Page 90 of A Dance Macabre

I grin and nod.

He falls back into the booth, crossing his arms while his expression turns hopeful. Looking up at the ceiling, he appears to lose himself in the possibilities of what this means for him.

His gaze snaps back, a stern crease between his eyebrows. “And youforgotto tell me? How long have you been sitting on this information?”

I purse my lips, avoiding eye contact for a few breaths. A bourbon on ice appears in front of me, I take a slow slip before answering.

“Two weeks.”

Aleksandr’s palms flatten on the table while the upper half of his body leans in. “Two weeks?”

I shrug, but there’s a small twinge of guilt tickling my throat. “I’ve had a lot on my mind.”

“Was that before or after my mother’s funeral,” he presses.

Heavy silence. “A few days before.”

Aleksandr huffs and returns to leaning his back against the booth, arms crossed.

“Well now you know,” I reply a little dismissively while straightening my cuffs, feeling slightly attacked. I shoot him one of my most dazzling smiles. “Consider this a belated birthday gift.”

I take another sip of my drink, the bourbon warms my throat as it goes down smoothly. Aleksandr continues to glare at me.

“So you and Mercy,” he finally mumbles.

I nod. “So it seems,” I drawl. Falling silent, I consider not telling him the recent turn of events and keeping Mercy’s betrayal to myself. Even after all of this, I feel protective of her.

In spite of this, I relent.

“She tried to have me killed,” I say nonchalantly. I pick at an invisible piece of lint on my sleeve. “We’ve resolved it now.”

Unfortunately, his confusion signals that he won’t be dropping the subject like I hoped. “How did she even manage that? Hiring someone to kill you would go againstdamnatio memoriae.”

“Dizzy offered.”

Surprising me, Aleksandr bursts out laughing. Grabbing the bottle of vodka chilling on ice, he pours himself a fresh drink while still chuckling to himself.

“What’s so droll?” I hiss through my teeth.

His eyes lift to mine, full of mirth. “Beloved servant of idolatry betrayed twice over. Must sting.”

I suck on my teeth and look away. Aleksandr’s right, it does sting. Discovering that a handful of my followers were colluding against me was a hard blow to the ego.

And then to have Mercy involved.

I’ve had better days.

“That’s behind me,” I say dismissively.

Aleksandr slowly stops laughing, his face falling serious as he studies me over his glass while he takes a slow sip of vodka. “Why would you continue to trust her after this?”

I let the electronic beat of the music wash over us as I chew on my inner lip. I play with the condensation of my glass. Avoid his interrogating stare. Take a sip.

Finally, I slide my avoiding gaze to his.

“I don’t,” I say. Sighing deeply, I tap a finger on the table and look away. Eventually, I focus back on Aleksandr. “But doesit matter? When now even our gods would fail to keep me away from her.”

48

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