Chapter 12
Tatyana
Bucharest, Romania
“You have got to be kidding me,” Kezia sputtered. “He’s mad.”
Tatyana was frozen. She was trying to wrap her brain around the letter Radu had just read to them both.
Not even a week ago, she and Kezia had been planning a quiet operation to kill Ivan. From Kezia’s perspective, it was purely practical. From Tatyana’s perspective, she was doing exactly what her mate had told her not to do, but it was her right to take care of him, so she didn’t care.
And Radu didn’t have a perspective on it. Radu was completely in the dark about future Ivan’s assassination.
Now the three Poshani terrin were sitting in Radu’s home office in Bucharest. Not the club and not his business office.
They usually met at his business office when he called them, but two nights before, Radu had demanded both Tatyana and Kezia join him at his home in Bucharest “for matters of clan and personal importance.”
“It is what he proposes.” Radu lifted the heavy linen paper sitting on top of an envelope with a broken red wax seal.
“Oleg Sokolov, Velikiy Knyaz of the Kievan Rus, heir of Truvor the Red and keeper of his blood, born of Earth and sired to Fire, does propose this day a contract of marriage to be formed between His Greatness and Kezia le Almásy, terrin of the Poshani, for a period of one hundred years, starting on January twenty-seven—”
Tatyana’s head turned toward Radu. She blinked.
No.
“—in order to commemorate the historic partnership of our two clans, secure our mutual trust, and honor the ancient ties between the Kievan Rus and the Poshani people for as long as my reign endures.”
Oleg was proposing a wedding on January twenty-seventh?
The twenty-seventh of January?
Secure our mutual trust… as long as my reign endures.
Dear God.
What was her husband doing? He was taking a huge risk. What if Kezia said yes?
Tatyana’s eyes flew to Kezia, and she pressed her lips together. Her heart was racing.
“What have I done?” Kezia was staring at the wall in front of her. “What have I done to bring this curse upon me?”
Okay, so it appeared that Kezia was not going to say yes.
Tatyana’s heart calmed, her fangs relaxed, and her brain started to work again.
Radu took a steadying breath. “Sister, this is a proposal of political marriage—he specifies that this is ceremonial only and he has no interest in your personal life—from the most powerful vampire leader in Eastern Europe, who is host to over seventy percent of our traditional roaming territory.”
Tatyana saw a map in her mind, a map of all of Eastern Europe, the roads and the trade routes. The route of the kamvasa running straight through the heart of the Kievan Rus.
The kamvasa, the heart and soul of her new family, that symbolized their freedom to roam as they would and live as they chose.
With this contract, Oleg was promising that the Poshani would be secure. For as long as he remained the lord of the Kievan Rus.
Starting on January twenty-seventh.
Oleg and Tatyana’s wedding anniversary.
Oh, you absolutely brilliant bastard.
Her mate had cracked open a door, but it was narrow. She would have to step carefully.
So, so carefully.
“We can find new territory!” Kezia blurted. “We have before.”
Tatyana took a deep breath. “I also want to note—”
“Didn’t you used to fuck him?” Kezia shouted. “Why would he do this to me?”
Because her husband was brilliant. And more than a little reckless. But it wasn’t lost on Tatyana that Oleg had sent this message to Radu and not Kezia.
“He is proposing to you out of respect for our clan,” Radu said. “So it does not appear personal.”
Kezia would have probably burned Oleg’s letter, to hell with the consequences. Radu, who had known Oleg the longest, would take it seriously.
“You’re probably too young to remember when this was the custom,” Radu continued, “but this was not uncommon, sister. We have no permanent territory of our own, so many terrins in the past…” Radu grimaced. “You may not see it, but this is a very generous offer.”
Tatyana heard her mother’s voice in her mind.
“That man knows exactly what he wants, and it is you. Do you think he is going to settle for anything other than exactly what he wants?”
This was what he wanted.
Oleg would flex his power as king.
Tatyana would be his queen for all the world to see.
She would secure the trust and respect of the Poshani people for securing their interests.
And give Oleg exactly what he wanted.
“When we were at the Báthory Summit” —Tatyana kept her voice low and even— “I heard of at least two arranged marriages between vampire leaders. According to Samson, it’s trending back. He was even a bit concerned that Arosh would try to marry him off.”
“I would marry Samson,” Kezia blurted. “But Oleg?”
“Kezia, this would be declaring a treaty and a long-term cooperation agreement between our people,” Radu said. “Oleg is our host. I would never pressure you to accept anything you do not want—”
“Good,” Kezia said bluntly. “Because I do not want this. Not even on paper. Oleg Sokolov is a domineering bully with questionable judgment.”
Tatyana resisted the urge to speak too quickly. It was as if she could hear Oleg’s voice in her mind, coaching her through his arrogant bluff.
Not yet, volchitsa. Not yet.
Tatyana shook her head and let out a deep, audible sigh.
“Oleg is our host,” Radu repeated.
“He’s a fire vampire!” Kezia leaned across the table. “I am a wind vampire. What an excellent combination. What if he killed me, Radu? Even by accident? What would you do?”
“He is not some young, immature—”
“Hey.” Kezia lifted her chin and snapped her fingers three times in her brother’s face. “Oh hey, Radu.” She put on a comical Russian accent. “I accidentally incinerated your sister because she pissed me off. Send me another to take her place, will you?”
Radu rolled his eyes. “Now you’re being ridiculous.”
Tatyana had to press her lips together to keep from laughing. The chin tilt and the snapping were too accurate by far.
She spoke but kept her voice low. “Oleg Sokolov’s territory represents roughly half of our current markets.
” Tatyana shuffled some papers in front of her needlessly.
“Kezia, you know how I feel about Oleg and his entire clan, but all of us have to consider realistically what a rejection of this proposal would mean.”
The entire room fell silent.
Kezia’s eyes went wide. She looked as if she’d just received a death sentence.
Objecting to the arrogant Oleg Sokolov? Understandable.
But rejecting a serious proposal of political union from the vampire lord of the Kievan Rus?
Their people would have to uproot homes and businesses.
They would lose the years of financial progress they had made.
Radu would lose his closest ally in the precarious Black Sea region.
Now. She heard Oleg’s voice in her mind. Speak now.
With that death sentence hanging in the air…
“I will do it.” Tatyana raised her head, then gave Radu a firm nod. “Not Kezia. Me.”
Kezia’s eyes went wide. “Tatyana—”
“I know him, and I know what to expect.” She persisted. “I will do it. Send our reply back to Oleg Sokolov. He will secure a wife from the Poshani terrin and unite our clan and the Kievan Rus, but only on the condition that it must be me.”
Radu ushered Tatyana into his library after Kezia left.
She’d been casting guilty looks at Tatyana as she walked out the front door with her personal Hazar, but she appeared desperate to disappear, so Tatyana had mercy on her and asked Radu if they could meet about some miscellaneous contract term for a factory he was building in Timi?oara.
“Tanya, are you sure about this?” Radu sat across from Tatyana in front of the fireplace. “I know you don’t need to talk to me about the keyboard factory, so don’t bother. You and Oleg had a relationship, and judging from the way you both avoid the topic, your parting was complicated at best.”
Tatyana waved a hand and tried to reassure Radu without lying too much. “Oleg and I… we have this reaction to each other. It can be volatile.”
Radu shrugged. “Of course. This isn’t a surprise to me. Oleg is an old friend, but you are my sister. You are Poshani.”
“I can handle being around him. It will be fine.”
“You don’t have to do this.”
“I’m not a newborn anymore.”
“According to Kezia, the two of you were literally burning up in the middle of a ballroom with barely a word spoken.” Radu raised an eyebrow. “Do not tell me that you are indifferent to the man.”
“It is not that I am indifferent, but I know myself better. I’m not a confused girl anymore.”
He narrowed his eyes. “I don’t know that I would have ever called you a confused girl.”
“Both Oleg and I can agree on one very important subject. We are devoted to our people. I agree that he made the proposal to Kezia so that all this appeared less personal, but I can do this, Radu.”
He still appeared skeptical. “And you can keep things friendly? We cannot afford to be at war with the Kievan Rus because you killed their knyaz for what would no doubt be a perfectly understandable reason.” Radu shrugged. “But still.”
She offered him a rueful smile. “I couldn’t kill him if I wanted to, and you know it. And you know I’m far less likely to cause an international incident with Oleg than Kezia would be.”
Radu heaved a sigh of relief. “When I contemplated the two of them interacting even in formal settings, I saw nothing but fire and destruction.”
“So you know I am right.”
“Of course, but Tanya—”
“How much time will I actually have to spend with him?” She couldn’t seem too agreeable to the arrangement, or Radu would start to be suspicious. “I’m not familiar with vampire political marriages, but it would be more ceremonial than anything personal, correct?”
“Yes,” Radu said. “But it would still be a serious time commitment.”