Chapter 17 #2
Oleg corralled the intrusive thought of grabbing control of those little flames and sending them shooting around the room to burn off the beards of all of Jetta’s tall Danish guards.
The idea put a smile on his face.
Human servers moved among the guests, filling glasses and refilling the dishes of caviar Pavel had provided, and a band of Poshani instrumentalists were playing traditional folk music at the end of the hall, which was both entertaining and a slight mask to keep conversations more private.
“Why do vampires like caviar so much?” Tatyana asked.
Oleg tried to keep his expression blank. “Is this a joke you are telling me?”
“No, I honestly don’t know because it tastes so strong to me, but the Poshani love it too. Maybe even more than your people.”
“Hmm.” Oleg didn’t know. “Perhaps because it tastes as if you are eating something real when you are mostly consuming water.”
“Yes, that makes sense.”
Vampire appetites for human food were notoriously light. They needed some food in their stomachs but very little.
“Did Pavel’s social secretary send over a profile of the guests tonight?”
“Yes,” Tatyana said. “But she also said I would not need to speak to most of them, so I didn’t learn all their names. She did highlight the important people like Jetta and the German duke, who I am supposed to dance with. Is he really a duke?”
“He really is.” Oleg sipped his champagne. “He was just married himself, but his wife is probably still in Bavaria. They also have a political marriage. His long-term partner is the man sitting on his left.”
“Another political marriage?” She pursed her lips. “Don’t tell me we are jumping on a trend, Oleg.”
“You should call me ‘my lord’ in public.”
The corner of his mouth turned up as she said something in Poshani that would have made her blush if she were human.
“I could do that,” she said, “or I could continue to call you Oleg the Terrible.”
“An inspired choice as that is also one of my titles.”
They stopped sniping at each other as Pavel approached.
His brother spoke to Tatyana first. “My lady, I hope the dinner is to your satisfaction so far. There will be dancing in just a few minutes, so you will not have to sit next to Oleg the entire evening.”
Tatyana smiled, and it transformed her face. “Pavel, you are so very thoughtful. And I am enchanted by this party. The room, the food, the wine. You have made me feel so welcome. The Poshani musicians were an inspired choice.”
Oleg wanted to punch his brother’s face in. Tatyana shouldn’t be smiling like that at anyone but him. Nevertheless, he supposed he was going to have to share her a little bit even if it was only for a dinner.
“Lady Tatyana…” Pavel seemed a little awkward. “Thank you. I do not entertain often.”
“I would never have guessed.”
Pavel was nearly beaming.
He had barely started coming out of his shell a century after Truvor’s death—but Pavel was an absolute genius in the area of international shipping logistics, which made him a brilliant governor.
Unfortunately, he was also awkward, socially introverted, and blunt, which made him a problematic governor for a border region at times.
Pavel really needed a woman to loosen him up, but that was none of Oleg’s business.
“Brother.” Oleg broke into Pavel and Tatyana’s mutual admiration society meeting. “Do you have a moment to speak privately?”
Pavel immediately went into business mode and seemed to relax. “Of course.” He glanced at Tatyana. “If Lady Tatyana will excuse our absence.”
“Please.” She waved a hand. “I am more than entertained, and Rumi is with me.” She turned to her closest confidante. “We have been enjoying the music, have we not?”
“Yes, thank you.” Rumi smiled at Pavel. “I will keep the terrin company while you and Oleg speak.”
Tatyana’s Poshani family refused to use any title with Oleg, which he knew his wife encouraged. It was a sure way to tweak him and reinforce her first loyalty, which was always to her own people.
“Come,” Pavel said. “There is a smoking room just this way.”
Oleg followed Pavel, and as soon as the door was shut, he knew the room had been soundproofed because the music completely disappeared.
“She’s having a good time,” he said. “Thank you. Being of the Poshani, I expect she finds all these formal events tedious.”
“Because they are.” Pavel sat on a low sofa. “So that simply means she is intelligent.”
Oleg chuckled and sat across from his brother, stretching out his arms across the back of the sofa.
A fire was crackling in the hearth, and there was a bar cart near the door, but neither Pavel nor Oleg was a heavy drinker.
“Tell me about your grandson.”
“I have many,” Pavel said. “Which one?”
“Yury,” Oleg said. “Askeli’s son working in Moscow.”
Pavel narrowed his eyes. “He’s smart and ambitious. I was sorry to see him leave my territory, but there was more room for him to advance in Moscow. It’s bigger.”
“And in Saint Petersburg, Yury will always be Askeli’s son.”
Pavel nodded. “There is that too.”
“Leadership potential?”
“Can I be frank?”
“Always.”
“Better than his sire.” Pavel sighed a little. “Better than me if I’m being truly honest. He’s a natural leader like you. His subordinates love him. He engenders loyalty. He’s a rule follower but not blindly. He’ll question you.”
Oleg nodded slowly. “This is good insight. Thank you.”
“You want to pit him against Ivan.” Pavel’s jaw was clenched, and his voice was low. “Don’t you?”
Was Pavel angry? Interesting.
“No,” Oleg said. “I do not want to do that.”
“Do you think I’m blind, brother? Do you think I don’t see what is happening in Moscow? How you are antagonizing our brother? Your own governor?”
Oleg was surprised, and he was not often surprised.
“Is that what you think, Pavel?” Oleg kept his voice steady and firm. Pavel didn’t need to be patronized, but neither did Oleg want his brother thinking that he was going to follow in Truvor’s footsteps. “I have no intention of pitting Yury against Ivan. I am thinking only of Yury’s potential.”
Pavel was clutching the arms of his chair, and his knuckles were even whiter than usual.
Oleg continued, “You were harsh with me when Zasha was killed.”
“Zasha was our blood.”
“Zasha was wreaking havoc and trying to start a war.”
Pavel lifted his chin. “We were responsible for Zasha. We failed our systkin.”
The fact that Pavel used the Old Norse told Oleg that his brother’s mind was back in their time with Truvor and not anywhere near the present. “Zasha never wanted our help. They fled, and I tried to let them find their own path. In the end, they chose violence. Just like Luana. Just like Zara.”
Pavel said nothing, but his eyes became more calculating and less angry.
“You ask why I am inquiring about Yury,” Oleg continued.
“Someone made an attempt on Ivan’s life.
Whatever my feelings about that, my priority is the stability of the largest city in our empire.
I need to know that if something happened to Ivan, there would be someone in Moscow able to step into the role of interim governor whom I could trust to hold the city. ”
Pavel’s hands relaxed. He might be all business, but he was well aware of how politics could affect his bottom line. “You are trusting me enough to ask this and do not want me to inform Ivan.”
“I am.”
Pavel nodded. “Very well. Why are you not considering Ivan’s own sons?”
Oleg lifted an eyebrow. “You have met his sons. They are not as disciplined as yours. This is not an aristocracy, brother. I don’t care about bloodlines; I care about the best person for the job.”
Pavel said nothing, but his head angled slightly as he considered Oleg’s words.
“Come.” Oleg stood up and slapped Pavel on the shoulder. “We should rejoin the party. You have confirmed my own impressions of Yury. As far as I am concerned, this matter is finished and nothing more needs to be said.”
“Yes, Knyaz.”
Tatyana did not answer his knock on her day-chamber door two nights later.
Oleg was immediately irritated.
“If you’re looking for her…”
He turned and saw Rumi waiting near the door.
She smiled a little bit. “She’s already at her dress fitting.”
“I see.”
“Would you like me to show you to the room where the tailors are working?”
Would he like to see Tatyana partially undressed and standing in the middle of a room full of people waiting on her?
“Yes,” Oleg said. “I would like that very much.”
He started toward the door, and Rumi put a hand up slightly before they left.
“Yes?”
The woman was a rabid guard dog for Tatyana. Oleg approved.
Rumi’s voice was barely audible. “How long will this indifferent public charade continue?”
“A fair question.” He took a deep breath and also kept his voice low. “I suspect that after one or two years, civility will be expected, and after that, public affection can grow.”
“She’s not deceptive by nature. This subterfuge has worn on her. It’s even harder to maintain in public.”
“I know that.”
“Yet you have no problem with lies.”
Interesting. What did the human truly want to know? “I don’t utilize them often because I don’t need to, but no. Lying to strangers does not bother me.”
She lifted her chin. “Lying to strangers?”
“Yes.” He nodded at her. “You are not a stranger, so what do you really want to ask? Tell me, and I will be honest.”
“Is she in danger?”
“Yes.” He shrugged. “Always. That is the nature of vampire life and particularly of vampire leaders.”
It wasn’t the answer Rumi had wanted. “She is your wife. I thought you were supposed to protect her.”
“I will protect her with my own life.” Oleg spoke nothing but the truth. “But I cannot always be at her side, nor would she want it. That is why I had no objections to the Poshani sending a large group of Hazar into my territory even though normally that would be considered an insult.”
It was also one benefit of a political marriage. Poshani forces in his territory could be excused should they be seen as a condition of the contract.
Rumi nodded slightly. “Sándor would die for her too. So would I.”
“Because she is your leader but also your friend,” Oleg said. “Like those in my druzhina.”
She looked him in the eye, a feat for anyone, especially a human. “So we understand each other, Oleg?”
He did not truly know what she had gained from the conversation, but he wanted to see his wife. “Of course. We would both protect her, though obviously I am more capable than you are to commit violence on her behalf.”
“And that is the only reason you’ll always be safe from my hand.”
So this was a threat from the human woman? That was fair.
“I am flattered.” Oleg glanced at the clock over the mantel. “We should go.”
Rumi finally turned and walked out of Tatyana’s suite and down the hall, turning right at the gallery and heading toward one of the small concert halls built into Tatyana’s wing of the palace.
Two of Sándor’s men were guarding the double doors. They nodded at Rumi as they passed. The look they sent Oleg wasn’t outwardly hostile, but it was suspicious.
He said nothing, mostly because Rumi opened the double doors and all words were stolen by the sight of Tatyana draped in a gold silk sarafan, the traditional garment she would wear for their state wedding.
“What is he doing here?” Diana yelped. “He’s not supposed to see her dress until the wedding day!”
Rumi frowned and looked at Oleg, who only shrugged.
“Is this a tradition?” Oleg asked. “Lady Tatyana?”
She turned her head but clearly was trying to hold steady for the tailors working on the hem of her garment. “Diana, that’s a modern thing. There’s no bad luck for Lord Oleg to see me in my dress.”
“In fact” —Oleg strolled around the platform— “it is my duty to ensure that your dress meets the standards for such a grand occasion as marrying the knyaz of the Kievan Rus.” He looked it up and down, trying not to appear overly awed by the sight of the woman standing on a pedestal in front of him.
She was a goddess. The waist of her gown sat just under her gently rounded breasts, and the rich amber silk of the skirt was adorned with gold and silver thread, gemstones, and pearls. There was ermine trim along the bottom of the sarafan and more fur edging the shoulders and sleeves.
She was magnificent. A queen. No human could even compare.
Oleg felt Tatyana’s eyes on him. “Does the gown please you, Lord Oleg?”
“It is sufficient for the event.” He nodded. “When you are finished with this fitting, you will join me in the treasury so you may choose your wedding gems and see your crown. We should make sure it does not need adjustment before the ceremony.”
Tatyana blinked. “There is a crown?”
“Of course there is a crown.”
Her stylist was quick to answer him. “We will be most pleased to join you after the fitting, Lord Oleg.”
“Not you.” He looked down his nose at Diana. “Just your lady.”
Diana’s mouth dropped open, but she quickly shut it.
“That will be fine,” Tatyana said. “It’s visiting the treasury, Diana.” She looked back at Oleg. “I will join you when I am finished.”
“Very well.” He glanced at Rumi. “I will be in my library. Please alert me when your mistress has finished her fitting.”
Rumi nodded. “Yes, Oleg.”
“Of course!” Diana had regained her composure and her voice. “We will tell you right away when—”
“Diana,” Tatyana murmured her name.
“Yes, Lady Tatyana.” The human’s cheeks were a little bit red.
“Shortly then.” Oleg looked down his nose at the tailors. “We will see you shortly.”