Devon #3
“Sit,” he said, voice soft as suede.
There were two chairs in front of the desk, both upholstered in crimson. I took the right one, perching on the edge like I might need to bolt. Kazimir didn’t move, but his gaze flicked up and down, clocking my new clothes, the makeup, the shoes. A tiny nod—approval, maybe. Or just taking inventory.
“You’re wondering why you’re here,” he said. Not a question.
“Yeah, I am,” I said. My voice sounded high, the way it always did when I was trying not to sound scared.
He pressed his hands together, index fingers at his lips. “You came into my club last night,” he said, “and you left an impression. That’s rare.”
I waited, unsure whether I was supposed to thank him or apologize.
His gaze sharpened, and I felt pinned, like a butterfly on velvet. “My son tells me you have no formal experience in administration, yet you completed three hours of payroll in just over an hour.”
“It’s just numbers,” I said, because it was true.
Kazimir’s lips twitched as if he were pleased by my answer. “Numbers,” he repeated, “are only the beginning. What matters is what you do with them.”
He pushed back from the desk, standing. If he’d been intimidating before, now he was a force of nature.
Six-four, maybe more, every movement deliberate.
He circled the desk and came to stand beside me, closer than necessary.
I smelled something underneath the cologne—metallic, electric, like lightning before a storm.
“Devon Wade,” he said, and hearing my name from his mouth made me shiver. “Do you know who you are? What you are?”
I flinched. “No, to both questions.”
He crouched to one knee, so we were at eye-level. There was no menace. Just pure focus.
“Do you know what we do here?” he asked. He reached out, fingertips grazing the sleeve of my blazer, then dropping away. “If you accept this role, you will see things you cannot unsee. You will be responsible for more than numbers. You will be trusted with secrets. My secrets.”
My mouth was dry. “I’m not sure I understand. But I want to be here.” I whispered because anything louder would have cracked.
He smiled, slow and toothy. “Good. Do you know what I am?”
That was a question I was almost afraid to answer. I knew what he was. And I knew I should be frightened of him. But I wasn’t. I just wanted to be closer to him. I don’t know how I knew what he was, but I did. I’d thought he was a thing of myth. I knew somehow now that the myths were true.
“I know what you are. You’re a vampire.”
“I’m more than a vampire svetoch. I am the king of all vampires.”
Kazimir stood again and leaned on his desk.
I nodded, dizzy.
“It is much to take in. I understand. But it is not the biggest shock you will receive. You will need to learn what you are. But not yet. You are not ready.”
I don’t know why this made me angry, but it did. I stood.
“Shouldn’t I be the one to decide when I’m ready to know who and what I am?
I’ve been walking around in a fucking haze for half a year and learned just hours ago that I’m some kind of freak supernatural, apparently.
From a halfway house full of strangers, frightened out of my mind, not knowing where my next meal was coming from; to a job where I’ve been treated like I’m incompetent by a jealous waitress.
I've had disgusting men try to put their hands on me, and came close to having one of them succeed last night. I’ve been alone—completely and utterly alone without a soul to give two shits whether I lived or died, just wandering blindly through this world wholly forsaken by my family; whoever and wherever they might be.
Nobody has so much as inquired about me. And you’re telling me I’m not ready?”
I stomped to the door in a fog, but as I reached for the handle, I felt him right behind me.
I turned. He was watching me, something dark and endless behind his eyes.
His fingers cupped my face as I looked up at him.
“I am not trying to be cruel to you by keeping information from you. I’m trying to protect you. I don’t know why your memory was taken, but I believe the Goddess may be helping you hide by keeping your identity hidden even from you,” he said.
“I don’t understand any of this. But I feel safe when I’m close to you.” I couldn’t believe I’d said that out loud. I quickly pulled my hand to my mouth like I could shove the words back in.
“Don’t ever be ashamed of being honest with me.
He brushed my hair back from my face. You’re mine, Devon.
And if it’s alright, I’d like to move you into the guest wing of my estate so I can be certain you are safe.
This is an offer that comes without conditions or expectations.
You never have to see me unless you want to.
And trust no one at the club except for Nikolay and me.
I’ll introduce you to Amelia. You can trust her also.
Everyone else be friendly with, but do not trust.”
“Yes, sir.”
"And I will personally flay the skin from those who have harmed you these past months."
He kissed my forehead and opened the door.
I laughed at that and placed my hand on his arm.
"No, Kazimir. I'd prefer the people who mistreated me kept their skin exactly where it is. I don't need their suffering on my conscience. They hurt my feelings, but it brought me here. I can't be angry about that."
Nikolay waited for me in the hallway, hands folded neatly.
“How did it go?” he asked.
I opened my mouth, then closed it. “Fine,” I said, which was not a word for what had just happened, but it was all I had.
He smiled, like he understood perfectly.
We walked back to my office together. The city was almost gone from the windows, night rolling in. I thought of all the places I’d slept, all the names I’d borrowed, all the times I’d vanished because it was easier than staying. I thought of Kazimir’s voice: You are mine.
For the first time since waking in that park, I wanted to belong to someone.
I sat at my new desk, staring at the blank screen, and waited for the future to find me.