she didn’t dare give voice. “And then you, a human girl, wander off into the damn woods and treat with leshy in my name.”
“Not in your name. I told him this all depended on what you decide. I would never speak for you. I know that’s not my place.”
Rina waved a hand as she spoke. “You did everything else in my place.”
“I know you’re mad I went against your wishes—”
“Wishes, but not orders, is it?”
“Please don’t throw away this chance at a peaceful solution because you’re angry with me.” Audrey glanced back at Gunnar. The look she shot him was apologetic, and then her attention was back toward Rina. “I’ll go, if that’s what you want. For . . . I don’t know, an example? If you don’t . . . if you don’t want me here anymore.”
Gunnar snorted. So that’s what that look was about. “She goes, I go.”
“He had nothing to do with this,” Audrey said, grabbing at his sleeve. “Gunnar is the best hunter you have. He’s good for Nizhny.”
“You’re fucking nuts if you think I’d let her throw you out on your ass alone,” Gunnar growled down at her.
Audrey shook her head, giving him that jutted chin, that fierce, righteous streak of hers. “You don’t have to—”
“Fucking hells, enough. Both of you.” Rina leaned her head back to stare at the ceiling, fists on her hips. She rattled off a string of curses in Russian that really didn’t amount to much more than fuck. When she gestured at Audrey, she spoke to Gunnar, incredulous. “She can barely speak Russian.”
“Yeah, I know. She’s shit.”
Audrey punched him hard on the shoulder, hard for her at least, and he gave her a grunt in response.
“Get your jackets. We’re settling this today.” Rina headed toward the door, muttering and cursing, half at the ether, half at them, before she added, “And if anyone breaks our agreement with the leshy, I’m dealing with them, because that would break my fucking rules.” And then she vented more of her frustration by hammering down the old wooden stairs.
Audrey let out a shuddering breath, gripping Gunnar’s forearm. Her cheeks were flushed, and now that Rina was out of the room, she trembled, but the fear in her scent slowly evaporated.
He nudged her shoulder. “Nice job, Esquire.”
She giggled, giving him a brief grin, and he inhaled the burst of happiness coming off her skin. It pleased him, almost obscenely, to bolster her with a few words.
“We’re not done just yet.”
Gunnar nodded toward the door. “After you.”